The Valery Trails + Moderate Lovers at Franks Wild Years

Brisbane indie rockers The Valery Trails bring their Winter Palace album launch tour to Thirroul, joined by Sydney's Moderate Lovers.

Andrew Bower (vocals/guitars), an expatriate Australian then living in Houston, enlisted his brother Sean Bower (bass) and Dan McNaulty (drums) in his hometown of Brisbane, Australia to form The Valery Trails in 2011. With the assistance of the internet and some intercontinental travel, the trio developed a set of songs started in Andrew's home studio into the band's debut album Ghosts and Gravity, released in 2012.

Albums released in 2014 (Buffalo Speedway) and 2016 (Chameleon Bones), to differing degrees also involved long distance recording and exchanges of ideas but when Andrew moved back to Brisbane in 2020 the band began to operate more conventionally, picking up new members Tim Steward (guitars) and Skye Staniford along the way. The first album for this new expanded lineup was 2022's The Sky is Blue, followed by Winter Palace in 2025.

Moderate Lovers are an indie pop rock 3-piece band from Sydney who write skewed melodic tunes with a pinch of jangle, a dash of distortion, and a healthy serving of observational dry wit. Forming in 2024 after a few drinks at the Townie (aka The Town Hall Hotel, Newtown) Mick, Saul and Adam began crafting Mick’s musical sketches into a full set of indie rock ear worms. Hailing from bands with solid indie rock cred (Soap Star Joe, Starky, Restless Leg and Froggy Prinze) these guys learnt how to play 90s sounding indie rock ... umm in the 90s.