THE TULLAMARINES
We get to do this
The Tullamarines. Photo: curtesy of the the band.
The Tullamarines is an indie band from Adelaide, Australia. We spoke with them during SXSW 2026 about their experience touring internationally, their collaborative songwriting process, and what it means to become a professional band.
AUSTIN | Interview and photos by Pablo Herrera
The Tullamarines are a four-piece indie band from Adelaide, Australia, formed by Angus Purvis on vocals, Josh Thomas on drums, Benny Waltho on guitar, and Lucinda Machin on vocals and multiple instruments. Emerging from a local scene shaped by frequent collaboration between indie projects, the band has developed a distinctive sound, with just one EP released so far.
In recent months, The Tullamarines have begun expanding beyond Australia, performing internationally and building new audiences. Their appearance at SXSW marked a moment of transition, moving the band into a broader circuit of live performances and industry visibility.
Reflecting on that shift, the band described the experience of traveling and playing shows abroad as something they had not initially anticipated.
“We never thought that we were going to be traveling the world and playing music for people.”
Benny Waltho, Angus Purvis and Lucinda Machin (The Tullamarines), after their show at Valhalla, Austin. Photo: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
We spoke right after their show at Valhalla in Austin, in a moment of excitement for the band. The conversation was relaxed and started with how the members got to meet in Adelaide, a relatively small city with a lot of indie bands but not so many musicians to fill all of them. Musicians often move between different projects, creating a dynamic but interconnected environment.
That context played a role in how The Tullamarines came together, forming a group through shared collaborations and overlapping creative circles.
“In Adelaide there are a lot of bands, but not that many people, so we share members across bands. That’s how we met and thought about starting a band together.”
Benny Waltho and Lucinda Machin during their show at Valhalla, Austin. Photo: Pablo Herrera / TMN.
We also spoke about how they write, compose melodies, and build songs together. I was particularly interested in understanding how the band works creatively in this aspect. The band emphasized a collective approach to songwriting, where ideas are passed between members and developed over time. Every song carries a part of each of them, as noted by Benny Waltho, and that is something you can notice live when you see all members sharing lyrics and owning different lines in each song.
“We start with demos individually, then pass ideas around. Someone adds a melody, someone else writes the words. We just throw everything into a pot and see what sticks.”
Safety Blanket. The Tullamarines (2025).
I was also interested in knowing what comes next. With an EP released in 2025, Safety Blanket, in 2025, the band is working on their first album, where they are putting pieces together, with ideas taking shape gradually. They are using the experience of touring as part of the creative process while avoiding the temptation of forcing a defined structure too early.
They approach this process with the clear intention of not repeating what worked on their EP, instead following what feels right in the moment and allowing ideas to develop over time. In between shows and commitments, they continue building on small fragments that they find interesting, letting the direction of the project emerge naturally.
Another important point I wanted to explore was how the band is transitioning from an amateur stage into a professional one. Being at SXSW suggests they are going through that transition, while still coming from a context where music is not yet fully professionalized. This stage is critical, as many bands struggle to move forward here. It has little to do with talent alone, and more with a combination of factors that are much more complex. I asked them how they are approaching and living through this process.
“It’s definitely stressful trying to balance a full-time job with being a musician, but it’s also really fun. You’re always laughing, you always have something to talk about, and you get to do it with your best friends every weekend. Why wouldn’t you want to do it?”
The Tullamarines. Photo: curtesy of the the band.
While speaking about influences, they acknowledged that their sound is shaped by music from different parts of the world. In a hyperconnected environment, it becomes increasingly difficult to define whether a band’s sound comes from the US, the UK, or elsewhere. Still, they are clear about drawing inspiration from multiple scenes.
“Indie is becoming more of a worldwide thing. We take inspiration from bands in the UK, the US, Australia, New Zealand… it all kind of mixes together.”
I also asked them to describe themselves in one word. The band landed on “anxious,” reflecting a shared tendency to overthink and plan everything in advance. They spoke about constantly anticipating what could go wrong, while also recognizing how that mindset shapes their dynamic. Rather than holding them back, it has become something they navigate together, finding balance in the fact that they share the same intensity and can ground each other.
To close the conversation, I asked for advice for young artists. Their response was simple and shaped by their own experience navigating expectations and finding their place.
“Keep doing your thing. Have fun. Speak your truth and just be yourself. There’s a lot of pressure to be cool, and we tried that and had a bad time. Once we started being ourselves, everything got better.”
Our interview with The Tullamarines is already live, and you can watch it below.
