Max Aurora & The Southern Lights is a dreamy bittersweet indie rock band based in Naarm / Melbourne, formed by non-binary songwriter Max Aurora in mid-2021. Max’s crooning vocals combine with a patchwork of indie, folk and emo influences to create a vibrant, honest sound inspired by concept albums like ‘American Idiot’ by Green Day to art pop artists like Kate Bush and Gotye. From fictional characters’ perspectives, to sifting through their daily life, Max creates heart-gripping songs that treat emotions and struggles with care and curiosity and look for ways to find comfort in awe and nature. Max’s first EP was released during lockdown in 2020 called “Somewhere Near”, a culmination of songs written between 2013 and 2018. The band formed soon after, being built on a wealth of musical experience, with Max, Caroline, and Jack playing music together since meeting at university in 2013 – another Jack was added to play drums, forming “The Southern Lights”. After waiting through lockdown, the band has played a string of vibrant shows in various venues across Melbourne. Their upcoming debut single “How I Missed Home” was recorded at Marigold Studios in Brunswick and will be released on 29 June 2023. The track is inspired by a documentary about one of the youngest people to sail around the world, Laura Dekker. With Laura’s permission, footage from her trip was used in the creation of a music video filmed at Bakehouse Studios in Melbourne.