Credits: Cover illustration by Bianca Bosso for Rolling Stone AU/NZ

Rolling Stone AU/NZ publisher The Brag Media have revealed the magazine’s December-February issue cover, a special collector’s edition featuring the Most Iconic Music Moments of all Time from Australia and New Zealand’s history books. This latest issue arrives on newsstands next Monday, December 5, 2022, and includes 50 iconic Australian moments and 20 iconic Aotearoa moments, compiled with the help of a Rolling Stone-curated panel of industry, musicians, journalists, label-heads, executives, and more. Rolling Stone AU/NZ Editor-in-Chief, Poppy Reid said the rise and rise of homegrown stars like Kylie Minogue and Lorde, the cultural impact of upstart record labels like Modular and Flying Nun, and the infiltration of music television into popular culture and public consciousness. Iconic music moments are everywhere. Reid added a moment in time married with music can break down barriers, ignite movements, start trends, launch industries, give birth to icons, and change the course of history — for good.  Some of the trailblazing people that appear on one of the two Rolling Stone lists in this special issue — including Australia’s Michael Gudinski and New Zealand’s Pixie Williams — have achieved all of the above. It’s the stuff of legend, and the making of legends.




The cover, illustrated by Bianca Bosso, features singers Olivia Newton-John, Tina Arena and Hinewehi Mohi, alongside All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu, and bands Youthu Yindi and AC/DC.
“It’s an honour to retrace many of the musical moments that have made me excited, inspired and shocked as I’ve grown up,” Bosso commented “Illustrating the cover for Rolling Stone AU/NZ has been a nostalgic and heartwarming experience. I went from reading about many of these moments in Rolling Stone to celebrating them through my illustrated cover. I hope it makes readers proud of the artists that define our abundant music scene.”
“The gravity of being the conduit for a Rolling Stone List is not lost on us. Hallowed and often referenced, they are nevertheless hotly debated and contested — as they should be. They’re a huge time investment, not just for our core team, but for industry figureheads, artists and critics alike. We challenged our panel to put forward the Australian and New Zealand music moments they felt truly tilted the Earth on its axis; iconic moments that changed the course of history for good,” Reid commented “We received hundreds of submissions; we discussed, debated and pondered. Through thousands of messages, phone calls, interviews and meetings, we finally have our two ranked lists, one for Australia and one for Aotearoa. We hope our readers enjoy this time capsule.”