Meg Washington: GEM

Nominated for the 2025 ARIA Award for Best Contemporary Album

Prepare for an electrifying musical experience as Meg Washington - four-time ARIA Award-winning singer-songwriter, masterful storyteller, and the voice of Calypso on Bluey - premieres her brand-new, genre-bending album GEM in a special Sydney performance this spring. Joined by a full band, this soulful performance will showcase the full breadth of Washington’s artistry.

GEM is Washington’s first album of original material in five years - an intimate, future-facing record created in collaboration with producer Ben Edgar and released independently via her own Batflowers Records. She’s called it GEM, her name in reverse, insisting on beauty even in the face of darkness. The album explores nature, creativity, and self-determination through shimmering, guitar-spangled arrangements and deeply personal lyricism.

This one-night-only Sydney performance will bring GEM to life alongside beloved fan favourites like How to Tame Lions, Skeleton Key and Lazarus Drug. Expect rich, cinematic arrangements and intimate, stripped-back moments woven throughout the set. Audiences will hear powerful renditions of the shimmering single Kidding, the soaring duet Fine (AACTA Award for Best Original Song), and the hypnotic Golden Orb Blues.

Whether you’re a lifelong fan or discovering Meg’s magic for the first time, GEM is a rare jewel - don’t miss your chance to see it shine live.

Joining Meg Washington is special guest Brendan Maclean

Brendan Maclean is an award winning singer-songwriter and beloved star of the stage and screen known for his lyrical wit, remarkable stage presence and power house vocals.

With nothing but a handful of demos to his name, Maclean was cast alongside Marcia Hines in the smash hit cabaret Velvet touring for three years locally and abroad. He then made his film debut as Klipspringer in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby and released his first single Stupid (8,000,000+ streams) quickly being snapped up as a songwriter by Universal Publishing. Maclean has since gone on to release five EP’s and two original ARIA charting albums.

More recently Brendan had a superstar run as the titular roles in Jekyll & Hyde The Musical and enjoyed a break-out part opposite Hugo Weaving as a prison-kitchen-hand in the feature film How To Make Gravy winning him his first AACTA award.

Brendan has collaborated with a myriad of impressive acts including Kate Miller-Heidke, Alan Cumming, Meg Washington, Paul Mac and Hot Dub Time Machine playing prestigious venues such as The Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, The Sidney Myer Music Bowl, The Hordern and taking his own works to New York’s Joe’s Pub and The Lincoln Centre.

Having presented at triple j for six years Maclean continues his work as an MC most notably for Australia’s most successful charity event The Silver Party. In 2025 he enjoyed a ten week run as the lead in Craig Ilot’s French cabaret L’hotel at Sydney’s newest venue The Foundry at The Lyric.