The Final Show - Live at Sydney Opera House

On October 13, 2023, Melbourne’s own Camp Cope bid farewell with one final performance in front of an adoring, sold-out crowd at the iconic Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. Two years later, Run For Cover and Poison City Records release The Final Show – Live at Sydney Opera House to commemorate this special moment of the band performing live for the last time.

The vinyl version of this release features nine songs from the final performance, including tracks from each of the band’s adored albums. This includes songs like “Lost (Season One)” from their self-titled debut, along with tracks from 2018’s How to Socialise Make Friends and their 2022 swan song Running with the Hurricane. All of the pieces that make Camp Cope’s music so special are here—bass player Kelly-Dawn Hellmrich and Sarah Thompson’s drums once again fit perfectly together, with guitarist Jennifer Aslett providing even more moods behind vocalist Georgia Maq’s signature voice.

The band isn’t alone, either—Julia Jacklin joins in on “The Screaming Planet,” and a chorus of friends like Rin McArdle and Courtney Hartmann sing along on “Sing Your Heart Out.”

Camp Cope fittingly closes this final performance with “The Opener”—a song inspired by the unfortunate experience of being a band trying to fit into a sexist, male-dominated music scene. Hellmrich’s unmistakable bass line opens this final, expanded version of the song, which the band plays for over ten minutes. Joined by a chorus of friends on stage and an entire opera house filled with fans singing along, the song’s final lyrics about being initially dismissed feel like a prophecy fulfilled: “see how far we’ve come not listening to you.”