Ten years after signing his first record deal with Big Machine Label Group’s The Valory Music Co., arena-packing superstar Thomas Rhett — dubbed “the most reliable maker of No. 1 singles in country music” (Variety) — has five studio albums, 18 MULTI-PLATINUM and GOLD-certified No. 1 hits, 12 BILLION streams and the longest current active streak of consecutive No. 1s in the format (Mediabase/Country Aircheck Chart). He has been honored with eight ACM Awards including Entertainer of the Year, two CMA Awards, five GRAMMY® Awards nominations, plus trophies from the CMT Music Awards, Billboard Awards and iHeartRadio Awards, in addition to being recognized with two CMA Triple Play awards for penning three No. 1 songs within a 12-month period. Thomas Rhett will deliver his sixth studio album WHERE WE STARTED on April 1. Inspired by his return to the road, the set marks a similar return to his in-the-moment mix of tempo, transcendent romance and tip-of-the-spear sonic trailblazing, as Country’s resident good-life philosopher. For more information, visit ThomasRhett.com.

Three is the magic number for The Cactus Channel. The ever-evolving Melbourne collective’s third album Stay A While represents a new consciousness and a decisive turning point. Unloosed from their earlier incarnation as an instrumental soul and funk band into something wilder, a little darker and heavier, the new album sees The Cactus Channel diving in deep to dreamlike soundtracks, electrifying wig-outs and woozy meditations. 

The new embodiment of The Cactus Channel flexes their classic soul and funk influences whilst expanding their own songwriting along psychedelic paths, adding weight and substance to their melodic and rhythmic axis. There were signifiers along the road; a boundary-splintering EP with Ball Park Music singer Sam Cromack last year, following a 7” single collab with Nick Murphy, released as The Cactus Channel feat. Chet Faker. These outings were a glimpse of the alchemy of adding vocals to the band’s typically intuitive, instrumental arrangements. And now with the band’s own Lewis Coleman stepping up to the mic, a vocal dimension has become part of The Cactus Channel’s fully formed, signature sound.

Looking back to when The Cactus Channel formed in high school, united by shared interests and a shared sense of humour, they were always set to walk this new path. A love of soul music and the kind of hip hop, jazz, and alternative releases that spring from it, meant that from the beginning The Cactus Channel have prided themselves not just on eclecticism, but on the constant sharing of influences among their members; exploring new influences and sonic territories.

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