Macklemore & Ryan Lewis

They just took home a stunning Grammy haul including Best New Artist, Best Rap Performance, Best Rap Song and Best Rap Album, having conquered the globe with smash hits such as ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Same Love’. Hitting Australian shores next month for summer’s hottest event – Future Music Festival – Seattle’s Macklemore & Ryan Lewis will perform a very special, one-off headline show in Newcastle, NSW, on Wednesday 5 March.

Novocastrians, this is going to be huge! Seven Grammy nominations, 300 million YouTube views, three multi-platinum singles, over a million LPs sold in the US alone, countless festival and TV appearances... MC Ben Haggerty (Macklemore) and producer Ryan Lewis are THE success story of 2014. In one of the most memorable TV performances in history, at the recent 56th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles Macklemore & Ryan Lewis were joined on stage by Madonna, Mary Lambert, Queen Latifah and Trombone Shorty to perform ‘Same Love’, while 33 couples – gay and straight – tied the knot live, in a celebration of marriage equality: relive the amazing moment here.

“First and foremost I want to thank our fans, the people who got us on this stage. Before there was any media, before there was any buzz about us, before there was any story, there was our fans ... I thank everybody worldwide.” – Ben Haggerty, accepting Grammy for Best New Artist

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis emerged from the Pacific Northwest in 2012 with a DIY ethic and the song of the year in ‘Thrift Shop’. Utterly addictive and eight times platinum in Australia, its hilarious clip saw the duo propel to the top of charts across the globe and took out triple j’s Hottest 100 with over 1.5m votes. ‘Thrift Shop’ was followed up with two more record-breaking singles: ‘Same Love’ (four times platinum) and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ (five times platinum).

All three songs are lifted from The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s critically acclaimed second album. Heralded as a game-changer by critics and fans alike, The Heist debuted at number two in Australia’s ARIA album charts and quickly went platinum, number two on Billboard’s Top 200, and number one on iTunes in the US.

A year on from the release of The Heist and Macklemore still can’t believe it. “We scrutinised every kick drum. Every snare. Every bar,” he blogged late last year of the album’s creation. “And now here I am ... I will never be able to find the words to articulate my gratitude. I can only give you everything I have in me, night after night.”

With Future Music Festival just around the corner, tickets are selling fast – Newcastle fans, get in quick to secure yours for what promises to be one massive night!