Ball Park Music are a five-piece indie rock band from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.[1] The band consists of Sam Cromack (guitar, vocals), Jennifer Boyce (bass, backing vocals), Paul Furness (keyboard, trombone), Dean Hanson (guitar, backing vocals) and Daniel Hanson (guitar, drums).[2]
Ball Park Music | |
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![]() Ball Park Music on the Puddinghead Tour in 2014 | |
Background information | |
Origin | Brisbane, Queensland, Australia |
Genres |
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Years active | 2008–present |
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Members |
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Past members |
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Website | www![]() |
Their debut studio album Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs was released in 2011 and was nominated for Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards, peaking at number 36 on the ARIA Albums Chart. In 2012, the band released Museum,[3] followed by Puddinghead, their third studio album in 2014, which peaked at number two. It spawned the certified platinum single "She Only Loves Me When I'm There", becoming the band's first song to chart on the ARIA Singles chart.[4]
Ball Park Music was released as the band's sixth album in 2020, spawning the single "Cherub" which placed fourth on the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2020.[5] The album was nominated for multiple awards and won Album of the Year from the Queensland Music Awards.[6] Weirder & Weirder, the band's seventh and most recent album, was released in 2022, preceded by the single "Sunscreen" which placed number 21 on the Hottest 100 of 2021.[7]
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Ball Park Music was originally the name given to Sam Cromack's solo work. The band all met while they were studying music together at the Queensland University of Technology.
Ball Park Music independently released their debut EP Rolling on the Floor, Laughing Ourselves to Sleep in April 2009.[8] The EP was quickly championed by Triple J presenter Steph Hughes who gave an early version of "All I Want Is You" and "Black Skies" their first national airplay.[9] Richard Kingsmill said "Rufus Wainwright called. He wants his song back. So he should. This is a pretty good one" about their song "Black Skies" and gave it four out of five stars.
In 2010, Ball Park Music released their second EP Conquer the Town, Easy as Cake. The EP spawned their first Triple J hit in "iFly" which immediately was added to high rotation and gained a five star rating from Richard Kingsmill.[10] Another song, "Western Whirl", was nominated for both Best Alternative and The Courier-Mail People's Choice Awards at the 2010 Q Song Awards.[11][12]
In October 2010, the band embarked on their first Australian tour in October with Hungry Kids of Hungary and Big Scary[13] and released a brand new single "Sad Rude Future Dude"[14] which was placed on rotation by Triple J.
In November 2010, they were named as a Triple J New Crop artist – "one of the 20 best new bands in Australia" – and was also offered a slot at the Triple J Ausmusic Month Party in Brisbane where they collaborated with Custard's David McCormack on a cover of Custard's hit song "Apartment". Following this, the band was announced as the Queensland winner of a Triple J Unearthed competition and won the chance to play at Big Day Out 2011 on the Gold Coast. Additionally, the band played several festivals in summer of 2010/11 including Falls Festival, South Bound, Sunset Sounds and Good Vibrations.
In June 2011, Ball Park Music released "Rich People Are Stupid" which was put on high rotation on Triple J.[15] On 24 June 2011, Ball Park Music signed to Sydney label Stop Start Music[16] to release their debut album. "It's Nice to Be Alive" was released in July 2011 and was once again supported by Triple J.[17] The video for the song achieved a Channel [V] Ripe Clip of the Week, beating out competition from The Kooks' "Junk of the Heart" and Kanye West & Jay-Z's "Otis".[18] "It's Nice to Be Alive" was featured in the film Blended (2014)[19] and the fifth season of Gossip Girl.[20]
The band's debut studio album Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs was released in Australia and New Zealand on 9 September and debuted on the Australian ARIA Album Chart the following week at No. 36. Ball Park Music embarked on a four-date headline tour with Adelaide rock outfit City Riots on the How I Met Ball Park Music Tour which was followed by another headline tour to launch their debut album in October with Northeast Party House and The Jungle Giants. Immediately following that, they embarked as main support for Boy & Bear on their "Moonfire Tour".
In November, Ball Park Music were named the Unearthed Artist of the Year at Triple J's J Awards. They were also nominated for the 2011 J Award but were beaten by Gotye and his album Making Mirrors.
