Flume, Tame Impala, Hunters, Presets nominated for Helpmanns

Flume, Tame Impala, Hunters & Collectors and The Presets will vie for the Best Australian Contemporary Concert award at this year’s Helpmanns.

Flume’s Infinity Prism Tour, of seven shows and eight festival slots, boasted an accompanying visual production by Sydney creative collective Toby & Pete. The show was produced by Future Classic, Lunatic Entertainment and Chugg Entertainment.

Tame Impala’s run with Chugg Entertainment was part of a world tour. The Perth band are currently completing dates through the UK, Europe and South America.

Hunters & Collectors reunion tour, their first since 1998, came in the wake of the star-studded tribute album Crucible, and dates with Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band. The comeback included winery dates on Roundhouse Entertainment’s A Day On The Green and theatre shows booked by Frontier Touring, which re-established the outfit as a formidable live force.

The classically trained Presets joined the Australian Chamber Orchestra at Sydney Opera House in May as part of Vivid Live.

Vivid Live was nominated for Best Contemporary Music Festival, alongside Bluesfest, Laneway and Falls Music & Arts.

The NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency Destination NSW also receives the Best Special Event Award for Vivid 2013, which was attended by 800,000 visitors to over 130 events over three weeks.

Assistant Minister for Tourism & Major Events, Katrina Hodgkinson said that Destination NSW had helped secure premieres of major musicals for the state including Matilda, Annie, Legally Blonde and Strictly Ballroom.

Hodgkinson added, “Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest festival of light, music and ideas, was attended by 800,000 people in 2013. Vivid goes from strength to strength each year, with this year’s festival attracting over 1.4 million people.”

Up for Best International Contemporary Concert are Beyonce’s The Mrs Carter Show World Tour (Live Nation), Eddie Vedder (Chugg Entertainment), Bruce Springsteen & The E-Street Band (Frontier Touring) and Pink’s The Truth About Love Tour (Live Nation).

Sydney dance producer Paul Mac’s collaboration with David Page for Bangarra Dance Theatre’s Blak got a gong for Best Original Score.

The nominations cover 41 categories, including opera, classical, ballet, musical theatre, cabaret and comedy. View the list is at www.helpmannawards.com.au.

The nominations were announced simultaneously at events in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Perth.

The Helpmanns are produced by Live Performance Australia. Its chief executive Evelyn Richardson, said, “The Helpmann Awards are the pinnacle ‘night of nights’ event for our industry, recognising the very best in live performances that annually attract over 16 million people to shows across the country with revenues topping $1.2 billion.”

The Helpmann’s are held on Monday August 18 at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre and broadcast on Foxtel’s Arena channel.