James Blunt - Moon Landing 2014 World Tour

The Frontier Touring Company is delighted to announce the return of James Blunt to Australia in 2014., Blunt and his band will visit for a very special run of shows in May/June next year, with guests Busby Marou.

The timing for this exciting announcement could not be better, with Blunt's brand new single 'Bonfire Heart', taken from his upcoming album 'Moon Landing', peaking at #1 position on the iTunes single chart and debuting at #5 on this week's ARIA single chart!

James Blunt shot to fame in 2006 with the smash singles 'You're Beautiful' & 'Goodbye My Lover' from his platinum selling album 'Back to Bedlam', one of the UK's best-selling albums of the 2000's. For fourth studio album Moon Landing, Blunt wanted to go back to sounding... like himself. 'I was playing a lot of ukulele - mainly because it makes me look bigger,' says James. He also returned to producer Tom Rothrock, and to working with just the two of them in the studio, occasionally bringing in selected musicians from the Back To Bedlam sessions.

Picking up a guitar and writing his first song at 14, Blunt wrote his university dissertation on the music industry, took that guitar to the war in Kosovo, and always dreamed of making music, saying what success has meant, more than anything, is freedom. 'What it allowed me to do was go on tour with a band. That was absolutely amazing'.

 But it also meant much more than that, with three world tours, four number one singles, five Grammy nods (plus two BRITS, two Ivor Novellos and a host of MTV awards), a six-piece band, seven whole years on the road, nearly 17m albums and 20 million singles sales worldwide following.

Bringing a full band with him for the tour and renowned for his charm and grace on stage, Australian audiences will surely be captivated when he returns for his first visit since 2011, playing songs from his highly anticipated new album as well as a collection of hits.

'There's just something romantic, old-school and lonely about the moon landings,' he explains. 'A nostalgic memory of something huge that we can hardly believe we once achieved, and for some sad reason, can't achieve again - like first love.'

"Goodbye My Lover was everything Sydney's jilted lovers could have dreamed of. His timorous demeanour whilst sitting at the piano worked rather well here, giving the hit song a raw touch and awarded him a well-deserved standing ovation."

- The Music Network 2011

It's an exciting week for Australian duo Busby Marou, with their new album 'Farewell Fitzroy' (out now through Warner Music) debuting at #5 on the ARIA album chart this week, they have also been confirmed as special guests for this Australian/New Zealand tour with James! Two years on from their acclaimed self-titled debut, Farewell Fitzroy is 12 tracks of folk-pop and country-tinged song craft, distinctly Australian storytelling, and the gifted musicianship of Tom Busby and Jeremy Marou.
"Marou's sometime-falsetto and Busby's earthy, clear lead vocals combine in heavenly harmony, and their guitars do likewise."

- The Australian (4.5 stars)

James Blunt is certain to make audiences swoon at these theatre shows and tickets won't last, so be sure to grab yours.

TOUR DATES*:

Sun 1 Jun - Newcastle Civic Theatre, NSW
Mon 2 Jun - Brisbane Convention Centre, QLD
Fri 6 Jun - Adelaide Entertainment Centre Theatre, SA
Sat 7 Jun - Royal Theatre Canberra, NSW
Fri 13 Jun - Riverside Theatre Perth, WA
*Ticketek is selling for the above venues only.

Coming Soon to Capitol Theatre Sydney: Wicked - The Broadway Musical

Long before Dorothy dropped in, two other girls meet in the Land of Oz.

One, born with emerald green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood. The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular. WICKED tells the story of how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good.

When WICKED opened on Broadway, it worked its magic on critics and audiences alike. Winner of 35 major awards including a Grammy®, three Tony Awards® and six Helpmann Awards including Best Musical, WICKED has been described as the “Best Musical of the Decade.” Entertainment Weekly

After its success on Broadway, in North America, London, Germany, Japan and Australia, WICKED will return to Sydney in 2014 for a strictly limited season.

Click on the link and “Add to Favourites” to be the first in line to get tickets for this spectacular show in Sydney!

Imagination Wins Tender to Design Sydney New Year Eve for City of Sydney

Imagination has once again gone ‘above and beyond’ to secure their place as creative mastermind for Australia’s largest public event.

By providing City of Sydney with an outstanding creative roadmap, Imagination has been awarded the highly coveted Sydney New Year’s Eve Project for the next three years. City of Sydney will also have the opportunity to continue their contract with Imagination for a further two years, after the delivery of the event on 31 December 2016.

Sydney New Year’s Eve attracts 1.6 million people to the city. It’s an experience that features two cutting edge fireworks displays, a secret Sydney Harbour Bridge Effect, a traditional Harbour of Light Parade and several events staged around the Harbour foreshore.

Imagination’s Managing Director Antony Gowthorp says his team is extremely proud to have been asked to continue its relationship with the City of Sydney. By winning the competitive tender with a fresh vision that tests the boundaries of what is possible, he says Imagination will continue to lead the industry in groundbreaking events.

On the back of the producing the incredibly successful Royal Australian Navy International Fleet Review Spectacular, Imagination looks forward to the opportunity to take this iconic Sydney Harbour experience to the next level.

