Two years after winning the coveted triple j Hottest 100 for their 2015 hit ‘Hoops’, Australian indie rockers The Rubens will preview their highly-anticipated third album and play fan favourites when they make their Sydney Opera House debut on March 3, 2018.

The band from regional NSW has come a long way since their swaggering soul track ‘Lay It Down’ catapulted them into the indie stratosphere in 2011.

Fresh from high school, the three Margin brothers – Zaac, Sam and Elliot – joined forces with childhood friends Scott Baldwin and William Zeglis in their small coastal town of Menangle. Within a year, they found themselves recording their platinum, self-titled debut album in New York with legendary producer David Kahne (The Strokes, Lana Del Rey).

Combining monstrous blues grooves with pop hooks that dominate live, the quintet continues to surprise, announcing recently that their new album is being made with hip hop supergroup Run the Jewels’ secret weapon, brothers ‘Lil Shalimar and Wilder Zoby.

Their groove-fueled debut single ‘Million Man’ has come out of the gates as an early summer anthem, with its feel-good gospel vocals reinforcing The Rubens as a rock band at the core with flourishes of soul, R&B and hip-hop.

Hibernating in a decommissioned World War II bunker-turned-studio in Camden, NSW for much of the past year, The Rubens are ready to unleash their heaving grooves on the Concert Hall stage for a night of sweaty rock ‘n’ soul.

Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall, says: “The Rubens’ staging a triumphant Sydney Opera House Concert Hall debut is a big deal for us, especially with the release of ‘Million Man’ heightening anticipation for the unveiling of their third album here.

“They’re a mighty live soul-rock force who’ve earned a dedicated and passionate fan base – this concert will be a milestone for all fans of modern Australian rock in full flight.”