In December it was announced that Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs was voted No. 10 in Triple J's Top 10 Albums of 2014 and No. 2 in The AU Review's album poll.[21] The third single, "Literally Baby", was serviced to radio and TV, and it quickly achieved rotation on Nova Brisbane and Channel [V].[22] To finish off the year, the band played Peats Ridge Festival, Pyramid Rock and No Years on New Year's Eve in Brisbane.
Ball Park Music began 2012 by announcing The 180° Tour; "their most ambitious tour yet".[23] They were initially to play 14 dates with supports Nantes and Cub Scouts but added more shows in Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne due to popular demand.[24] The band was also added to the 2012 Groovin' the Moo line-up[25] as well as Splendour in the Grass.[26]
On 23 March 2012, Ball Park Music were invited to do Triple J's Like a Version, where they performed their single "All I Want Is You" followed by a cover of the Flaming Lips song "Do You Realize??".[27] This was also filmed for Triple J TV at the time.[28]
On 20 July 2012, it was announced that the band would release new music in the form of a single called "Surrender" leading into their set at Splendour in the Grass.[29] In a radio interview on Triple J with Zan Rowe, Cromack revealed that band were working on a new album, and they'd be releasing something "soon enough".[30]
In August, Ball Park Music announced their second album, Museum and a headline tour with Loon Lake in support.[18] In a press release, Sam Cromack said he was "inspired by the swift turn around in which the likes of The Beatles would deliver new records every six to 12 months" and issued the band a challenge to release another album in 12 months.[18]
Museum was released in Australia on 5 October 2012[31] and it was named Triple J's Feature Album the following week.[32] The album peaked at number 9 on the ARIA charts.
The band released their studio album Puddinghead on 4 April 2014 and the album peaked at number 2 on the ARIA charts. The album spawned the singles "She Only Loves Me When I'm There"[33] and "Trippin' the Light Fantastic".[34]
The band's fourth studio album, Every Night the Same Dream was released on 19 August 2016. A change to their sound resulted in an album with more of a psychedelic rock feel, that was acclaimed by fans and critics and was toured nationally to sold out theatres across Australia.[citation needed]
The band's fifth studio album Good Mood was released on 16 February 2018.[35] Ball Park Music subsequently embarked on a national tour in February and March being supported by Ali Barter and Hatchie. This was followed by a national tour in which they partnered with San Cisco, Ruby Fields and Tia Gostelow. The single "Exactly How You Are" enjoyed success on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2017 coming in at #18,[36] and the album track "Hands Off My Body" was added to the official NBA 2K19 soundtrack curated by Travis Scott.[37] Ball Park Music also released a limited edition 'Pizza Box' boxed set of vinyl LPs that contained their full album catalogue. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2018, the album was nominated for three awards: Producer of the Year, Engineer of the Year and Best Cover Art[38]
The band's sixth album was announced with the title of Mostly Sunny in March 2020, alongside the release of single "Spark Up!".[39] The following month, the band announced they were changing the title of the upcoming album to Ball Park Music.[40] A scheduled tour was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, although the release of the self-titled album in October 2020 was followed by a concert residency at a venue in Brisbane.[41] The album included the track "Cherub", which was considered a strong contender to reach #1 in the lead-up to the Triple J Hottest 100, 2020.[42] It placed on the list at #4, beating their previous best, "Exactly How You Are", from 2017.
On October 26th, 2021, the band released a new single "Sunscreen". It placed #21 on Triple J's Hottest 100 for 2021.[43] 2 months after the release of the new song, the band announced on Facebook that "Sunscreen" was the first single from a new album due in 2022.[44] The band's seventh studio album was announced on February 14, 2022 with the title of Weirder & Weirder, originally set for release on June 3, 2022, however, it was pushed forward a week to May 27, 2022.[45] This comes with the promise of a new Australian tour.[46] The album's second single "Stars In My Eyes" was released on February 24. Merch preorders opened a day later, including blue marbled vinyl, jumpers, and t-shirts. An exclusive vinyl pressing in "Apocalyptic Peach" was released for the top fans on Spotify for pre-order on March 5, 2022, and is limited to only 400 copies. The third single, "Manny" was released on May 6th.
Former members
Sam Cromack records his solo work under the moniker My Own Pet Radio and has released three solo albums, Suburban Lemon Shops and the Bruxer in My Bed (2009), Unidentified Flying Collection of Songs (2010) and Goodlum (2015).
Jennifer Boyce records solo work under the moniker Little Planes Land.
