It’s AusMusic T-Shirt Day on November 30 and to kick it off Yelo Mag has hand-picked some Australian merch that’s hotter than the outback summer.
A bit like the wine drinkers who buy their bottles based off a label we have selected these potential Christmas stuffers based on their aesthetics alone.
And the takeaway from looking at so much music merch is that the 90s is back baby, with Mambo-esque designs, bubblegum pink and fluros on tap.
There’s beer coolers, tea towels, totes, lighters, mugs, and even a rolling tray for your fave new medical cannabis strain.
AusMusic T-Shirt Day forms part of AusMusic Month which celebrates Australian music, while raising money for Support Act which helps musicians, managers, crew, and music workers in crisis.
Check out some of the merch for AusMusic T-shirt day or visit ausmusictshirtday.org.au.
Who will you wear on AusMusic T-Shirt Day, November 30?
I’ll be over here sporting my The Whitlams tee, which I love because it’s a classic Sydney streetscape featuring the famous Sandringham Hotel but in Queensland maroon, and a YELO trucker cap because it’s big enough for my massive head (YOLO!).
Best merch in Australia right now:
Gold Coast indie-folk band Hollow Coves have some seriously sweet-flowing tunes and this tee is the perfect accompaniment to the group’s haunting melodic sounds.
There’s a couple of tigers walking on the water at sunset with one tiger dude holding a beer, the other a guitar, and a few seagulls are flying overhead.
I feel relaxed just looking at it. Bed-time tee?
The only trucker hat I’d swap my YELO for is this $35 one by our drumming covergal Georgia Claire Flipo, AKA G Flip.
With second album, “Drummer”, out now the Melbourne stick sensation has released a range of paraphernalia, including the “I love drummers” range.
It’s yellow, it’s fluro and has all the hallmarks of a retro 80s band, only it’s merch for Melbourne punk rock band, Amyl and the Sniffers.
Amyl’s self-titled album won the 2019 ARIA for Best Rock Album, and this year they toured with The Smashing Pumpkins and Jane’s Addiction.
Their tee is $40 and features a bunch of pigs getting happy in some mud.
This Screamfeeder T-shirt is iconic and smacks of the 90s Brisbane music scene, where the indi-pop band was born 30 something years ago.
It’s black, there’s a tiger, and it says “Since 1991”.
Roar.
The Dune Rats lads behind songs “Too Tough Terry” and “Scott Green”, have tongue-in-cheek merch, too.
The Brisbane boys declared their love for cannabis with a $7 rolling tray. We salute!
It’s gritty, the floors are sticky, and the walls are lined with punk rock posters and neon lights. Vinnie’s Dive Bar is a super rad dive bar on the Gold Coast.
The artwork on their in-house promo merch perfectly sums up the developing inner-city traps, with an out of order tram brandishing shark teeth, bursting its way through the concrete jungle.
I dunno why, I just really dig this tee.
Rufus Du Sol always has beautiful merch, but there’s something about this neutral, earthy colour complete with a few simple daisies that makes it a bit spesh.
If it’s cold where you live, get warm and support a top Aussie music act such as Rufus Du Sol.
Peace Run Records, run by Sunshine Coast artist Andrea Kirwin, set up shop in Nambour in a bid to encourage more grassroots musicians to stay in the region.
I’d be staying around too with cool merch like that in the hood.
He’s an Aussie expat living in Los Angeles, but Ben Lee has been doing a bit more touring of Australia lately, and is heading to Woodford Folk Festival in December.
His $5 DJ DadBod tea towel is an affordable Christmas gift for a music mash-up fan.
She’s quintessentially Melbourne punk, and usually comes with coloured hair, an uber-short fringe, and a few wild piercings and tattoos galore.
Yet her music style is way more Norah Jones, albeit with a psychedelic twist.
The sweet nature of Naomi Saalfield, or Nai Palm in popular culture, has been immortalised in a self-portrait tee, which is reminiscent of the great Mexican painter, Frida Kahlo.
We think she’s pretty great, too.
Up and coming prog-metal band Gudgeon, who hail from the Sunny Coast, unleashed a memorable round of merch this year sporting their signature portrait of a freshwater gudgeon fish.
Their “full proper arthouse shit” range of tees is available at upcoming gigs or visit their social media for more.
You’d be the most stylish person at Woolies with this bad boy King Stingray $40 camel tote.
The boys, who recently headlined Airlie Beach Festival, are enjoying high rotation yet again with the release of new single, “Looking’ Out”.
This epic Australian outfit can also be blamed for the 90s resurrection, with two members closely linked to legendary band, Yothu Yindi.
But don’t worry, they have kept us plebs in mind with a $15 stubby cooler which is sure to be a hit in dad’s santa sack.
Magic Dirt has re-rereleased a T-shirt made famous in the 90s, when this Geelong band was the bees knees.
If you didn’t manage to grab one 30 years ago, you can re-live your Magic Dirt youth by snapping up one of the coolest band tees yet.
Sydney singer-songwriter Alex Cameron has a creative range of wares, including this yin yang tee for $30.
It’s pink, it’s reminiscent of 90s surf apparel T&C and it’s just cool.
Sydney punk-rock band Frenzal Rhomb is best known for hit song, “Never Had So Much Fun,” and I think their merch is pretty fun too.
They have an old-school style mug for $20 or why not just go all out on an $80 Ramones skate deck?
With their 10th album, “The Cup of Pestilence”, released this year the band released a swag of new gear too.
Was Johnny really that bad, though?
You can snap up a whole album for $10, but it comes in the way of a pink cassette for one of Byron Bay’s biggest exports, Tones and I.
Or if a humble lighter is what you need to fire up the billy this summer, why not support the young kid from Redfern, Aussie rapper Kid Laroi?
The Kid released his “The First Time” album this year.
A look at Australian music’s biggest moments on Apple Music and Shazam:
Australian music has hit major milestones on Apple Music and Shazam. In celebration of AusMusic Month, here are the biggest artists, songs and albums of all time:
- Most-streamed Australian album of all time: F*CK LOVE (SAVAGE) by The Kid LAROI.
- Most entries on the Global Daily Top 100: The Kid LAROI with 19 songs. “STAY,” his team-up with Justin Bieber, had the most days in the No. 1 spot, with 63 days.
- Most-streamed Australian song of all time: “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I.
- Most-streamed Australian artist of all time: Sia.
- Most-Shazammed songs across all genres of all time: “Dance Monkey” by Tones and I (No. 1) and “Somebody That I Used to Know (feat. Kimbra” by Gotye (No. 2).
- Biggest Australian rock artist of all time: AC/DC.
- No. 1 Australian hip-hop artist of all time: Iggy Azalea.
- Biggest Australian alternative artists of all time: Tame Impala, ranked among the top 20 artists of all time on Apple Music by alternative streams.
Additionally, Australia is home to two of the biggest electronic artists of all time on Apple Music worldwide: Flume and Rufus Du Sol.
Both rank in the top five artists of the past year in electronic streams, and among the top 10 of all time.
Amy Shark, Budjerah and Jimmy Barnes are this year’s AusMusic ambassadors, and you can take part in the day by wearing your fave Aussie music T-shirt, setting up a team to fundraise, or by making a donation.
Apple stores have been playing Australian music in-store to celebrate the month.
Apple’s Rachel Newman said the global company helped artists at every level to “contextualise their music”, “share stories that educate and inspire”, and “build a deeper and more meaningful connection with fans”.
What do you think?
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