“Sydney New Year’s Eve is an incredible event through which we continue to push the creative, sponsorship and consumer experience to the limit,” Gowthorp says.

Imagination kicked off their job as the creative directors of Sydney New Year’s Eve working with design luminary Marc Newson in December 2011. Since that time they have attracted pop diva Kylie Minogue to help design the event and revered Australian artist and musician Reg Mombassa, who is the 2013 Sydney New Year’s Eve Creative Ambassador.

Imagination is a creative agency that delivers brand experiences via live, digital, social, and integrated campaign platforms. It includes on its client roster: The Ford Motor Company, The Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Telstra, Jaguar Landrover, Interface and Shell. Imagination also enjoys the credit of being the first creative producer of Sydney New Year’s Eve spectacular for The City of Sydney.

It offers creative services including: strategy, events, experiential, environments, digital, social, content production and integrated campaigns across; consumer, employee and stakeholder audiences. The agency’s creative resources embrace the skills of strategists, creative directors, story-tellers, writers, film-makers, brand designers, motion graphic designers, journalists, creative technologists, bloggers, social media experts, design directors, interior designers, digital experts, technical directors and producers.

Imagination has 50 staff in Australia with offices in Sydney and Melbourne and eighteen offices around the world.

Source

Sydney Festival Unveils 2014 Lineup

Mike Patton Performing Luciano Berio’s 1965 composition Laborintus II

Classical performances from Mike Patton and Sonic Youth’s Lee Ranaldo, and a tribute to Big Star’s cult 1978 albumThird/Sister Lovers lead the Sydney Festival program for 2014.

The performance of Big Star’sThird will see the last remaining musician from the band, drummer Jody Stephens, joined by REM’s Mike Mills, The Posies’ Ken Stringfellow and guest local and international artists. Lee Ranaldo will perform his new work Hurricane Transcriptions on a double bill alongside Mike Patton, who will be performing Luciano Berio’s 1965 composition Laborintus III, which is described as “a montage of spoken word, instrumentation and electronics.”

The festival, which will once again take over the city from January 9 – 26, also includes performances from former Battles frontman Tyondai Braxton, solo artist John Grant, post-punk survivor Edwyn Collins (Orange Juice), Daptone’s Lee Fields & The Expressions, electronic duo Matmos, avant-jazz saxophonist and Arcade Fire/Bon Iver collaborator Colin Stetson, punk-cabaret provocateur Amanda Palmer and former Bad Seed Mick Harvey revisiting his albums of Serge Gainsbourg’s interpretationsIntoxicated Man and Pink Elephants.

Other festival highlights include Laneway festival’s Kurt Vile playing two shows – a solo set and a full-band gig – off the back of his recent album Walkin on a Pretty Daze; Bombino, the acclaimed electric guitarist from Niger, playing a Falls sideshow; and Malian duo Amadou & Mariam returning to Australia with their “multi-sensory experience” Eclipse. While the festival has abandoned its traditional free opening-night party, disco star Chaka Khan will play a free show in the Domain gardens on January 11.

MAJOR EVENTS

Lee Ranaldo’s Hurricane Transcriptions / Mike Patton’s Laborintus III with Ensemble Offspring & The Song Company
City Recital Hall – January 16

Big Star’s Third
Enmore Theatre, January 23

Chaka Khan
The Domain – January 11

Amadou & Mariam’s Eclipse
Sydney Town Hall, January 9-11

So Frenchy So Chic in The Park – Lou Doillon, Lilly Wood & The Prick, Féfé and Circus Babylon
St John’s College, University of Sydney – January 18

Tyondai Braxton’s HIVE + Canyons & Daniel Boyd’s 100 Million Nights
Concert Hall Sydney Opera House, January 21

Matmos
City Recital Hall, January 15

Sun Ra Arkestra
State Theatre, January 18

Ambrose Akinmusire
City Recital Hall, January 11
The Spiegeltent, January 12

FESTIVAL VILLAGE

Amanda Palmer
The Spiegeltent, January 9-19

Tom Thum
Circus Ronaldo Tent, January 21-26

Ben Caplan & The Casual Smokers
The Spiegeltent, January 8
Parramatta Opening Party, January 10

Bombino
The Spiegeltent, January 9-10
The Lennox, Parramatta, January 11

Chris Thile
The Spiegeltent, January 14 – 15
The Lennox, Parramatta, January 16

Samaris
The Spiegeltent, January 16 – 17

Edwyn Collins
The Spiegeltent, January 19 – 21
The Lennox, Parramatta, January 18

The Staves
The Spiegeltent, January 22 – 23
Sutherland Entertainment Centre, January 24

Sinkane
The Spiegeltent, January 24 & 26

C.R. Avery & The Sojourners
Circus Ronaldo Tent, January 9 – 10

Dom Flemons
Circus Ronaldo Tent, January 11 – 12

Kurt Vile
Circus Ronaldo Tent, January 23

Colin Stetson
Circus Ronaldo Tent, January 25 – 26

Hot Dub Time Machine
The Spiegeltent, January 11, 18 & 25

Donny Benet & The Donny Benet Show Band
The Spiegeltent, January 10, 17 & 24

Lee Fields & The Expressions
The Spiegeltent, January 19

Funki Porcini
The Spiegeltent, January 16

Andrew Weatherall
The Spiegeltent, January 26

PARADISO AT TOWN HALL

John Grant and John Murry
January 16

Modular Night – Juan Atkins, Movement, Roland Tings, Wordlife and Softwar
January 17

