Back in November it was announced Sydney prog-metal band Battlesnake, sludge-grunge band Astrodeath, punks Scabz and Newcastle's heavy metal act PurEnvy would perform at the Lower Belford festival.

Joining the four bands on the complete line-up will be Sydney's hard-rockers C.O.F.F.I.N, who released their second album Children Of Finland Fighting in Norway in September and have previously supported the likes of Amyl & The Sniffers in Newcastle.

Other acts cranking up the amps at Thrashville will be Wollongong math rockers Basil's Kite and garage punks Hoon, thrash metal band Dark Order, Singleton's No Quarter and Hunter locals Boudicca, Chop, Whatever and Zombonimo.

Thrashville held its first edition of metal, punk and hard rock in 2017 and 2018, headlined by The Cosmic Psychos and Frenzal Rhomb respectively. The 2019 edition was cancelled due to a high bushfire risk on the then drought-affected Lower Belford bush property and COVID-19 led to the postponement of the 2020 event.

This year's Thrashville will be forced to follow COVID-safe regulations of a reduced capacity and a designated seating area, but Dashville chief Matt Johnston is confident the heavy metal community will support the festival.

"Dashville has been hosting events since August last year and it's amazing how people are willing to work within the boundaries and adapt in order to get along and enjoy themselves," Johnston said.

FORMER Silverchair drummer Ben Gillies will keep the momentum going on his solo career when he releases his third single Yesteryear on January 29.

The track follows Breathe In, Breathe Out and One Foot In Front Of The Other which showcased Gillies' new-found chilled indie-pop sound.

On Wednesday night Gillies appeared on the Newcastle Art Gallery's Instagram channel for a Q&A session with photographer Maclay Heriot. If you missed it, it's definitely worth a look.

BACK in 2016 The Rock Show Oz Edition was preparing to arrive in the Hunter, before it was cancelled following the death of music legend Jon English.

Show co-producer Coralea Cameron said English was always a "the show must go on type of person," so naturally once COVID restrictions were eased, there was never any doubt the show would return.

The Rock Show Oz Edition is a celebration of some of the greatest Australian songs from the '60s, '70s and '80s, including tracks from The Masters Apprentices, Billy Thorpe, The Bee Gees, Little River Band, Skyhooks, Aussie Crawl, INXS, The Angels, Cold Chisel, Air Supply, Divinyls, Russell Morris, Stevie Wright, AC/DC, The Choirboys and Midnight Oil.

The show also features Steve Mulry, of the Ted Mulry Gang, along with members of English's Trilogy Of Rock show band.

The Rock Show Oz Edition comes to Lizotte's on January 30 and the Cessnock Performing Arts Centre on February 13.

DESPITE the disruption of COVID-19, 2020 proved a break-out year for Brisbane alt-pop singer-songwriter Hope D, real name Hope Defteros.

Her aptly-named sophomore single Second became a triple j hit and the follow-up tracks Common Denominator and Miscommunication continued the momentum for the artist who sounds like a cross between G Flip, Alex Lahey and Amy Shark.

Border closures meant Hope D focused on performing a series of sold-out shows in Brisbane late last year, but with interstate travel possible she's bringing her five-piece band south in March on the Cash Only Tour.

The tour includes a visit to the Hamilton Station Hotel on March 26.

MAITLAND electro-pop duo Kinder will be in esteemed company when they perform at Queenstown music festival Snow Machine in September.

The four-day festival will feature giants of Australia's EDM scene, such as The Avalanches, The Presets, Flight Facilities, Bliss N Eso, Hermitude, Illy, Hot Dub Time Machine and Sneaky Sound System, plus folk-rockers Boy & Bear.

Kinder, who feature sisters Savannah and Briony Osei, have enjoyed plenty of success since they released their single Come Along in November. The track has since attracted 456,000 streams on Spotify.

CLASSIC performers Brian Cadd and Russell Morris have added a second Lizotte's show to their upcoming joint tour. The duo's first show on March 17 is sold out, but tickets remain available for newly-announced March 16 gig.

Cadd and Morris are responsible for some of the most iconic Australian tracks of the past 50 years such as The Real Thing and Ginger Man.