With global tours, festival slots and millions of streams, these emerging SA musicians are proving what happens when talent meets the right support.
From hazy shoegaze to soul-baring folk to chaotic-good indie rock, some of South Australia’s most exciting artists are having a moment.
Behind the EP launches, festival sets and headline tours is one thing tying many of these breakouts together – the Robert Stigwood Fellowship.
Run by the SA Government’s Music Development Office, the program supports emerging musicians with funding and mentorship. The people it’s backing this year are making serious noise – and not just in SA.
We’re talking Ella Ion, whose poetic alt-folk is gaining international fans, and Sunsick Daisy, fresh off a shoegaze-drenched EP that caught the attention of Rolling Stone.
Plus Purée, Swapmeet and Divebar Youth, all stepping up with new music and growing momentum.
Here’s your guide to SA’s next wave – and the behind-the-scenes support helping them thrive.
Sunsick Daisy – shoegaze, hugs and heartbreak
Sunsick Daisy met at a Music SA Songwriting Workshop and quickly became one of Adelaide’s most buzzed-about bands – dreamy, melodic, and gloriously loud.
Their 2022 Unearthed High finalist nod set things in motion. Then their debut EP Breathe In… Breathe Out earned them airplay on Triple J and KEXP, and Yonder, released in June, has expanded their fanbase and festival reach.
The tracks swing from ambient haze to punchy guitar pop. Sarah Grainger’s vocals float above the mix; Kane Gabell’s guitars shimmer and slam.
But it’s the band’s emotional clarity that hits hardest. The closing track Yonder, Young Wonder explores letting go of nostalgia. Rolling Stone even spotlighted it with its “Song You Need to Know” feature, praising its hazy textures and reverb-heavy melodies.
“We just wanted everything to sparkle,” Kane says of the new EP. “I spent four to six hours rewriting 16 seconds of audio for one riff.”
They’ve supported Ball Park Music, The Lemonheads and Teenage Joans, and debuted at BIGSOUND this year.
“Adelaide is a hotspot for really good artists,” Sarah says. “The support network here is amazing. People always assume the talent comes from Sydney, but no — we have a lot of talent in Adelaide.”
The Robert Stigwood Fellowship helped them record and tour Yonder, including their national It’ll Be Alright tour earlier this year.
“It’s really expensive to tour and release music,” says Kane. “The fellowship gave us the opportunity to actually do what we wanted to do — and do it properly.”
Ella Ion – catharsis with a passport
Ella Ion has long been part of Adelaide’s music scene, winning hearts with her confessional folk-rock.
But in 2025, she’s stepped into a new phase – bigger crowds, international tours, and more people listening than ever before.
She’s released two double singles (MAP / Creature Skin and Mess In Your Eyes / Vultures), toured the UK and Europe three times, and launched her first national headline tour.
She’s played BIGSOUND, The Great Escape in the UK, and Green Man Festival in Wales.
But until recently, most of her gigs were to friends and fellow musos.
She describes the Adelaide music scene as her social life, artistic ecosystem and core support network.
“I’ve been so reliant on my community to keep going,” Ella says. “It’s a privilege to now connect with strangers and bring something meaningful to them as well … to share parts of my soul they wouldn’t otherwise know.”
Her influences span Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell and Portishead, and her songs often begin as bus-ride poetry.
“I just have really deep thoughts when I’m on the bus,” she says. “So I’ll just write free-form, or poetry, and then later I’ll mush it together with something I’ve been playing.”
The track Creature Skin emerged as a cathartic moment. “The big guitars just fit so perfectly,” she says. Map was mostly improvised – and in hindsight, deeply truthful. “I’d said exactly what I needed to say without even knowing it at the time.”
The Robert Stigwood Fellowship gave Ella the push – and resources – to do more.
“I wouldn’t have been able to do even a slice of what I’m doing this year without that fellowship,” she says. “They clearly read my application and thought, ‘This person is driven, and if we give them funding, they’re going to do it.’ And I am.”