The Australian Independent Record Awards (known colloquially as the AIR Awards) is an annual awards night to recognise, promote and celebrate the success of Australia's independent music sector.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2012 | Themselves | Best Independent Artist | Nominated | [47][48] |
2021 | Ball Park Music | Independent Album of the Year | Nominated | [49][50] |
The APRA Awards are presented annually from 1982 by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), "honouring composers and songwriters".[51]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2019 | "Exactly How You Are" (Sam Cromack) | Song of the Year | Shortlisted | [52] |
The ARIA Music Awards is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia. They commenced in 1987.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2014 | Puddinghead | ARIA Award for Best Rock Album | Nominated | [53] |
2016 | Every Night the Same Dream | Best Rock Album | Nominated | |
2021 | Ball Park Music | ARIA Award for Best Independent Release | Nominated | [54] |
Best Rock Album | Nominated | |||
Ball Park Music - The Residency | ARIA Award for Best Australian Live Act | Nominated | ||
2022 | Weirder & Weirder | Best Independent Release | Pending | [55] |
Best Rock Album | Pending | |||
Paul McKercher for Ball Park Music – Weirder & Weirder | Mix Engineer – Best Mixed Album | Pending |
The J Awards are an annual series of Australian music awards that were established by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's youth-focused radio station Triple J. They commenced in 2005.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2011 | Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | |
Themselves | Unearthed Artist of the Year | Won | ||
2014 | Puddinghead | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | [56] |
2020 | Ball Park Music | Australian Album of the Year | Nominated | [57] |
The National Live Music Awards (NLMAs) are a broad recognition of Australia's diverse live industry, celebrating the success of the Australian live scene. The awards commenced in 2016.
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2018 | Themselves | Best Live Act of the Year – People's Choice | Nominated | [58][59] |
2020 | Themselves | Live Act of the Year | Nominated | [60] |
The Queensland Music Awards (previously known as the Q Song Awards) are an annual awards ceremony celebrating Queensland's brightest emerging artists and established legends. They commenced in 2006.[61]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2013 | "Surrender" | Song of the Year | Won | [62][63] |
Pop Song of the Year | Won | |||
2021 | Ball Park Music | Album of the Year | Won | [64] |
The Rolling Stone Australia Awards are awarded annually in January or February by the Australian edition of Rolling Stone magazine for outstanding contributions to popular culture in the previous year.[65]
Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
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2021 | Ball Park Music | Rolling Stone Reader's Award | Nominated | [66] |
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by the publicly-funded, national Australian youth radio station, Triple J. Members of the public are invited to vote for their favourite Australian and alternative music of the year in an online poll conducted two weeks prior to the new year. On the day after the Hottest 100, Triple J plays the Hottest 200 ('the songs that didn't quite make it') from 10 am.
Ball Park Music are one of Australia's most reliable bands when it comes to The Hottest 100. Notably, their 4th studio album, "Every Night The Same Dream" does not feature any songs on the top 100 list despite being highly acclaimed by both fans and critics.
Year | Song | Album | # |
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2011 | "It's Nice to Be Alive" | Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs | 31 |
"All I Want is You" | 38 | ||
"Rich People Are Stupid" | 196 | ||
2012 | "Coming Down" | Museum | 23 |
"Surrender" | 27 | ||
2014 | "She Only Loves Me When I'm There" | Puddinghead | 19 |
"Everything Is Shit Except My Friendship With You" | 58 | ||
"Trippin' The Light Fantastic" | 113 | ||
"Cocaine Lion" | 122 | ||
2016 | "Nihilist Party Anthem" | Every Night The Same Dream | 141 |
"Whipping Boy" | 143 | ||
"Leef" | 156 | ||
2017 | "Exactly How You Are" | GOOD MOOD | 18 |
"My Happiness" (Powderfinger cover) | Like a Version | 114 | |
2018 | "The Perfect Life Does Not Exist" | GOOD MOOD | 39 |
"The End Times" | 110 | ||
2020 | "Cherub" | Ball Park Music | 4 |
"Day & Age" | 63 | ||
"Spark Up!" | 151 | ||
"Head Like A Sieve" | 170 | ||
2010s | "It's Nice to Be Alive" | Happiness and Surrounding Suburbs | 17 |
"She Only Loves Me When I'm There | Puddinghead | 116 | |
2021 | "Sunscreen" | Sunscreen | 21 |
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