A Night at the Parklands: Lime Cordiale & Jack River Concert Review

It’s Riverfire! Rather than head to Southbank and fight for a clear view of the fireworks or pay hundreds of dollars for a fancy rooftop cocktail party, I’m heading to Roma St Parklands for their A Night at the Parklands series. It kicked off last night with Icehouse, but I’m choosing to revisit Lime Cordiale, who are joined by Jack River as the opening act.

It’s been almost a year since our first post on The LayMusic, which was from Lime Cordiale’s Riverstage show. I have to say, Roma St amphitheatre is an underrated music venue, matching the beauty of the outdoor Riverstage with a slightly more comfortable audience layout. The stage looks excellent, framed my illuminated trees, and the skyline surrounding us lets us sneak glimpses of the fireworks while the live recording is aired in front of us! But now, it’s time to get into the best part of the night: the music!

This is what happened at A Night at the Parklands’ Lime Cordiale and Jack River show on September 6, 2025.

JACK RIVER

The stage began to glow vividly as the fireworks flickered out. Illuminating the front-centre of the stage in a shimmery yellow suit was Jack River, jumping right into a set list of the hits with Dark Star which is instantly set off the party, followed by the moody and free Palo Alto. Jack River’s music is ethereal. It’s dreamy pop, which could fit so seamlessly into the soundtrack of anyone’s life, playing over the moment where we finally hit the highway after getting our licence or look back dramatically on that person we’ve finally been honest and vulnerable with after waiting too long. Best of all, it makes you want to sway and dance, infectious in your body.

One of my favourite things about Jack River is her advocacy – her music is bold in its themes, whether it’s addressing the personal struggles we have with relationships and loss and adolescence, or directing the crowd’s attention to an issue in the world. The singer-songwriter is a proud advocate for social justice and positive change, especially by uplifting inspired young people. She sees the negativity but turns to uniting and powerful anthems of change. This is best exemplified in We Are The Youth, with its powerful couplet, “I’m tired, I’m tired of silence/I’m sick, I’m sick of violence”.

Lightening up the audience, River led the audience in a cover of Tal Bachman’s She’s So High, demonstrating how powerful music is in bringing people together. The crowd sounded beautiful and even River became lost in the moment as we sang along as one. She concluded her set with Fool’s Gold, a very cool and uplifting song. We could have enjoyed her music for even longer and I hope it won’t be long before we get another Jack River show (or tour!) in sunny Queensland!

Fave song: We Are The Youth

LIME CORDIALE

It wasn’t much longer until the entire audience got to their feet to see the Leimbach brothers take to the stage with their band, Luke Didio (drums), Alex Weybury (keyboard), Jack Howe (guitar)… the legendary Jacko was dutifully prepping the band’s instruments backstage as well!

The band kicked off with Temper Temper, which was the first of a series of sing-alongs. The whole concert had the crowd singing back enthusiastically while the guys on stage gave an incredibly slick performance with all their usual charm and humour (minus the famous boxing match, unfortunately). Country Club went off with a bang, highlighting how much the crowd connects with the wry sense of humours the brothers imbue in their music and lyrics.

As well as comedy, the band has a penchant for drama. The live intro to Love Is Off The Table is cinematic, and one of the many great moments where the multi-instrumentalists add another layer with their use of jazz styling on the horns. This retro flair continues in their beloved cover of the Divinyls’ I Touch Myself, with music (and some fun visuals) that had everyone singing along in their loudest, sexiest voices.

A couple of the band’s lighter tracks were next. The romantic Colin, followed by the cheery Addicted to the Sunshine. But it wasn’t too long before we were back into their moodier songs, the darker Risky Love and one of their coolest numbers, Money which had another incredible instrumental intro. I was shocked and so grateful that it was followed by Hanging Upside Down, which the Leimbach brothers acknowledged they rarely played at shows.

Our end time was drawing near, with only a couple of bangers to smash out before the event curfew of 9.30PM (early, I know!). It’s not a Lime Cordiale without a bit of action on the kazoo, which we could not be deprived of tonight, as Louis pulled it out for his iconic solo in No Plans To Make Plans. The crowd panicked as Robbery came to an end and the band waved us all goodbye. Surely that wasn’t it?! How could the hour have gone by so quickly?!

And then, in the darkness our pleas for “ONE MORE SONG!!!” were granted as the brothers alone returned to the stage with their guitars. They led a beautiful acoustic rendition of Waking Up Easy which must have echoed off the skyscrapers around us as loudly as the military planes doing flybys in the early evening of the festival night, so far did our voices carry upward! Ending with Inappropriate Behaviour, the band made their final farewell to the crowd and brought to end an immaculate evening in the parklands.

Fave song: Hanging Upside Down

SOUNDS GOOD?

We all love Lime Cordiale (how could you not?) but if you simply can’t get enough of their music to the point that you need more than even they’ve released, maybe these other bands with sate your craving too:

Ocean Alley – This surf rock band is as popular as the Limes. They’re another group that incorporates a retro aesthetic into their sound production and are hosting their own massive shows shortly as well!

Teenage Dads – If you love the on-stage antics of Lime Cordiale, you’ll also enjoy Teenage Dads, who put on a great show with similar retro sampling and a very charming stage presence.

The Rions – The Rions are a great indie rock band with a nostalgic, romantic quality to their music that evokes that same infectious desire to dance and sing along, especially to their memorable choruses.