Known colloquially as “DJY” among friends, David James Young (he/him) is an experienced Australian music and arts writer, living and working on the unceded lands of the Dharawal people. He has over 15 years of experience in writing, working most prominently in feature writing and album reviewing – covering a wide variety of genres, sounds, scenes and cultures in the process, from DIY indie to arena rock and back again.
Just a few of the bigger names in music David has interviewed over the years include Alice Cooper, Architects, At the Drive-In, The Avalanches, blink-182, Bring Me the Horizon, CHVRCHES, Cold Chisel, Courtney Barnett, Cypress Hill, Death Cab for Cutie, Fall Out Boy, Foo Fighters, Franz Ferdinand, Gang of Youths, Halsey, Iron Maiden, Jamie xx, Judas Priest, Kamasi Washington, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Luke Combs, Maynard James Keenan, Mick Fleetwood, Mumford & Sons, Muse, The National, Peter Hook, Phoebe Bridgers, Refused, Sleater-Kinney, Stewart Copeland and “Weird Al” Yankovic. He’s also interviewed both Liam and Noel Gallagher – separately, of course, but now that Oasis are back together he’s never saying never. David’s list of bylines includes work for NME, The Australian, The Big Issue, Exclaim!, Mixdown, theMusic, CONE, Junkee, Red Bull Music, Blunt, Beat Magazine, Marvin and Music Feeds.
David also has extensive experience as an album bio writer. In order to tell the stories behind a newly-announced album, he has been enlisted to work on new releases by promient Australian artists such as Kasey Chambers, Ball Park Music, Hockey Dad, Holy Holy, Sly Withers and Full Flower Moon Band. He has also worked on bios for smaller independent artists, and is available on request for such work.
An avid gig-goer, David normally averages over 200 shows a year, ranging from DIY house shows to huge-scale stadium and arena performances. This was brought to national attention in 2024, when David became the Guinness World Record holder for “Most Concerts Attended In One Year” – a title he held for nearly two years, making him the longest-reigning holder of the record as well as the only Australian person to have held it to date. He was profiled on ABC News Breakfast and in The Australian, interviewed on radio programs nationwide and was featured on Channel Ten’s Have You Been Paying Attention?.
Outside of journalism, David is passionate about stand-up comedy, film, theatre, podcasts and pro-wrestling. He was also the host of two popular Australian podcasts, All My Friends Are in Bar Bands and Hottest 100s and 1000s. You can find out more about those here. David is on the Autism spectrum, which has also lead him to be an outspoken advocate for those that live on it, and is proudly bisexual.
If you’ve read this far, he’s thankful for your time.
David James Young 