Ellen 'Healthy as a Kookaburra' and Teasing Sydney Plans

Ellen DeGeneres has fully recovered from the bout of flu that delayed her much-publicised Australian visit due to start last weekend, and postponed to this weekend.

The 55-year-old talk show host is as "healthy as a kookaburra", in her own words. Does that mean she's breaking out in laughing fits at inconvenient hours of the early morning?

"I'm feeling much better and I'm ready for my trip this week!" Ellen tweeted to more than 17.6 million followers. "The doctors say I'm healthy as a kookaburra."

Ellen whipped up more Aussie excitement with her following tweets.

"I'll be in Australia in three days! And I've got big plans for Sydney on Saturday. Don't miss it," she wrote a few hours ago. What could these secret plans be, hmm? Any guesses, TheFIX readers?

Of course, given that Ellen's trip is sponsored by vitamin company Swisse, she managed to throw a plug in for the brand.

"I've got my Swisse energy tablets for the plane. This time I won't get the flu when I flew," she wrote. Let's hope no rumours emerge claiming she faked her illness to promote Swisse. Ellen would never do that!

Ellen has plans to meet her fans in Sydney and Melbourne. More details on her visit will be announced soon.

We're so excited! Hope the flight goes well for her and wife Portia de Rossi.

Room On The Broom - Ipswich Civic Theatre

The team behind The Gruffalo and The Gruffalo’s Child return with songs, laughs and scary fun for children aged 3 and up – and their grown-ups.

How the cat purred and how the witch grinned, as they sat on their broomstick and flew through the wind.

The witch and her cat are flying happily on their broomstick – until a stormy wind blows away the witch’s hat, bow and wand. A helpful dog, a bird and a frog find the witch’s lost things, and they all hop on the broom for a ride. But this broomstick’s not meant for five and – CRACK – the broom snaps in two!

When a hungry dragon appears, who will save the poor witch? And will there ever be room on the broom for everyone?

Robert Plant Live at the Sydney Entertainment Centre

Following the announcement of his appearances on Byron Bay’s Bluesfest and the West Coast Blues & Roots Festival in Fremantle, Chugg Entertainment are today thrilled to confirm that rock legend Robert Plant will also be performing, along with his band the Sensational Space Shifters, at the Sydney Entertainment Centre on Thursday 28 March.

After life with Led Zeppelin, Plant began putting his wide-ranging musical fascination to good use on solo albums with Jimmy Page and in recordings with bands like The Honeydrippers, Priory of Brion and Strange Sensation.

Plant continued to expand his horizons with the 2007′s collaboration with Alison Krauss on Raising Sand and in 2010, he released an album with the Band of Joy co-produced by his band mate Buddy Miller (electric guitar, baritone, 6-string bass, mando guitar) and with fellow musicians Darrell Scott (acoustic guitar, mandolin, octave mandolin, banjo, accordion, pedal steel and lap steel guitar), Byron House (bass), Marco Giovino (drums and percussion) which also received 2 Grammy® Award nominations.

The Sensational Space Shifters are his latest project, a loose band "inspired by the roots music of Mississippi, Appalachia, Gambia, Bristol and the foothills of Wolverhampton and drawing on influences collected in a lifetime of meander and journeying." Along-side Robert are his semi-regular guitarist Justin Adams and Juldeh Camara from Gambia, Justin's Ritti - playing partner in their duo Juju.

Exciting audiences around the world, Plant presents songs from his early days in Led Zeppelin to his more recent adventures in the heart land of the US, in dizzy collisions of rhythm and power. His current companions have created a performance that digs deep into the roots of the blues, turning ancient, dark music that inspired so much of British and American rock on its heard. He mixes crazy trans-rhythms and psychedelic to create a powerful and unique adventure.

BAND LINE UP

Robert Plant - vocals, harmonica
Juldeh Camara- ritti (one-stringed African Violin), kologo (African Banjo), talking drum, vocals.
Justin Adams - guitar, bendir, vocals
John Baggott - keyboards
Liam "Skin" Tyson - guitar, vocals
Dave Smith - drums and percussion
Billy Fuller - bass guitar, vocals


WHEN: Thursday 28th March 2013
TIME: Starts at 7:30 PM

Jason Mraz Live in Sydney

Love Is A Four Letter Word, released last year, featured the heartfelt single I Won’t Give Up, following its quiet debut on Mraz’s site, quickly proved itself to be an undeniable pop smash of the new year. One week from its release in the US, the song debuted in the #1 slot on Billboard’s Digital Songs chart, with sales surpassing 225,000. Not stopping there, it also garnered over 2.5 million YouTube hits in the first week with numbers now surpassing more than 20 million.

One of the modern era’s most gifted pop troubadours, Jason Mraz’s extraordinary musical journey has taken him from coffee houses to stadiums all over the world, with two GRAMMY® Awards and six nominations already to his credit. His 2008 album, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things was an indelible global blockbuster, earning gold, platinum and multi-platinum certifications in 21 countries around the world. The lead single, I’m Yours, holds the record for being the longest-running song in the history of the Billboard “Hot 100” chart. In Australia, We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things is certified double platinum, and the hit single I’m Yours is certified three times platinum.

Mraz spent much of 2011 road-testing the songs from his latest album, touring alongside his longtime friend, percussionist Noel “Toca” Rivera. The worldwide trek – which included performances in North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia – saw Mraz celebrating music’s lasting power to inspire change and help others through global citizenship. Among the journey’s many highlights were multiple sold out shows at such iconic venues as Australia’s Sydney Opera House, New York City’s Carnegie Hall, and Spreckels Theatre in Mraz’s adopted hometown of San Diego.

