Australasia News: Festivals; More Sydney Entertainment Precincts; NZ: P!NK Makes History

AUSTRALIA

CMC Deal Extended, Kylie @ Splendour, Elements Liquidates

With a possibility of losing CMC Rocks, the Queensland government secured the major country music festival’s stay at Willowbank Raceway near Ipswich for a further two years.

The announcement was made at the end of the 2024 event (March 15-17), when it drew a 23,000 sellout at each of the three days to see a bill including U.S. acts Lainey Wilson, Tyler Hubbard, Chris Young and Jackson Dean.

The 17-year old event, through Chugg Entertainment / Frontier Touring and Rob Potts Entertainment, has staged at Willowbank since 2015.

“We fought hard against a southern poaching raid to keep this event in Queensland. It injects A$14 million ($9.18 million) into the local economy and contributes to the state’s mega events calendar worth A$850 million ($557.5 million),” said tourism minister Michael Healy.

Kylie Minogue makes an exclusive Australian homecoming as headliner of the opening night of Splendour In The Grass (July 19-21). Other Splendour names include Future, Arcade Fire, Tones and I, G Flip and Tash Sultana.

Sunshine Coast EDM festival Elements was cancelled, with promoter Ten Tonne Events citing low ticket sales, inflation and rising costs by 30% to 40% worsened by the need to move after its LandCruiser 4WD Park site was sold.

Ten Tonne is in liquidation, said the Australian Security Investments Commission.
The 39th Adelaide Festival (March 1-17) set a new record attendance of 478,890 with 30% of tickets snapped up outside South Australia.

More Entertainment Precincts For Sydney

After a boom in nightlife traffic following the trial of Sydney’s bustling Enmore Street as a Special Entertainment Precinct (SEP), the Inner West Council is extending to four other streets.

SEPs allow music venues an extra hour trading and less noise restrictions and red tape, with live sets allowed in bookshops, cafes and restaurants.

Change Of Name For Gold Coast Stadium

Gold Coast’s Heritage Bank Stadium was renamed People First Stadium for four years. It followed last year’s merger of Heritage Bank and People’s Choice to create People First Bank.

With a capacity of 50,000 for concerts, the venue, originally Metricon Stadium, hosted Harry Styles, Paul McCartney, Post Malone and P!NK recently.

Angus & Julia Stone Sue Management

Folk-pop siblings Angus & Julia Stone launched legal action in the NSW Supreme Court against their former Australian-based manager of 10 years, Tim Manton, and London management firm TaP Music whose roster includes Lana Del Rey, Ellie Goulding and Noah Cyrus.

The Stones left the companies last year, and claim they were overcharged by A$750,000 ($491,919) on management fees, the Sunday Telegraph reported.

NEW ZEALAND

P!NK Makes History At Eden Park

P!NK’s March 8-9 sold out “Summer Carnival” shows at Auckland’s Eden Park set two records after drawing 100,000 over the two days.

She set a new attendance mark for a music artist and was the first woman artist to headline in the venue’s 120-year history.

Eden Park CEO Nick Sautner said, “The passion and excitement about P!NK coming to Eden Park during the (two nights) and in the days leading up to the concerts was unparalleled.”

Economic benefit to local businesses and the city was “expected to be substantial.”
He added, “We are committed to attracting more international artists to New Zealand and building on our reputation as a world-class entertainment venue.”

The singer posted on Instagram: “The gravity of being the first female to headline Eden Park, New Zealand’s national stadium, isn’t lost on me. Getting to do it on International Women’s Day made it even sweeter.”

During the New Zealand visit, her first since 2018, P!NK also played to 37,000 in Dunedin at Forsyth Barr Stadium. Combined with Australian figures, she played to more than 1 million in the region.