Thursday, August 24, 2023

Issue:

Mackay and Whitsunday Life

Aussie Hip Hop Royalty To Tear The Roof Off At Magnums

One of the country’s biggest hip-hop groups is finally touching down in Airlie Beach to bring their electric energy and unmatched flow to the Whitsundays in celebration of their seventh studio album.

The nine-time ARIA-award winning group Bliss N Eso are set for the stage at Magnums tomorrow night at 7.30pm, returning to finish the Queensland shows in their The Sun tour.

Originally planned to play at the local venue in January, the group were forced to can the Airlie Beach performance due to positive Covid cases in their touring party.

Renowned for their captivating live performances and boisterous energy, the Aussie superstars are excited to rock out with a Whitsunday audience this weekend.

Ahead of the tour, we caught up with one third of the iconic trio for a one-on-one interview about Covid hiatuses, collabs, and the hunger to hit the stage.

One On One With Eso

When it comes to creating and recording, Max MacKinnon, or better known as Eso to his legions of fans, said the band have always been in the habit of lockdowns.

“We already lock ourselves away. It’s kind of like lockdown anyway. We shut ourselves in a studio, away from society, and write and record,” MacKinnon said.

“But when it comes to promoting the album, recording video clips and of course live performances, [Covid] was a real kick in the balls.”

But, recording still had its Covid blues, too. The album - released in late 2021 – features its share of guest artists, including the likes of Xzibit, Dizzee Rascal, Lee Fields, and Aussie artists Kasey Chambers.

MacKinnon said the collab with Dizzee Rascal was an odd one, born from a direct message on Instagram.

“I tagged him in a post thinking nothing of it,” he said.

“Next thing, he messages me back saying ‘yo, I know who you are man, let’s f**king ‘ave it’, and it was on!”

With the show fast approaching, MacKinnon reflected on the stage being their “second home”.

“I’m so hungry to get back out on that stage, by the time I’m finished, there’ll be nothing left. There better not be an act playing after us because there will be no stage left, that’s our hunger,” he said.

“We love what we do and we’re grateful for what we do. We’ll forever keep doing what we love.”

The Aus hip-hop supergroup will jam out at Magnums tomorrow night, with tickets from the original show date still applicable.

WHAT: Bliss N Eso – The Sun Tour

WHEN: Saturday, July 2, 7.30pm

WHERE: Magnums, Airlie Beach

Iconic Aussie hiphop group Bliss N Eso will perform tomorrow night at Magnums

Photograph: Dean Hammer

We sat down with Eso (Max MacKinnon) for a one-on-one ahead of the Airlie Beach performance

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