Joining Mraz at these special shows will be US sensation, Zac Brown Band. With nine hit singles and two platinum-selling records under their belt, the news of their return to Australia comes just days after receiving a GRAMMY® nomination for Best Country Album for their latest release Uncaged.

Tuesday 26 March 2013
Starts at 7:30 PM

Lloyd Webber's Superstar to be Resurrected

ANDREW Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's smash-hit musical, Jesus Christ Superstar, is returning to Australia for another arena tour in May, starring a comedian, a Spice Girl and a reality TV talent show winner in the lead roles.

In 1992, when the musical toured Australia's arenas for the first time (the show made its Australian premiere at Sydney's Capitol Theatre 20 years before, in 1972), John Farnham, then one of the country's biggest pop stars, starred as Christ, sporting a glorious blonde mane. Flanked by Kate Ceberano as a sultry Mary Magdalene and Noiseworks frontman, Jon Stevens, playing the treacherous Judas with a mullet to rival Jesus', the show became one of Australia's most popular ever, selling almost 1 million tickets over 16 weeks and grossing more than $40 million. The original cast recording soundtrack went platinum four times.

Twenty years later, after a record-breaking opening run in arenas across Britain and Ireland last September, a contemporarised version of the musical is returning to Australia and will debut in Perth on May 31. The three leads from the British production are reprising their roles here, with Perth-born comedian, singer and actor Tim Minchin playing Judas, former Spice Girl Mel C as Mary Magdalene and newcomer Ben Forster as Jesus, who won the role after appearing in Lloyd Webber's British TV talent show, Superstar.

Stevens returns to the cast for the Australian production, this time playing Pontius Pilate, while Andrew O'Keefe, host of TV game show Deal Or No Deal and nephew of '50s rock star Johnny O'Keefe, makes his major debut as King Herod.

The musical will travel to Perth, Adelaide, Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne in May and June. Three dates at Rod Laver Arena have been announced.

The story traces the last week of Jesus' life, beginning with his arrival with his disciples in Jerusalem and culminating in his crucifixion. In the updated version, the musical is set in the midst of a global financial crisis, inspired by the London riots and Occupy movements. The set is accordingly modernised, as are the costumes - Forster, as Jesus, evokes a brooding Johnny Depp, while Mel C's Mary Magdalene has dreadlocks and piercings. Reviews for the British leg have been largely positive, with both The Telegraph and The Times giving the show four stars. The Guardian was less impressed, describing Forster as having "only two facial expressions: (pained, or faintly smouldering, like a bit of damp kindling)".

Jon English.

More than 100 people will come to Australia from Britain for the show, which tour promoter Michael Gudinski hopes is the first in a series of collaborations with Lloyd Webber.

Read more 

Santana and Steve Miller Band Live in Sydney

This co-headline show will play Sydney Entertainment Centre on Wednesday 27th March. 

SANTANA
One of the greatest musicians and legendary guitarists of our generation, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, Carlos Santana is set to ignite our stages once more. His style defies definition, immediately recognizable yet unlike any other, Santana's fusion of Latin rock, blues, soul and jazz comes in full swing on stage in a way that transcends time and the limits of genre typecasting. Delivered with a level of passion and soul equal to the legendary sonic charge of his guitar, the sound of Carlos Santana is one of the world's best known musical signatures.

For more than four decades, Carlos Santana has sold more than 90 million records and reached more than 100 million fans at concerts worldwide. To date, Santana has won 10 Grammy® Awards, including a record-tying nine for a single project for 1999's Supernatural (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for "Smooth"). The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame proclaim, "Guitarist Carlos Santana is one of rock's true virtuosos and guiding lights." Among many other honors, Carlos Santana has also been cited by Rolling Stone as #15 on their list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time."

STEVE MILLER BAND 
Few musicians can boast the introduction that Miller had to music - his father who worked as a pathologist was friends with stars like Charles Mingus and Les Paul, whom he brought home as guests; Paul taught the young Miller some guitar chords and let him sit on recording sessions. With a career encompassing distinct stages from one of the top San Francisco blues-rockers during the late 60s and early 70s and then going on to become one of the top selling pop/rock acts of the mid to late 70s and early 80s.

The Steve Miller Band has sold more than 30 million records in a career spanning more than 40 years. His trademark blues-rock sound has made him one of the cornerstone legends of his genre. Award-winning albums like The Joker, Brave New World, Abracadabra and Fly Like An Eagle; and songs like: Gangster Of Love, Rock ‘n Me, Fly Like an Eagle, Jet Airliner, Jungle Love, The Joker, Abracadabra, Livin’ In The USA, Take the Money and Run, and Swingtown have cemented Steve Miller as one of rock music’s all-time greats. His touring schedule to packed out arenas continues without let up.


Wed 27 March 2013 - Starts at 7 PM

There is no local support act.

Steve Miller Band hits the stage at 7pm. Don't be late!

Steve Miller Band 7:00pm

Santana 9:00pm

Rihanna Brings Diamonds to Perth

Controversial pop diva Rihanna will kick off her Australian tour at Perth Arena on September 24.

The Barbadian singer, who last played Perth two years ago, kicked off her Diamonds World Tour in the US on Friday and has dates throughout North America, Africa and Europe until the end of July.

The 25-year-old, whose hits include Umbrella, Only Girl (In the World) and We Found Love, will have a short break then return to the road in Oz.

Rihanna recently revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that she had rekindled her on-and-off again relationship with rapper Chris Brown, who was charged with assaulting her before the Grammy Awards in 2009.

Perth Tourism News: Rihanna Brings Diamonds to Perth