OCEAN ALLEY – CATANI GARDENS – MELBOURNE

OCEAN ALLEY – CATANI GARDENS – MELBOURNE – 24.01.2026
Review: Craig Eriksson. Photos: Jason Rosewarne

It was an absolute scorcher in Melbourne on Saturday, reaching a top temperature of 43 degrees celsius during the show but that didn’t stop 9,500 fans enjoying Ocean Alley at Catani Gardens in St Kilda.

RUBY FIELDS – Australian indie-rock singer-songwriter Ruby Fields opened this mini festival. It was far too hot for Ruby to be skipping around the stage as she did the last time I saw her perform. Ruby and the band battled the heat and delivered a nicely balanced set of indie-rock songs and ballads including SONG ABOUT A BOY, MOSQUITOS and 92 PUREBRED. Ruby had a beautiful down-to-earth connection with the crowd and there is an authenticity with her music that fans resonate with. During the set Ruby talked about the loss of a close friend and dedicated the deeply emotional song TACKLEBOX to Connor Egan. Fans sang along to her big hits DINOSAUR and P PLATES.

Throughout the day they broadcast the Triple J Hottest 100 countdown with Ocean Alley having four songs in the Top 100 including Love Balloon (#17), First Blush (#43), Drenched (#44) and Left Of The Dealer (#87). It was a bit of fun for fans guessing who was going to be #1 and talking about each song as it made the Top 100. The crowd was all ages and featured an Under 18 section. Thankfully, there were just enough palm trees in the beautiful Catani Gardens to get some relief from the sun and stand in the shade.

RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE (RKS) are an American indie rock band from Boone, North Carolina who formed in 2013. In 2022, their lead singer Ela Melo came out as transgender and she/her possesses some very unique and wonderful vocal tones. Melo dressed in a silver glitter mini dress was playful and danced, bounced and twirled around the stage looking like she/her was having an absolute blast, engaging with the band and the crowd making their set a lively, fun show. The RKS songs have a diverse crossover between masculine and feminine vocals, which makes their music unique and I really enjoyed them. They played a 9-song set including HIDE, DANG, COCAINE JESUS, DEVIL LIKE ME, GOODNIGHT CHICAGO, ESPIONAGE, TROPICS, RUN and IT’S CALLED: FREEFALL.

NOTHING BUT THIEVES (NBT) are an English rock band from Southend-on-Sea, Essex who formed in 2012. Before this show, a few of my friends had told me that NBT are an incredible live band to see and they were spot on. NBT’s lead singer Conor Mason has a soaring, emotive falsetto vocal range and is mesmerising to listen to and watch. NBT’s music is a mix of hard-hitting ‘ballsy’ rock and melodic pop combining heavy, rhythmic guitar riffs. With Mason’s extraordinary vocals and the band’s energy, their music is reminiscent of bands like Muse, QOTSA and Royal Blood. As the temperature slightly cooled down to the high 30s, it was amazing to see the crowd jumping up and down and getting right into the music. Mason said they had only arrived in Australia the night before to this heatwave and then announced how much they loved Australia. They played a 10-song set and seemed to have a few technical issues with the sound during the first couple of songs, WELCOME TO THE DCC and FUTUREPROOF. Thankfully this was sorted out and they kicked on playing a ripper short set including the high-energy rock anthem IS EVERYBODY GOING CRAZY? which is best described as T-Rex meets QOTSA. An absolute banger! What stood out to me was the diversity in their music. This is an incredible band and I got completely lost in their music hearing songs like TOMORROW IS CLOSED, IF I GET HIGH and CITY HAUNTS. Standout songs were SORRY, IMPOSSIBLE and AMSTERDAM. They finished with OVERCOME and fans wanted more. Such a shame for NBT to come all this way to only sing 10-songs.

