Australia: Sydney Nightlife, Promoter Awards, Harry Styles

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 – Kings Cross
Kings Cross in Sydney

Five-Stage Plan To Make Sydney A 24-Hour Buzz City
The New South Wales (NSW) government launched a detailed plan Sept. 14 to turn Sydney into a 24-hour city. Since January – when it abandoned most of the lockout rules initiated six years before by another regime – the current administration has been working with the live sector, arts, local government, retail and hospitality on the 24-Hour Economy Strategy.
The plan consists of 39 actions across the five strategic pillars include reducing red tape for live venues, more public transport, extended opening hours, diversified businesses, better lighting and more outdoor activities.
There will be a pilot program to transform footpaths and public space into outdoor dining spaces, art installations or mini-parks.
Minister for jobs, investment, tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said, “We’re going to turbo-charge Sydney.” NSW treasurer Dominic Perrottet added, “This strategy aims to drive investment, create jobs and attract more businesses to the CBD and surrounding suburbs, laying the groundwork for our state’s economic recovery so we can keep more businesses in business and people in jobs.”
Michael Rodrigues, chair of the Night Time Industries Association lobbying group stated, “Paris, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, New York. When you think of some of the greatest cities in the world, they are all international destinations with a strong nightlife brand.”
He was particularly please with two initiatives – the creation of the role of coordinator general to liaise with all sectors including government departments, and the notion of the Neon Grid as a layered framework to interconnect the city, “a brilliant approach to how we can engage with the nightlife hubs we have right now as well as encourage the development of future nightlife precincts.”  
Major Promoters Up For Live Music Awards
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 – Elton John

Seven major promoters were nominated in the inaugural Promoters Award at the 5th National Live Music Awards, held online for the first time Oct. 20 and streamed via Dailymotion.

On the list are Secret Sounds for The 1975, Frontier Touring for TOOL, Handsome Tours for Sleaford Mods, Chugg Entertainment and AEG for Elton John, and Live Nation with Secret Sounds for Orville Peck. 
Multi-nominee artists included R&B singers Sampa The Great and Ngaiire, bands Violent Soho, Ball Park Music, Tropical Fuck Storm and WAAX, up-and-coming hip-hop MC Genesis Owusu and singer songwriter Stella Donnelly.
In a year where A$340 million ($247.3 million) worth of jobs dried up in the first six weeks, according to the I Lost My Gig website, awards director Larry Heath thought it crucial the sector –“the best damn live scene in the world … be celebrated from start to end … for incredible performances, ingenuity and perseverance.”
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 – Gabrielle Mullins
Gabrielle Mullins of Auckland Powerstation
Auckland Powerstation Co-Owner Passes
Gabrielle Mullins, co-owner of major Auckland live music venue Powerstation, died Aug. 27 after a five-month battle with an aggressive cancer which attacked her lungs and brain. She was 61.
Mullins bought the 30-year old venue in 2009 with her partner Peter Campbell. The 1,000-capacity club hosted the cream of NZ acts, as well as tourists including Kendrick Lamar, Radiohead, The Pixies and Snoop Dogg.
A tribute posted on the Powerstation Facebook page described the mother of one as the high energy “heart and soul” of the venue, whose eye for detail, artistic flair and ability to connect with any customer added to the club’s ambience.
A Harry Styles November tour cancelled
Harry Styles took to social media Sept, 16 to confirm that his Australian visit in the southern spring is cancelled.
“Everyone’s health and safety remains our top priority, which is why I unfortunately have to postpone all 2020 shows in South America, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand until further notice,” the singer tweeted. “I can’t wait to see you all on the road as soon as it’s safe to do so.”
The cancellation came after two days of annoyed social media postings from fans after Aussie ticketing agency Ticketek posted September 14 that the seven sold-out arena dates November 20 to December 2 were going ahead.
The backlash from fans called the wait-and-see attitude “delusional” and demanded Live Nation cancel and start refunds. “What world do you live in?” said one post.
Aside from two-week tourist quarantines and border closures around Australia, the tour included two sold-out nights at the 14,000-seat Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne – a city where strict rules include a 9 pm curfew, no travel beyond 5 km from home and no socializing with over two people. 
Shooting Date For Elvis Biopic Set
Award-winning Australian director Bazz Luhrmann announced that the Elvis Presley biopic will resume shooting on the Gold Coast Sept. 23. 
That is the day that Tom Hanks, who plays Presley manager Colonel Tom Parker in the untitled project, comes out of quarantine. 
He and other production members were allowed into Queensland under strict Queensland Health pandemic rules which included staying in an approved quarantine hotel for two weeks and subject to random police checks. 
Pre-production on the film ceased mid-March after Hanks and his singer wife Rita Wilson caught the virus. After a hospital stint, they returned to the U.S.
Aussie Biz Connects With Canada, UK
Long time collaborators Sounds Australia, Canada’s CMA and the British Underground have joined the Americana Music Association Foundation’s Sept. 16-18 Thriving Roots: A Virtual Community Music Conference.
The three associations have for a decade partnered with exporters forum Country Connections at events as SXSW, The Great Escape, AMERICANAFEST and Folk Alliance International. 
In this instance, they have the inaugural two-hour Country Connections Live – A Showcase. Four acts from each country perform two songs apiece.
Australia’s Beccy Cole, Charlie Collins, Dan Sultan and Troy Cassar-Daley join Canada’s AHI, Julian Taylor, Mama’s Broke and Mo Kenney and the UK’s Ferris And Sylvester, Lady Nade, Lauren Housley and Misty River.
Splendour In The Grass, Highway To Hell, Groundwater, Nominated For Events Awards
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 – Jessica Ducrou

Music festivals Splendour In The Grass, Groundwater, Adelaide Fringe, Buskers By The Creek and Deni Ute Muster along with Highway To Hell, the traveling Bon Scott tribute performances on parts of Western Australia’s Canning Highway and the Gold Coast Music Awards were among the 120 finalists for the Australian Event Awards.

They’re up against rodeos, sports championships, cultural festivals, military tattoos, virtual meets and business conferences. Winners are announced Oct. 21.  
Among the six individual national finalists were  Jessica Ducrou nominated by Secret Sounds Group whose Splendour In The Grass festival is also gonged in the awards, and Michael Cassel nominated by Michael Cassel Group whose various productions were proposed in other categories.