The Tullamarines: Support Act Review

We’re back at The Brightside to catch Flipturn who are here from Jacksonville, Florida on their first Australian tour! Welcoming Flipturn to Australia and the crowd to the evening ahead is Adelaide band, The Tullamarines! I’m not going in blind, having enjoyed the latter half of their set at the recent Rolling Sets festival. Tonight, I’m hyped up to see them in a more intimate environment as I press up against the stage to hear their fun indie rock music for the second time this week!

This is what happened at The Tullamarines’ set at The Brightside on December 3^rd, 2025.

THE TULLAMARINES

Bandmates Josh, Angus, Benny and Lucinda took their places on stage to open with the high energy and upbeat indie song Idiot. If you loved Operator Please or the original songs from The Jungle Giants, you can expect to enjoy the bright and bubbly band from down south. It’s very danceable and great for releasing inhibitions and bopping to the beat, singing along to the ba-ba-bas in the chorus. Benny’s vocals are classically indie, and then the serene Lucinda kicks off I’m So, with a comforting voice that contrasts very sweetly with her bandmates.

The band seems so familial on-stage, each member’s enthusiasm magnifying the next person’s tenfold as they feed into each other’s energies and allowing each other’s individual strengths to shine. They’re all talented musicians, vocally and with their instruments, as well as brilliant writers. The Tullamarines later speak about being a band that found success on the precipice, and their anxious and curious lyrics reflect this, while also offering a space to be mindful of those thinking traps and let loose instead of continuing to stress for a moment.

Lying focuses on the strengths to draw upon in those thinking traps, becoming an anthem of sorts for the type of aggressive self-love we sometimes need in order to make it through a moment of self-doubt. Its beachy tune drops off into the nervous, yet wistful, Do You Like Me Now. Here, Lucinda’s vocals take the lead, and the band demonstrates a mindfulness for developing to an emotional crux in their music, which is one of my favourite things a song can do! It becomes this crashing wave of steady drums and crispy guitar.

A cover medley of the band’s favourite songs showcases their indie idols, including a great Empire of the Sun sing-along moment and an exciting transition to Let’s Dance To The Joy Division. As we start to draw to a close, Benny begins to amp up the energy with some crowd participation. Learning the tune of Head Roll Back was a sweet moment, as the audience all united to share that emotional refrain and demonstrate the power of music in bringing people together to create something beautiful.

We continued the sing-along with OMG, the crowd giving it their all, blissfully unaware that the set would almost be at an end. The Tullamarines were so fun that I was hoping for more, but all good things must come to an end, and sadly it was now time to bid the band goodnight as they made way for the main act and joined us in the crowd. They ended with their breakthrough song Running On Empty, which was relatable and liberating.

I know I’ll be running back to The Tullamarines on their next Australia tour! If you have a chance to catch them with Flipturn or at this weekend’s Rolling Sets festival, definitely do so! They’re not only adorably endearing, but also have a great catalogue of music that will make you feel seen and heard, while the band literally hears you call back the chorus with glee! With music to soothe the anxious soul and elevate the spirits, it’s hard not to fall in love instantly with The Tullamarine!

Fave song: Head Roll Back