Grizzly Bear

Heralding the New Year’s first summer days, New York indie-rock trailblazers Grizzly Bear finally make their Opera House debut, lacing their decade-long journey of harmony-hued epics and heavy-hearted ballads in a vital performance made for the Concert Hall's classical sonic vistas.

Shifting swiftly between rock-tinged climaxes to sweeping orchestral flourishes, Grizzly Bear have transformed their intricately recorded opuses into heaving, festival-topping live beasts – counting Australia as 'one of our favourite places to play'. Introduced to the world stage with the pop-perfect single 'Knife' and the Warp Records-endorsed Yellow House (2006), the Brooklyn-based quartet affirmed their place three years later with the chart-topping Veckatimest (2009); a universally acclaimed magnum opus that drew rave live reviews – 'like going to church and a trippy weekend at the same time, Grizzly Bear have left the likes of Fleet Foxes and Radiohead in awe' (Sydney Morning Herald).

Regarded as one of Jonny Greenwood's favourite bands, counting the likes of Paul Simon as fans, and armed with collaborators such as Feist and Beirut, Grizzly Bear's genre-melting tapestry of psychedelic pop, folk-rock and silvered electronica is the result of an even-play partnership between co-lead vocalists Ed Droste and Daniel Rossen, multi-instrumentalist / producer Chris Taylor and jazz-inflected drummer Christopher Bear. Side-by-side on stage and in the studio, the quartet have produced their most collaborative effort yet in last year's Shields (2012), a time-hopping collection of classic song-writing that pushes their intricate vocal melodies further to the fore.

Described by Taylor as having a 'sense of nostalgia and future at the same time', Grizzly Bear now return in career-celebrating spirit, guiding audiences through a suite-like songbook that transcends generations and of-the-moment trends – a watershed moment for a band at their critically-acclaimed, best-selling peak.