Chet, Kylie, Laneway, Sheeran, up for Helpmanns

Chet Faker, Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Ed Sheeran, The Rolling Stones, Foo Fighters, Laneway and Vivid Live are among nominated for this year’s Helpmann Awards.

There are three contemporary music categories.

BEST AUSTRALIAN CONTEMPORARY CONCERT

Chet Faker (Chet Faker, Frontier Touring, Artist Voice, Opulent, Future Classics and Perth International Arts Festival)

Jimmy Barnes’ 30:30 Hindsight Greatest Hits Tour (Jimmy Barnes and Frontier Touring, in association with Premier Artists and A Day on the Green).

Kylie’s Kiss Me Once Tour (Kylie Minogue and Frontier Touring).

Tina Arena’s Reset Tour (Tina Arena and New World Artists).

BEST CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Bluesfest Byron Bay (26th Annual Bluesfest Byron Bay 2015 and Peter Noble)

Laneway Festival (Lunatic Entertainment and Chugg Entertainment)

Vivid Live (Destination NSW and Sydney Opera House)

Womadelaide (Ian Scobie)

BEST INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY CONCERT

Ed Sheeran’s X World Tour (Ed Sheeran and Frontier Touring)

Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways World Tour (Foo Fighters and Frontier Touring)

Paul Simon & Sting – On Stage Together (Paul Simon, Sting and Frontier Touring)

The Rolling Stones’ 14 On Fire (The Rolling Stones, Frontier Touring, AEG Live and IEC Entertainment).

Rock names also popped up in other categories. In Best Original Score are Kate Miller-Heidke and Iain Grandage for The Rabbits as part of Opera Australia.

Tim Rogers is also in the same category for Melbourne Theatre Company’s production of What Rhymes with Cars and Girls.

Rogers and What Rhymes with Cars and Girls are also contenders in Best Music Direction.

Full list in all categories at www.helpmannawards.com.au.

The nominees were announced at simultaneous events in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart.

Live Performance Australia (LPA) Chief Executive, Evelyn Richardson said this year has been a remarkable year for live performances in Australia and is reflected in the vibrancy and calibre of the Helpmann nominees.

“This year’s nominees across the 42 categories come from a range of disciplines and should all be congratulated for their immense display of talent and commitment to the live performance industry,” Richardson said.

The Best Special Event Award went to Perth International Arts Festival’s The Incredible and Phenomenal Journey of the Giants to the Streets of Perth. Over a million people watched two giant marionettes searching for each other across three-days in Perth’s CBD.

The $10,000 Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Australian Conductors went to Perth’s Jessica Gethin.

The Helpmanns are held on Monday July 27 at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre on the set of Cameron Mackintosh’s new production of Les Misérables.