Australia: Keith Urban, Michael Buble, Migos, Shawn Mendes, Bluesfest, Eskimo Dance

The Australian and New Zealand spring and summer international touring slate continues to fill up.

Keith Urban extends his Graffiti U World Tour for a visit after his last tour two years ago sold out. TEG Dainty has him at seven arena shows Jan. 23 to Feb. 5.

TEG Dainty confirmed Michael Bublé for a one-off show Oct. 5, as the final act at Sydney’s Allianz Stadium before it is demolished. Bublé last toured here 2014.

After its last tour in the region October 2017, Migos returns to headline New Zealand’s multi-venue Bay Dreams festival, at Tauranga’s The Mount Jan. 1.

Trey Songz makes his New Zealand debut, playing three shows in three cities Nov. 3-7, presented by Pato Entertainment and Talk Later.

Shawn Mendes’ visit through Frontier Touring added shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The eight arena Australasian dates take place Oct. 23 to Nov. 9 in six cities.

Frontier Touring and Soapbox Events bring back Ministry of Sound’s Orchestrated tour for a third time, with a live orchestra, DJs and vocalists performing classic dance anthems. The singers are U.S.-based Sam Sparro and Crystal Waters, and the UK’s Alison Limerick.  The concept was a sellout when introduced Down Under in August 2017, and led to an encore run. This year’s is its largest yet, now staged in five cities Dec. 7-15, with debut shows in the Gold Coast and Hobart joining return performances in bigger venues in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.

Chicago rapper Noname follows her Listen Out festival slot with two theatre shows in Sydney and Melbourne in September for Penny Drop and Chugg Entertainment.

The UK grime scene’s major rave Eskimo Dance, set up by grime mainstay Wiley in 2002, makes its Australian debut in the southern spring.  Wiley will headline the four-city run Oct. 13-26, along with Dizzee Rascal, Stormzy, Lethal Bizzle and Big Shaq, among others.

Two prominent independent New Zealand promoters, Pato Alvarez of Pato Entertainment and Mitch Lowe of Audiology, have bought a 50 percent stake in one of New Zealand’s largest summer festivals, Soundsplash. It has been run for 14 years by Brian Ruawai and Naomi Tuao. Pato Entertainment and Audiology run 250 events a year, among them festivals including Bay Dreams North Island, Bay Dreams South Island, One Love, Storm The Gates, Sonorous, Ohakune Mardi Gras, with two more to be announced soon. 

Pato said, “Brian and Naomi have some really cool things in place which give Soundsplash a nice vibe and energy. And we love that they’ve initiated a Zero Waste Policy.” The boutique multi-genre Soundsplash takes place at the Wainui Reserve, on Raglan’s internationally famed coastline, Jan. 18-20. It will now have a bigger production and a focus on families of all ages, with R18 licensed areas.

The five-day Bluesfest Byron Bay, which draws about 100,000 patrons each year, was inducted into the  New South Wales (NSW) North Coast Regional Tourism Awards July 25. Its CEO Peter Noble said, “This is a testament to the endeavours of all connected with Bluesfest to provide not just a musical experience for our customers, but a full life experience. Our attendees come now not only for the music, but to enjoy the very essence of their surroundings: the beaches, the hinterland tourism trails, the food, the complete Byron Bay experience. They bring their dollars, and they spend them here in our region.” 

Figures from Lawrence Consulting  showed that the 2018 event injected A$88.6 million ($65.5 million) into the immediate Byron Shire economy, A$147.7 million ($109.2 million) to the Northern Rivers district and A$243.2 million ($179.8 million) to the state of NSW. It also indirectly generated 422 full-time jobs for the shire, 848 jobs for Northern Rivers and 1281 for NSW. Noble emphasised that the latter figure does not include the 600 staffers and 600 volunteers who work on the festival. In October 2017, the NSW Tourism Awards inducted the festival in its hall of fame, after it won the major festivals and events category for the third time.

Australian hip-hop and electronic dance music festival Listen Out will expand to New Zealand this year. It makes its debut Sept. 28 at Spark Arena in Auckland with a bill including A$AP Rocky, Skrillex, Skepta and Lil Skies.