Despite the lockout laws, venue closures and the odds seemingly stacked up against Sydney musicians, there’s still plenty of gold coming from our city.

Here, we run through five upcoming Sydney bands who should be on your radar – all of whom have upcoming (and sometimes free) gigs coming up in the area. So if you’re a little tired of seeing DJs spin on a night out, see these bands live and in action soon! Get familiar with a few of our emerging faves below:

PLANET

These guys have been releasing tune after catchy tune for about a year now, with their recipe of hooky guitar jangles, vocal earworms and groovy rhythms making for some infectious listening. We caught their sold-out Sydney show in October, and witnessed more sing-a-longs with the crowd than when ‘Horses’ by Daryl Braithwaite comes on at 2:00am at the local pub. See Planet at The Bank in Newtown come November 14.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FA3k3OdvBM8

SLOAN PETERSON

If you haven’t already heard the sweet 50s inspired crooning of Sloan Peterson, then where the hell have you been? Take all the good stuff that your grandparents listened to, chuck in some sha-lah-lahs and gritty guitars, and you have Sloan’s debut Modern Love EP. It’s a shimmering, melancholy debut well worthy of some spins. Catch Sloan live at Beach Road Hotel in Bondi this Wednesday, November 8th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tndz9F2uecY

ADKOB

Having deservedly received a lot of attention for their debut A Different Kind Of Busy (actually took me a while to realise it stands for ADKOB, ya get it?) which featured the anthemic electro-ballad ‘Glue,’ ADKOB are back with a new single from their forthcoming EP. ‘Giraffe’ is a rhythm-driven groover built around sweeping vocal harmonies, and reminds us why they gained Triple J plays and huge tour supports over the last 12 months.

These guys and gal are a powerful live presence too, and a must see. Catch the ‘Giraffe’ single launch at Brighton Up Bar in Darlinghurst on November 11th.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SHsiYz2y1Tg

BETTY & OSWALD

Masters of tempo changes, 80s synths and swoony duets, Betty & Oswald will make you boogie like you don’t even know. The amount of fun they have on stage is contagious, which is why they’ve been attracting some big crowds (and some of Australia’s coolest haircuts) to their shows up and down the East Coast. Their latest single ‘Figure It Out’ encapsulates everything that is great about these guys, and will have you singing along in no time.

They’re performing live at The Lansdowne in Chippendale on November 15th.

SUNSCREEN

On the verge of releasing their debut EP, Sunscreen have been garnering a lot of attention around town, as well as landing some sweet supports including two of Sydney’s proudest exports, DMAs and The Jezabels, as well as a recent show with RVG. Their latest single ‘Tide’ is a dreamy, melancholy duet that is both melodically complex and smoother than a musical lake, and they are clearly intend to live up to the hype.

They’ll be helping FRITZ celebrate her 18th birthday with a gig at Softys in Newcastle on November 25.