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Dec 1 2023

Brad Cox with Special Guests

Australia's beloved artist and songwriter, Brad Cox, is thrilled to announce his upcoming regional Australia tour, including first-ever shows in New Zealand and Darwin. Following the success of his latest album, 'ACRES', Brad Cox is set to enthrall fans with this grand tour across regional Australia and New Zealand.Brad Cox is catapulting from the soaring success of last month's sold-out ‘Acres’ metro tour, directly into the heart of regional Australia. Leaving an indelible mark on renowned stages across the nation, Brad and his band transformed iconic venues into arenas of unity and musical camaraderie. The band held sway over packed houses at illustrious venues such as The Tivoli, Anita's Theatre, and Northcote Theatre, with the crowd singing along word for word, arm in arm, marking a resounding testament to Brad's powerful connection with his fans.The announcement of the ‘Acres Regional Tour’ also sees the return of Brad's much-talked-about solo show, ‘Yarns and Yodels’. These acoustic and intimate shows will take place across regional Victoria and will see Brad performing fan favourites, new and old, and of course, having a yarn.In a statement Brad said “The ‘Acres’ Album Tour was such a success and everyone was sad to see the end of it. So we have decided to take it to the regions, and for the first time, New Zealand. Darwin friends, you have been screaming at me for years and we’ve finally got it done. All I can say is the Barra better be on the bite. Plus we have a couple of solo theatre shows to kick it off. What a mixed bag.”Celebrated for his authenticity, genuine spirit, and down-to-earth persona, Brad Cox has made a substantial impact with his recent 17-track tour-de-force, 'ACRES'. The album scaled the heights of success, securing #1 on the ARIA Country Charts and #7 on the ARIA Album Chart, illuminating a high watermark in Cox's career. 'ACRES' stands as a resounding showcase of an artist who can veer thematically from an earthy brand of country pop, to heartfelt piano-led ballads, to anthemic party songs. One of the standout tracks from the album, "Now She Ain’t," is currently the most played track on Triple M Country, stamping its mark on the country music landscape. Moreover, the single "Last Time Last" has recently earned additions to HIT, NOVA, and ARN Regional Network, amplifying the mainstream buzz surrounding ‘Acres’.Brad Cox's music has reached audiences far and wide, amassing over 17.5 million streams in the last 12 months alone and is a clear testament to his vast appeal and popularity, setting the stage for an exceptional regional Australia tour.Embedded within Brad's success is his fan club, the Drinking Pioneers. This devoted community, united by their mutual love for Brad's music, stands as a testament to the camaraderie that his work inspires. This tour is not just about relishing Brad and the boys' dynamic performances, it's also about becoming part of a wider community, a family that celebrates life, land, and the power of music.For more information on Brad Cox, his new album 'ACRES', and upcoming tour dates, visit www.iambradcox.com

19:00 - 23:30
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Dec 5 2023

Between Imagination and Constraint: Identity and persona as play elements in democracy

5 December 20237:00 PM – 8:00 PM (AEDT) 9:00 AM – 10:00 AM (CET)8:00 AM – 9:00 AM (GMT)AbstractPretending in politics is viewed with suspicion. But in our paper, we want to identify and articulate the positive contributions of pretending and pretence in democratic life. Taking inspiration from Richard Sennett's observation that the presentation of a mask can enable the exercise of 'creative powers... the powers of play', we develop several ways in which such 'powers of play' can contribute to, and be supported by, democratic practices. We will discuss the importance of maintaining a distance from the self for reasons of protection; pretending for the purposes of emphasising differences of opinion (devil’s advocate, role-playing in deliberation); as a way of adopting another's perspective; and as a way of enhancing or diminishing the adversarial dimensions of political interaction; and more. We aim thereby to develop an account of good democratic performance, including performance that appears to be bad but might in fact be good, and to distinguish it from the un-and-anti democratic uses of persona and performance that motivate the widespread suspicion with which we began.This seminar will be chaired by Simon Niemeyer.About the authorsAlfred Moore is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Politics at the University of York. He is the author of ‘Critical Elitism: Deliberation, Democracy, and the Politics of Expertise’ (2017, Cambridge University Press), and has written widely on the politics of expertise. His work engages a wide range of themes in contemporary democratic theory, including anonymity and deliberation, and democratic non-participation. In 2020 and 2021, he held a British Academy Mid-Career Fellowship for the project ‘Rethinking Political Competition,’ and he is currently researching the role of ideas of competition in democratic theory and practice.Michael Mackenzie is Jarislowsky Chair in Trust and Political Leadership at Vancouver Island University. He was previously Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh and has researched and written widely on democratic theory and practice. His recent publications include ‘Future Publics: Democracy, Deliberation, and Future-Regarding Collective Action’ (2021, Oxford University Press), and ‘Democracy and the Future: Future-Regarding Governance in Democratic Systems,’ edited with M. Setälä and S. Kyllönen (2023, Edinburgh University Press).

19:00 - 20:00
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Jan 16 2024

The Acacia Strain (USA) @ UC Hub

East Coast metalcore ensemble The Acacia Strain utilize a bone-crushing rhythm section, apocalyptic samples, and a unique triple-guitar assault to deliver their signature blend of hardcore, noise, and death and doom metal. Emerging in the early 2000s, the band found success in 2008 with their fourth full-length effort, Continent, which soared to the top of Billboard's U.S. Heatseekers chart. Subsequent efforts like Death Is the Only Mortal (2012), Coma Witch (2014), and the horror-themed semi-concept LP It Comes in Waves (2019) continued to snap necks in the metal community with brutal efficacy. The Acacia Strain signed to Rise Records in 2012, releasing Death Is the Only Mortal by year's end. Longtime member Laskiewitz left the band in 2013, and was replaced by Devin Shidaker and Rich Gomez, both of whom contributed guitar to The Acacia Strain's seventh full-length album, 2014's Coma Witch. In early 2017, the group issued "Bitter Pill," the first single from their eighth studio long-player, Gravebloom, which arrived later that June. In late 2019, the band released It Comes in Waves, a doomy, taut, and atmospheric seven-song set with single-word song titles that, when put together, construct the sentence "Our only sin was giving them names." The following year saw The Acacia Strain issue a series of pummeling 7" releases (A, C, E, D, Y) that went on to form (and spell) the full-length Slow Decay, which arrived that summer.

19:00 - 23:00

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