ARTIST BIO:

King Stingray is a story of lifelong friendship. Growing up together in Yirrkala North-East Arnhem Land (a very remote Aboriginal community on in the northern tip of Australia) founding members Theo Dimathaya Burarrwanga(frontman) and Roy Kellaway (guitar) have been playing and making music together for as long as they can remember. Read more about their unique story here. The band blend ancient indigenous melodies (Yolŋu Manikay) with surf, indie and funk influences to create their unique “Yolŋu surf-rock” sound which has captivated the nation.

Hailed as "one of the most exciting acts in the country today" (NME), King Stingray took out triple j's 'Unearthed Artist of the Year' J Award for 2021, NME Australia's 'Best New Act From Australia' and Rolling Stone Australia's 'Best New Artist' award all before an album was released. Their much-anticipated debut LP ‘King Stingray’ dropped in August 2022, supported by a typically cheeky campaign encouraging fans to take #kingstingday off to celebrate the album’s release. The band was nominated for a whopping five ARIA Awards (including a win for the ‘Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist’). In 2023 the band won the ‘Australian Music Prize. A total of five singles from the album made itinto triple j’s Hottest 100 making it the second most successful Aussie debuts in the history of the countdown.

With 2 albums under their belt now on the live front, the band hasn't missed a beat. They’ve toured all around the country playing all the major festivals such as Splendour in the Grass, Falls and Spilt Milk to name a few. They supported Midnight Oil on their national stadium tour and performed before more than 100,000 people at the MCG stadium during the AFL ‘Dreamtime at the G’ match. Every one of their headline tours has sold out entirely. 2024 ended with a 15 date support tour of the US with their mates King Gizzard and the Wizard Lizard with and as 2025 is kicking off they are about to perform a massive theatre headline tour right across the country again with their sophomore album ‘For The Dreams’.

With fans in every corner of the country, King Sting have had the opportunity to work on some serious collaborations including one with retail giant Cotton On where a range of eco-friendly King Stingray apparel and accessories were designed and sold in over 280 stores across the country. The band is doing another collab with Cotton On in 2023 that will be launched in the US and parts of Europe and Asia too. In addition to this the band has partnered with surf brand Billabong to launch a massive King Stingray + Billabong clothing range (mens and womens) that was launched in 2024 in the US, Europe/UK and Japan. They also recorded an epic version of Down Under by Men At Work for Tourism Australia’s Come and Say G’day campaign, which served as a conduit to their first international trip as a band and anofficial introduction to the rest of the world. Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has even championed the band on multiple occasions, selecting Get Me Out as his favourite song of 2022, and wearing his King Stingray t-shirt on Aus Music T Shirt Day!

NME AUSTRALIA - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Both a heartfelt tribute to their roots and a bold manifesto for a sprawling future"

ROLLING STONE - ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

"Destined to be an instant classic."

THE GUARDIAN

"Most bands would be proud to have a collection like this on a greatest hits album."

DAILY TELEGRAPH

"One of the country’s most exciting new acts."

TRIPLE J

"feels like an instant Australian classic"

THE FADER

"profoundly charismatic"