Orquesta Tipica Fernandez Fierro
January 18

Mick Harvey: Intoxicated Man
January 19

Kurt Vile & The Violators
January 22

Georgia Anne Muldrow & Dudley Perkins with DJ Romes
January 23

Future Classic – Jacques Renault, Medlar, Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer
January 24

Soil & Pimp Sessions
January 25

The Soft Pink Truth
January 16

Andy Votel
January 19

Tyondai Braxton
January 22

- See more at: http://sydneycbdhotels.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/sydney-festival-unveils-2014-lineup.html#sthash.t2I3Fwwl.dpuf

Salt 'n' Pepper Australian Concert – 9th Nov 2013

One of the most iconic all-female hip hop outfits to survive the ’80s, Salt N Pepa have announced yet another tour of Australia. Their last Down Under trip was only back in 2011 so it hasn’t been too long between drinks for fans, but we don’t hear anyone complaining. 

For more than 25 years, Salt N Pepa have continued to inspire countless of successors. From the moment they burst onto the airwaves, the duo have had an immeasurable impact on modern female MCs, and demonstrated via a cool 15 million album sales worldwide. 

Salt N Pepa were also the first female hip hop crew to win a Grammy, and were one of the few rappers selected to perform on the zeitgeist penetrating Oprah Winfrey Show. 

This November the pair will be bringing their internationally lauded high-voltage live performance to us, sure to be jam packed with era-defining classics such as Let’s Talk About Sex, Shoop, Whatta Man and Tramp. And while Australians might be accustomed to their dynamic performance, this time round Salt N Pepa will also be stopping off in NZ for the first time in 15 years!

When: Saturday 9th November
Location: State Theatre, Sydney
Tickets: http://www.ticketmaster.com.au
Call: State Theatre 1300 139 588

Pitbull & Kesha Australian Concert – 8th Nov 2013

The Pitbull and Kesha tour buzz started earlier this year when the international music star tweeted Kesha before they appeared at the Kids Choice Awards in the US with their North American tour announced the following day.

Pitbull’s latest album, Global Warming, is aptly-titled, featuring five scorching singles: “Back In Time” (the theme to Men In Black 3; triple platinum in Australia), “Get It Started” (featuring Shakira), “Don’t Stop The Party” (double platinum), “Feel This Moment” (featuring Christina Aguilera; double platinum), and the latest smash, “Outta Nowhere”.

Pitbull’s previous Top 10 hits in Australia include “Give Me Everything” (six times platinum), “I Know You Want Me”, “Hey Baby (Drop It To The Floor)” and “Rain Over Me”. He has also been the featured artist on smash hits for Jennifer Lopez (“On The Floor”), Usher (“DJ Got Us Fallin’ In Love”), Enrique Iglesias (“I Like It”), and Qwote (“Throw Your Hands Up”).

Kesha exploded with her debut single, “TiK ToK”, which spent eight weeks at number one in Australia, going seven times platinum. It was the world’s biggest-selling single in 2010 and the biggest-selling digital single in history by a female solo artist. Kesha also topped the Australian charts with “We R Who We R” (four times platinum), and hit the Top 5 with “Blah Blah Blah”, “Your Love Is My Drug”, “Take It Off” and “Die Young”. And she was the featured artist on Flo Rida’s “Right Round”, which spent seven weeks on top of the Australian charts.

Kesha has released two albums, Animal and Warrior, plus the perfectly-titled remix album: I Am The Dance Commander and I Command You To Dance. She also has her own MTV reality series, Kesha: My Crazy Beautiful Life.

Local sensations Justice Crew have had five hits since winning Australia’s Got Talent in 2010, including the number one blockbuster “Boom Boom”, which went five times platinum, followed by the double-platinum smash “Best Night”. Pitbull likes ’em so much, he signed them to his 305 label, and they were part of Pitbull and Kesha’s North American tour.

Pitbull and Kesha will tour with special guests Justice Crew. Tickets go on sale at 10am August 15.

Dolly Parton Announces Australian Tour

US country singer Dolly Parton is returning to Australia in 2014 for a national tour. Parton will bring her Blue Smoke World Tour Down Under in February, promoter Live Nation announced on Monday."Australia, here I come again.

We have a lot of new and exciting things for the show and can't wait to share it with you. I love my fans in that part of the world.

You've been so very good to me for so many years and I know that we're gonna have a wonderful time," Parton said in a statement.Parton, best known for her hit 9 to 5 and her 1983 duet Islands in the Stream with Kenny Rogers, last toured Australia in 2011.

Her The Better Day World Tour! was lauded as her most successful Australian tour of her 45-plus year career after performing to record-breaking crowds across the country. Tickets go on sale on November 1.