Mary Mihelakos is a true Music Stalwart in the Australian Music Scene. Whilst she has been predominately Melbourne based, her tentacles stretch far and wide. She began her music career at 3RRR Melbourne as a fresh faced 14 year old volunteer- not for the money, but for the love.

She has worked in all facets of the business- management, radio, journalism and as a venue promoter. She has also been to thousands of shows and I mean 'thousands'!!! No one will or should argue with me on this!

in 2020, she was inducted into the Music Victoria Hall Of Fame, and for good reason. Mary was the founder and inspiration behind the SXSW Aussie BBQ, even using her own credit card to fund the event and propel it for years. She opened up doors for many acts off shore, but she also single-handedly shone a light on our domestic music scene for a long time.

In this new episode of Vinyl Tap, we travel through Mary's journey as both a true fan and as a self-less pioneer and trail blazer for Australian Music. Needless to say, her stories are real, funny and inspirational.

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This week's special guest Roger Field is definitely no stranger when it comes to the Major Concert landscape. His expertise has and still covers all gamuts of the touring industry- ticketing, venue management, festival production and major concert promotion of course.

He served as CEO of Live Nation Australia from 2014 to 2020 before was tasked with the premium role of President for Live Nation Asia Pacific. This speaks for itself.

In 2024 however, and arguably at his prime, Roger did an an about-turn that no one saw coming and resigned from the Company.

Today he runs his own business, the aptly titled 'Further Afield', which is a business designed to assist and help new enterprises that need sound advice in helping to navigate through the many layers and nuances of the Entertainment Industry.

So why the change? Why leave the perceived comfort of working with the likes of Harry Styles, Pink, Adele and Bruno Mars amongst many, many others to go out alone?

Is there more to his story or is it simply a case of personal re-invention in an ever-changing industry climate. Lets hear what Roger has to say and let me tell you, there are no mincing of words.

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It's almost a case of 'whatever happened to...' with my first guest on Season 5 in 2026. His name is Daniel Merriweather, arguably, one of this country's greatest ever soul singers, producers and writers.

His career has certainly had it's fair share of up's and down's , high's and low's but in 2026 he continues to strive to produce real, uncompromising and ground-breaking music.

He has tasted bona fide chart and commercial success both in Australia and abroad and has rubbed creative shoulders with the likes of uber producer Mark Ronson, the incredible and late Amy Winehouse and the juggernaut that is Adele.

He has also had some interesting encounters with such luminaries as JZ , Beyonce and Clive Davis, but then also some questionable encounters including one with disgraced artist and so-called entrepreneur P. Diddy.

He knows what it's like to play the 'industry game' through his stints living and working in LA, New York and London and his story is as much about survival than it is about the trials and tribulations of navigating your way through the dog-eat-dog jungle of the urban music business. In his first interview in quite a while, we get to hear his stories and what continues to drive him in 2026.

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