Features
Aussie Dates: Billy Idol with Cheap Trick
Billy Idol hits Australia and New Zealand after a November run through Europe and North America in January. It is Idol’s first tour in Australia since 2002 and first in New Zealand since 1987.
Photo: AP Photo / dpa, Boris Roessler
Hessian Day, Hessentagsarena Bensheim, Bensheim, Germany
Frontier Touring teamed him with Cheap Trick for three arena dates March 18-24. The two also do five shows March 14-29 in the A Day On The Green series, joined by Aussies The Angels and The Choirboys. The addition of Idol to A Day On The Green shows meant dropping the The Superjesus and Baby Animals, leading to to annoyed Facebook posts by the two female-fronted acts that the tour had become a male-dominated “sausage fest.” Roundhouse Entertainment’s Mick and Anthea Newton insisted it was “sheer coincidence, no sexism involved.”
After opening for Alicia Keys last December, John Legend returns for four stadium/theatre shows Dec. 5-14 through Live Nation. He is joined by “The X Factor” 2013 winner Dami Im. The two also do two A Day On The Green winery shows joined by singer-songwriter Megan Washington.
Eddie Izzard’s mammoth Force Majeure tour, which kicked off last year, extends to 2015. The dates, booked through Adrian Bohm Presents, run Jan. 28 to Feb. 19.
While Glasgow’s Belle & Sebastian was initially announced for the New Zealand leg of St Jerome’s Laneway Festival only, Laneway Presents and Penny Drop confirmed four theatre shows in Australia Jan. 28 to Feb. 3. It is the band’s first visit in four years. They will be joined by Melbourne Twerps, which has a global record deal with Mirage Records.
Citing “international travel arrangements,” Train moved its Sydney Opera House show from April 5 to April 1, and the Melbourne Hamer Hall date to March 31, from April 7.