Cohen Voted Best Concert

Leonard Cohen’s tour (Frontier Touring) beat out U2, Metallica, Sufjan Stevens and Gorillaz for best international contemporary concert at the Helpmann Awards in Australia.

The ceremony was Aug. 1 at the Sydney Opera House, and aired live on the STVDIO cable channel.

Votes for the three contemporary music sections were by a panel that included venue owners, booking agents, promoters, festival organizers and media including Pollstar.

Village Sounds and Secret Service’s Splendour In The Grass won for best contemporary music festival.
Powderfinger’s sold-out “Sunset” farewell tour won best Australian contemporary concert. The Sept. 1 to Nov. 13 run to 300,000 fans at 34 shows in 21 cities was through Secret Service and Village Sounds.

The Helpmanns covered 41 categories including musicals, opera, classical, comedy, cabaret and theatre. The big win of the night was by “Mary Poppins” (Disney & Cameron Mackintosh) with six gongs including best musical.