Australia: Eagles, Nickelback, Mumford & Sons, Sydney Lockouts, Hordern Pavilion To Remain

The Australian and New Zealand summer circuit is heating up already, with longtime drawcards returning.

Eagles have chose to showcase their new lineup Down Under – they toured 2015 before the January 2016 passing of Glenn Frey – before Europe. Michael Gudinski of Frontier Touring, who says their last two tours “did massive business,” told Pollstar the 2019 shows will be even bigger, with the inclusion of Frey’s son Deacon expected to widen the seminal band’s younger appeal.

The Eagles do two shows in New Zealand –  Spark Arena, Auckland (Feb. 26) and  Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin – before heading across the Tasman Sea to Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne (March 5), Brisbane Entertainment Centre (March 9) and Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney (March 13).

Nickelback brings its Feed The Machine Tour after a four-year break, this time accompanied by breakout Los Angeles rock act Bad Wolves. Live Nation has them at three arena dates in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne Feb. 13-16.

Australia was one of the first territories to break Mumford And Sons, and they’ve remained regular visitors. The Delta Australian tour, through Secret Sounds, sees them at five arenas Jan. 15-27. Opening on all dates is rising UK soul talent Michael Kiwanuka.

Hanson’s team-up with an orchestra on String Theory Symphonic Tour had a strong bolt out of the gates. Chugg Entertainment added a second show at the Sydney Opera House after the first sold out in hours. The siblings are doing theatres in four other cities as well, Feb. 27 to  March 9.

Frontier Touring and Arena Touring debut the throwback So Pop tour, featuring ‘90s acts Aqua, Vengaboys, Eiffel 65,  Lou Bega, 2 Unlimited and Mr. President from Europe;  Blue and , B*Witched from Britain and The Outhere Brothers from Chicago. They do six arenas Jan. 30 to Feb. 9.

Sydney’s controversial 1:30 a.m. lockout laws – introduced early 2014 and causing a 40 percent drop in footpath traffic for some venues in the Kings Cross and the central business district entertainment precincts – may be dropped or significantly relaxed by year’s end, according to local media.

NSW deputy premier John Barilaro brought up the proposal during a cabinet meeting and apparently received strong support from colleagues.  Although there is no official indication from the government, or from NSW police who pushed for the lockouts, the Sydney live sector is upbeat.

“For the musicians, the tourists …. and really anyone who wants to enjoy the streets at night time, this is really great news,” said Tyson Koh of Keep Sydney Open, which has become a political party to highlight the issue at the next state election, John Green, the Australian Hotels Association’s NSW chapter’s director of liquor and policing, told Australian Hotelier: “Five years on, it’s reasonable that we look at revising the lockout and revitalising the night-time economy. Sydney is a global city and we need to support all well-run businesses in the CBD.” 

A recent ReachTel poll commissioned by The Sun-Herald newspaper found 38.8 percent of voters wanted the lockout laws eased. 48% wanted them retained, down from 70 percent in 2016.

One of Sydney’s longest-running entertainment venues, the 5,500-capacity Hordern Pavilion that opened in April 1924, will remain a music venue.  Speculation was that it would become offices for the Sydney Swans football team. However, venue operator Playbill Venue Management, which extended its 18-year tenure, struck a deal with the sporting team via a joint venture called PlayOn Group. The Swans will occupy the next door Royal Hall of Industries. The NSW government will spend A$65 million ($45.9 million) revitalizing both buildings.

Playbill managing director Michael Nebenzahl said that the Hordern’s renovations will include state of the art seating and facilities to host a wider range of offerings.  

Hel explained, “Our vision is to create a multipurpose space with the versatility to host a wider variety of events and performance options including concerts large and small, theatre and entertainment, exhibitions, functions and launches.”

Levi’s Australia is financially supporting a six-part online and social media video series to promote the services of the music industry’s benevolent society Support Act Ltd’s newly launched 24/7 Well-being Helpline. 

The Tune Up series features high-profile artist manager Maggie Collins, booking agent Stephen Wade of Select Music, festival stage manager Cam Batten as well as artists as rapper Briggs, The Amity Affliction singer Joel Birch and singer-songwriter Alex The Astronaut offer tips on coping with the stressful workload and isolated lifestyle. Alex the Astronaut says, “Everything with music is so unplanned and that seems overwhelming at times” and recommends a half-hour regime in the gym, while Batten comments, “Men can actually sit down now and go, you know what? I’ve got a problem. That’s good.”