Features
Springsteen Wins At Australia’s Helpmanns
Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band’s triumphant return to Australia this year as part of its Wrecking Ball world tour won it the Best International Contemporary Concert gong at the 14th Helpmann awards.
The 11 dates over February and March were through Frontier Touring Company. Also nominated in the category were Pink, Beyoncé and Eddie Vedder. The first two shows were through Live Nation, the latter with Chugg Entertainment.
The Helpmanns, covering 44 awards in all styles of Australia’s live performance sector, took place Aug. 18 at Sydney’s
The night covered musicals, opera, classical, children’s, theatre and comedy.
Contemporary music was acknowledged in three categories. Best Contemporary Music Festival was taken by Bluesfest Byron Bay for its second successive win.
It also won in 2006 and 2005. In April, the event’s founder, Peter Noble, celebrated its 25th anniversary. More than 100,000 attended a star-studded bill that included Jeff Beck, John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Boz Scaggs, who said, “I’ve been hearing about Bluesfest for years, quite a legend. It’s right up there with Glastonbury and the New Orleans Jazz Festival.”
The Best Australian Contemporary Concert went to a reunited Hunters & Collectors, which in the 1980s emerged as a strong live drawcard. The group reunited for dates with Springsteen & The E-Street Band, then 10 dates on Roundhouse Entertainment’s A Day On The Green winery circuit, and theatre shows through Frontier Touring.
Hunters & Collectors were up against Tame Impala, dance act Flume, and a team-up by The Presets with the Australian Chamber Orchestra at
The Helpmann Awards are produced by Live Performance Australia. In 2013, the live performance sector generated A$1.47 billion ($1.4 million) with 17.9 million people attending its events.