Now back home, she’s been recording more new music with producer Stefan Blair – and plans to release it this year.
She’s still writing from the heart – but now the world is listening.
Purée – earnest indie-rock with heart and humour
Adelaide four-piece Purée are known for their jangly riffs, shout-it-out choruses and infectious stage energy. Their live shows don’t just hit hard – they leave you grinning, alive to the humour and heart behind the noise.
They kicked off June with a new single, Inspired To Do Nothing, which continues their winning formula of emotive storytelling and upbeat energy.
It follows earlier singles Oh Boy and I Guess You Were Right, which earned them comparisons to Spacey Jane and Gang of Youths — plus a shout-out as “a band that have something special” from Happy Mag.
With help from the Robert Stigwood Fellowship, Purée are honing their sound, gearing up for more releases and bringing their dynamic, feel-good live energy to even wider audiences.
Swapmeet – experimental indie with chaotic charm
Formerly known as Soursob, Adelaide’s Swapmeet blend genre-fluid indie rock with a punk spirit, forging dynamic, emotionally charged soundscapes.
Their 2024 debut EP Oxalis traces grief, hope and messy in-between moments across dreamy guitars and unpredictable arrangements.
Swapmeet topped the 2024 SA Music Awards nominations – and walked away with wins for Best Song (Ceiling Fan) and Best Release (Oxalis).
Meanwhile, their joyfully messy and energetic live shows have only added to their growing local legend.
The Stigwood Fellowship is helping them take that chaotic energy beyond Adelaide.
DIVEBAR YOUTH – late-night alt-pop with bite
DIVEBAR YOUTH is the shape-shifting solo project of Adelaide’s Vinnie Barbaro.
His 2025 EP Late Fee is the latest in a stack of genre-blurring releases, continuing his streak of alt-pop laced with grit and vulnerability.
With millions of streams and high-profile co-signs from The Jungle Giants and The Cure’s Robert Smith, he’s played Laneway, BIGSOUND, SXSW Sydney and Germany’s Reeperbahn Festival.
The Stigwood Fellowship is backing his next leap – helping him build on a packed touring schedule and refine one of the most unpredictable, compelling sounds coming out of South Australia right now.
What the right support can do
Behind every polished release or overseas tour is the same truth: it takes time, money and the right people in your corner. That’s where the Robert Stigwood Fellowship comes in.
Run by the SA Government’s Music Development Office, the program gives selected artists up to $25,000 and tailored mentorship with Dan Crannitch and Stu MacQueen of Wonderlick Entertainment (home to Amy Shark, DMA’S and The Paper Kites).
It’s designed to help SA artists step beyond local acclaim and build national – or international – momentum.
“The industry is always evolving, but the one constant is great artists,” Dan says. “The fellowship supports them by filling gaps in their team, helping them make strategic decisions, and raising their profile beyond South Australia.”
For 2025 fellows like Ella Ion, Sunsick Daisy, Purée, Divebar Youth and Swapmeet, the fellowship has helped make ambitious moves possible – whether that’s recording an album, planning a tour, or releasing their most polished work yet.
And for 2024 fellows, like Jazz-dance beats-master Alexander Flood, the impact is even clearer.
“I work my ass off and have the drive and motivation,” he says. “But the mentoring and financial contribution [of the fellowship] made things smoother, allowed me to dive a little deeper, and kept my career momentum moving forward.”
Flood has since toured Europe, released his fifth album, Artifactual Rhythm, through a UK label, and continued collaborating globally. For artists at a turning point, the support can be game-changing.
With alumni like Tkay Maidza, Electric Fields, Bad//Dreems, Teenage Joans and The Empty Threats, the Stigwood Fellowship is proving what can happen when South Australia backs its own – and this year’s cohort is just getting started.
For more information and how to apply for the Robert Stigwood Fellowship Program, click here.
