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Australia News: Lime Cordiale, Melbourne Cup, Live Nation/Vodafone & More
– Lime Cordiale
Post Malone, Dre London Co-managing Sydney’s Lime Cordiale
Post Malone and his manager Dre London have signed a co-management and label deal with Sydney-based Chugg Music for Australian alt-pop duo Lime Cordiale.
The act – brothers Louis and Oli Leimbach – will play label showcases at The Roxy in West Hollywood, Calif., Sept. 17; Baby’s All Right in Brooklyn, N.Y., Sept. 24; and Mercury Lounge NYC Sept. 25. They embark on a three-month 30-date October – December tour of Australia and New Zealand.
“There’s so much we can do with the band in the USA and globally and together we’re going to make history,” London, who runs the company London Cowboys with Malone, said in a Sept. 14 statement.
The new partnership began when a fan slipped Malone a copy of Liam Cordiale’s album. Chugg told Pollstar that London flew in torrential rain in a small plane from Brisbane to Byron Bay to see the band live. “He really showed he wasn’t messing around,” said Chugg.
Lime Cordiale’s Australian rise centered around live shows: “The band love playing and entertaining,” Chugg said.
SXSW 2018 shows generated a West Coast run and a NYC date this year. Their debut shows in Europe and UK this summer saw sell-outs in London, Amsterdam and Manchester; plans are to return to that part of the world April/May.
Taylor Swift To Play One-Off At Melbourne Cup
In a coup for the Victoria Racing Club (VRC) Taylor Swift performs at Nexus Melbourne Cup Day Nov. 5 at Flemington Racecourse.
Her two-song performance ahead of the “race that stops a nation” will be her sole appearance in Australia. The race will draw 100,000 spectators and beamed to 1 billion globally, VRC chief executive Neil Wilson said.
Negotiations were with Swift, Shawn Mendes and Camila Cabello. The VRC declined to comment on media reports Swift – whose Lover album is Australia’s highest selling album for 2019 – was being paid US$1 million.
The Coalition for the Protection of Racehorses began a social, media campaign asking Swift not to appear. It posted, “Taylor Swift has put money before compassion by agreeing to perform” adding, “Horses are being killed for gambling profits and entertainment. If Taylor Swift cares at all about other animals the way she appears to care about cats, she will cancel her show and make a strong statement that animal abuse is unacceptable.”
Live Nation, Vodafone Announce Multi-Year Deal In NZ
Live Nation and Vodafone New Zealand struck a multi-year partnership.
The telco’s 2. 8 million customers get access to LN’s music, family and comedy tours and festivals including Rhythm and Vines and Outer Fields.
In turn, Vodafone supports a number of LN’s grassroots initiatives including an emerging talent program to be announced shortly.
Roger Field, CEO of LN Australia and New Zealand said the deal also “has a lasting impact on the future of the industry.”
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for HJ – Hugh Jackman
Madison Square Garden in New York City, June 29.
Hugh Jackman gets Order of Australia medal
Hugh Jackman was presented with a Companion of the Order of Australia medal at an investiture ceremony at Government-House in Canberra Sept. 13.
The actor/singer was acknowledged for his contribution to live performance and initiatives to fight global poverty, cancer and AIDS.
His latest movie, “The Greatest Showman,” grossed US$434,993,183 worldwide by end of August.
His current 90-date concert tour The Man. The Music. The Show, began May 7 2019 in Glasgow and ends Oct. 20 in Mexico City after North America, Europe and Oceania.
Stadium Planning Intensifies In Queensland
A delegation from Queensland led by premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to the International Olympic Committee headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland promised to build a 80,000-seat stadium if its bid to host the 2032 Olympics is successful.
In the meantime, after a report in the Gold Coast Bulletin that major Australian and international tours are bypassing the Gold Coast because it lacked a proper sized venue, it was contacted separately by Live Nation, TEG and Star Entertainment about working with the state government and Gold Coast City council to find a solution.
This would either be a new stadium or the mooted $85 million (US$58.3 million) upgrade of the 15-year old Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre which has a 6,000-capacity.
Live Nation’s option is an indoor stadium to hold 5,000 to 8,000, with Australasian CEO Roger Field saying almost 15% of its audience for Fleetwood Mac’s August dates at the 13,600-seat Brisbane Entertainment Centre travelled from the Gold Coast and northern New South Wales.
TEG’s plan is a new 8,000- to- 10,000 capacity venue or the convention center upgrade. TEG chief executive Geoff Jones said that with Queen + Adam Lambert’s Rhapsody tour in February 2020, it disregarded long time promoter convention it was risky do Brisbane and the Gold Coast on the same tour (they’re a 90-minute drive apart) by putting the act on at Brisbane’s 52,000 Suncorp Stadium and the Coast’s 25,000-seat Meticon Stadium. Both sold out, Jones said.
The convention center is managed by Star Entertainment Group on behalf of the state. Managing director Geoff Hogg said the was “very open” to discussions about an upgrade, but on the proviso the government provides “certainty” about the state’s global hub and a second casino. “If at the end of the day (the certainty) does go away, that sends a clear message to us to focus on competing with other cities and driving tourism,” he told the Bulletin.