As we waited for Ocean Alley, the Triple J Hottest 100 reached its Top 5 with fans all wondering who was going to be #1. Ironically, I first discovered Ocean Alley in 2017 listening to Triple J Hottest 100 hearing The Comedown which came in at #48. Then in 2018 they had 4 songs in the Top 100 with Happy Sad, Baby Come Back, Knees and their song Confidence won coming in at #1. I was also fortunate enough to see Ocean Alley last year at the Byron Bluesfest and they were incredible.

OCEAN ALLEY are a six-piece Australian indie psych-surf-rock band from the Northern Beaches of Sydney, NSW who formed in 2011. A large white sheet that hid the stage dropped in dramatic fashion as Ocean Alley emerged and started playing TANGERINE. The stage backdrop consisted of large white drapes and cinematic screens on each side of the stage that displayed some excellent video mixing. The band all look like surfies and their musicianship is truly wonderful. Their music has a real sun-drenched summer vibe, blending reggae with soulful funk, psychedelic and vintage blues alt rock.

Lead singer Baden Donegal is one very cool looking and sounding cat with his dreadlocks and swagger and his soulful, rich vocals almost place you into a trance. Their music is so laidback, dreamy and heavily influenced by their local surf culture. They played all 10-songs from their latest release Love Balloon (2025) with the soulful AIN’T NO USE, the alt country-influenced DOWN THE LINE and THRU EVERYTHING being the first time they played these songs live. LIFE IN LOVE is a feel-good song that had the crowd singing and dancing along. The jangly melodies in SWEET BOY with its island vibes and radiant riffs was a ripper. LEFT OF THE DEALER has a bit of a Creedence Clearwater vibe.

They played three songs from Chiaroscuro (2018), which are standout songs on the album and in this set. The soulful HAPPY SAD had the crowd all singing along in perfect harmony which sounded beautiful (a goosebumps moment). One of their most popular songs CONFIDENCE had the crowd in the palm of their hands with its whomping bass lines and funky grooves. Donegal’s vocals are superb on this one too. KNEES is a fave of mine and I think the crowd almost sang this song louder than Donegal (almost!). The song lyrics about being ‘on one’s knees’ serves as a physical metaphor for feeling overwhelmed or humbled by circumstances.

The set covered a lovely range of songs from their 5 albums including two songs from Lonely Diamond (2020) with TOMBSTONE and HOT CHICKEN (we all felt like hot chickens battling this heat). TOUCH BACK DOWN from Low Altitude Living (2022). They performed two songs from Lost Tropics (2016) with LEMONWORLD and PARTNER IN CRIME, which featured a wonderful saxophone solo.

The stage lighting during YELLOW MELLOW was magnificent, aided by the cool visuals coming off the screens beside them. Special shoutout to their sound crew and roadies, as the whole production was outstanding. The yacht rock cover of the 1977 song by American soft rock band Player BABY COME BACK was stellar.

They played a 3-song encore, all from Love Balloon (2025) featuring FIRST BLUSH, the sun-soaked indie-rock anthem, and LOVE BALLOON with its disco-inspired guitar riffs, funky rhythm section and Lach Galbraith’s shimmering keys. A fitting end to an incredible evening was the chilled, soulful and psychedelic DRENCHED telling us to soak it up. Ironically, I think I speak on behalf of everyone in attendance that we all well and truly soaked up the music along with the scorching heat, leaving us all sun-drenched from sweat. It was an amazing, memorable evening and well worth battling the extreme heat to experience it.

SET LIST:
TANGERINE
TOUCH BACK DOWN
LIFE IN LOVE
TOMBSTONE
AIN’T NO USE (live debut)
SWEET BOY
YELLOW MELLOW
DOWN THE LINE (live debut)
PARTNER IN CRIME
THRU EVERYTHING (live debut)
LEMONWORLD
LEFT OF THE DEALER
HAPPY SAD
HOT CHICKEN
CONFIDENCE
BABY COME BACK (Player cover)
KNEES