“We’re not neglecting Australia,” Temper Trap’s Dougy Mandagi told us earlier this year – and he wasn’t kidding either. The band will cut short a European tour to perform at the ARIA Awards at Sydney’s Acer Arena on November 26. It’ll mark their first appearance on local shores since the June release of debut album Conditions, which is up for four ARIAs including Album of The Year. In other Temper Trap news, the band have been busy keeping stalkers at bay in Japan. "They seem to know everywhere we are going. They are waiting in the hotel lobby for us and we get to a radio station and there they are,” singer Dougy told The SMH. … Organisers of the St Jerome's Laneway Festival are giving one band from Melbourne's western suburbs the chance to perform at the Sydney leg of the event on January 31. The winner will be selected via a “battle of the bands”-style showcase, where they’ll perform in front of a panel of industry professionals that may or may not include Neil Wedd. The initiative is run in conjunction with the Footscray Community Arts Centre, which will host Melbourne’s Laneway for the first time next year.

Applications close on November 27, 5pm. For more information or to apply click here.

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