The Meltdown
Bringing soul and stories to Grounded: What to expect from The Meltdown’s groovy and soulful quarry set
When The Meltdown came together, they weren’t chasing the spotlight.
But more than a decade on and they’ve garnered a loyal following and consistently clock over a million monthly streams.
Not bad for a group of humble Melburnian musos who started out bonding over their love of Ray Charles and old-school soul.
Now, with fresh music under their belt, they’re set to grace the quarry stage at Grounded.
Lead singer Simon Burke reveals what audiences can expect.
Meet The Meltdown
Groove, soul and authenticity. The Meltdown’s music is all of that and more.
But if you asked lead singer Simon Burke to describe it, he’d tell you it’s also rooted in another time.
‘Our genre of music has always made an impact because it’s real,’ Burke says. ‘It’s about life, stories and a groove you can feel. That’s what we’re built on.’
It’s a sentiment that has drawn international audiences to The Meltdown.
The band’s story began almost 15 years ago, when Burke and saxophonist Lachlann Mclean were gigging together at weddings.
‘We’d drive to and from gigs, and we just got chatting about the music of Ray Charles,’ Burke says. ‘We sort of half-joked, let’s put a band together to play that music.’
And they did.
But what began as a tribute project soon turned into something much bigger.
After being encouraged by Melbourne’s iconic Bennett’s Lane Jazz Club to bring original songs into their sets, The Meltdown recorded an EP, signed to Hope Street records and quickly found their music resonated.
‘There was a natural chemistry between all of us and everything just felt really good.’
A slow burn
For the band, success has been less about overnight hype and more about steady growth.
The initial slow burn turned into something bigger with the release of Better Days, a track Burke admits he wrote in seven minutes.
The song went viral and today has more than 56 million streams and is on track to be certified gold.
Since then, The Meltdown has toured Europe with the Cat Empire, performed with funk legend Maceo Parker at the Melbourne Jazz Festival and sold-out national tours.
‘I’m sort of proud of the fact that we’ve managed to build a big audience being true to ourselves,’ Burke says. ‘Over time, people have come around to what we’re doing.’
From Europe to Dookie
This year, The Meltdown have kept up the momentum, releasing two new singles: It’s Too Late and Like Water.
And by the time they hit the Grounded stage, they’ll be fresh off the back of their own European headline tour.
So, what can audiences expect of their set?
‘We like to take people on a journey,’ Burke says. ‘We start off nice and chill and just build and build. Most of the time people like to get up and have a boogie.’
As for playing in Dookie’s stunning amphitheatre, Burke is certain it’s a perfect match: rootsy, honest and not a lot of pretence. ‘With our music, you can sit on a picnic rug with wine and cheese, or you can get up and party,’ he says. ‘There’s definitely magic in that quarry – it feels like a warm blanket of music wrapped around you.’
One thing is clear: the hills will be alive with soul.
