Empress
Empress are one of Melbourne’s most electrifying live acts — a neo-pop outfit built around the magnetic vocal trio of Grace Robinson, Stella Dunai, and Annalisa Fernandez. Backed by Noah Hutchinson (bass), Liam Rignanese (drums), and Christy Wozitsky-Jones (synths), the band has carved out a sound that sits somewhere between Destiny's Child, Tune-Yards, and Peggy Gou.
At the heart of Empress is the interplay between three distinct voices — weaving intricate harmonies through a world of electro-house, hip hop, and left-field pop. It’s music that pulls you in gently and then hits with full force: warm, rhythmic, and built for the dance floor, but always with triadic emotional harmonies that tug on the heartstrings.
Following their 2023 debut album Daughter — which earned national attention and saw “Grandma You Lie” land at #3 on Triple J Unearthed’s Top 10 — the band have kept the momentum rolling with the double single Solace / Again Again, while quietly building toward a more dance-driven second record set for 2026.
Veterans of the festival circuit, most recently Strawberry Fields Festival and Meadow Festival, Empress have also lit up stages at Dark Mofo, St Kilda Festival, Panama Festival, and Sun Cycle Festival. They’ve shared bills with artists like Sampa The Great and Hiatus Kaiyote, earning a reputation for live shows that feel both transportive and eclectic — lush, high-energy, and impossible not to boogie.