Sparks(USA)

Ron and Russell Mael have been at the cutting edge of pop for over fifty years, and in that time have been claimed as a primary influence by Joy Division, Depeche Mode, Björk, Beck, Blur, Duran Duran and The Last Dinner Party, among many others. As super-producer Jack Antonoff declared: "all pop music is re-arranged Sparks." The Californian brothers are, without exaggeration, your favourite band's favourite band.

The past decade has cemented their status as something beyond cult. Edgar Wright's documentary The Sparks Brothers brought them to audiences who had somehow missed fifty years of evidence. Their film musical Annette, directed by Leos Carax and starring Adam Driver and Marion Cotillard, swept the César Awards. Their 28th studio album MAD! followed in 2024 to widespread acclaim. Fifty years in, they remain, impossibly, still at the cutting edge.

Sparks play QPAC for Open Season. For anyone who has ever loved pop music, whether they know it yet or not.

Open Season is supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queensland and by the Australian Government through the Office for the Arts Revive Live program.