Industrial Strength: Tina Arena awarded, pub protection, musical chairs, Golden Guitars & more

MUSIC IN THE HOUSE HONOURS TINA ARENA

Support Act Ltd is presenting the perennial Tina Arena AM with its Excellence In Community award. This will occur at its annual sold-out Music in the House fundraiser.

It is held from noon on Wednesday, May 29 at Sydney’s Ivy Ballroom.

Tickets at $95 a head or $900 for a table of ten from musicinthehouse.org.

As per tradition, various artists that Arena admires will perform acoustic versions of her songs. Her manager John Watson will make a keynote presentation.

“It’s an absolute privilege for Support Act to be able to honour Tina Arena at this year’s Music in the House,” said CEO Clive Miller.

“She has had such a phenomenal career and continues to excite and challenge us both on and off stage.

“We are looking forward to celebrating her incredible contribution to music in Australia and internationally along with her many contributions to the community.”

Arena is a multi-platinum singer-songwriter and musician who has sold 10 million albums. She is also renowned for being a musical theatre actress as well as a record and tour producer.

Others artists who have been honoured In The House include Archie Roach, Jenny Morris, Paul Kelly, John Butler, The Sapphires, Jimmy Barnes, Glenn Shorrock, Don Spencer, Richard Clapton, John Paul Young and Russell Morris.

HEADS UP ON NEXT WAVE OF TALENT

Heads Up is a new series of free music events in Sydney. Delivering a curated first-look at the next wave of musical talent. More info can be found here!

The first event takes place on June 6 at The Vanguard in Newtown in collaboration with Vivid Sydney’s Music Accelerate program.

It will feature sets from the Gold Coast via Auckland hip hop artist Saint Lane, collective Nap Girls DJs, Inner West rapper/vocalist Jannah Beth, Queensland’s Doolie, Melbourne singer-songwriter Charlz and Sydney psychedelic purveyor TIMI TEMPLE.

This event is curated by a panel of industry pros, spearheaded by TMRW Music Group’s Tim McGee.

“Heads Up is a place of discovery and collaboration between venue and festival bookers, publishers, writers, agents, media, DSPs, A&Rs and tastemakers to throw our support behind the wealth of emerging artists in Australia,” explains McGee.

“It will be a great opportunity for fans and the industry alike to see buzzed-about artists performing live.”

RAINBOW SERPENT GETS $50,000 BILL

Victorian Police have slapped a $50,000 bill onto Rainbow Serpent festival, according to the Sunday Herald Sun. This occurs after authorities had to police the four-day event in Lexton, near Ballarat.

Police said 12 people were arrested for drug dealing, 54 were cautioned for possession, and officers were pelted by the crowd.

Chief Commissioner Graham Ashton indicated that police and paramedics were pushing for stronger powers to issue and cancel permits for such events.

Seems to us like this is moving in the direction of NSW’s controversial festival licences.

PROGRAM TO GIVE SYDNEY HERITAGE PUB PROTECTION

Sydney’s Inner West Council has entered into a partnership with the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) to work on its heritage pub protection program.

As part of its Conservation and Heritage course, UTS students from the Faculty of design, architecture and building will investigate the heritage significance of 20 pubs across the Inner West, in conjunction with Council’s strategic planning department.

This includes determining whether these pubs should be listed as heritage items.

The results of the study will be known by the end of this year.

“The Inner West has recently seen an alarming trend of conversion of heritage pubs into completely new usage,” Inner West mayor Darcy Byrne said.

“Our hotels and pubs are cultural institutions and have a value above and beyond the commercial – they have architectural, historical and social significance.

We can’t let our famous pub culture go out the back door and risk losing the heart and soul of our community.”

According to Byrne many of the local pubs do have protection “but it is clear that some have slipped through the cracks,” he said.

Pubs that Byrne think should get protection include Vic on the Park, the Annandale Hotel, the 3 Weeds, and the Unity Hall Hotel.

Of the 66 pubs in the Inner West, eleven (or 17%) have no heritage protection, 24 (36%) have protections by their location in a heritage conservation area and 31 (47%) are individually heritage listed.

Other pubs that will be investigated are the Garry Owen Hotel and The Bridge Hotel in Rozelle, Dick’s Hotel in Balmain, Newtown’s Sandringham Hotel and the Queens Hotel in Enmore.

MUSICAL CHAIRS

Social entrepreneur Ian Carson AM is the new president of the Victorian Arts Centre Trust. He will oversee Arts Centre Melbourne which includes Hamer Hall, the Theatres Building and the Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Last year these drew over 3.7 million people to performances, exhibitions, festivals and public education programs.

Australian Radio Network appointed Tony Aldridge as content director for Melbourne’s KIIS 101.1. He was previously content director for Mix 102.3 and Cruise 1323 in Adelaide.

Sharon Burgess, who for the past six years was managing director of the company which runs the Edinburgh Fringe, is now chief executive of Perth’s Artrage which operates Fringe World. Festival director Amber Hasler will be acting CEO until Burgess moves to WA after the 2019 Edinburgh Fringe season.

After 13 years running the Choir of Hard Knocks, Dr Jonathon Welch AM will give his Melbourne farewell concert Seasons of Love at Melbourne Town Hall on Sunday, June 2.

Over at the ArtsHub site, Jinghua Qian steps into the editorial team while Andrea Simpson is on maternity leave from April to November.

BIG GOLDEN GUITAR CHANGES HANDS

Tamworth Regional Council has taken over ownership of tourist attraction, the Big Golden Guitar, from local businessman Tom Coultan who bought it in 2010.

It will allow the council to focus on increasing the tourism prospects of 32-year-old 12m high attraction on the New England Highway which last year drew 117,000 visitors.

The gift store will close in mid-May.

SONY FOUNDATION RAISES $810K FOR CANCER PATIENTS

The Sony Foundation’s most recent charity initiative raised $810,000 for young cancer patients as part of the annual River4Ward event.

This one was held in Melbourne on the banks of the Yarra and featured performances from the likes of Delta Goodrem, Guy Sebastian, The Veronicas and more.

The money raised goes to the youth cancer program set up by Sony Foundation Australia, you can and enable “a service providing free fertility preservation for regional youth patients diagnosed with cancer through a Victorian oncofertility project and the build of a Palliative Care unit for young people.”

NUMBER CRUNCHING

$8 million, the rumoured fee for Ariana Grande’s two Coachella headline sets.

60 seconds for Midnight Oil show in Thirroul, NSW, with furious fans blaming scalpers.

143 million streams in the US in a week by Lil Nas X’s ‘Old Town Road’ breaks the record set by Drake’s In My Feelings’ with 116.2 million.

$7500, the price asked for Drake’s childhood note which states, “I will clean my room.”

$901 million is what Bohemian Rhapsody has made at the global box office.

77 nationalities represented in a drum circle in Stirling WA representing Harmony Day.

$625 is what R. Kelly says he has left in his bank account after his legal woes.

$41,000 is reportedly what South Australia’s Radio Rentals made in the last financial year, which is why it’s shuttering its physical and online stores over the next few months after calling in administrators citing “increasingly difficult trading conditions over recent years.”

4 years jail for a Taylor Swift stalker.

$77,999 raised for the family of Chris Griffin, the stagehand who died in a fall while working on a Coachella stage. The original target was $25,000.

ANDREW DENTON BACK ON SEVEN, NOVA

Andrew Denton’s show Interview returns to Seven on Tuesday, April 23 for its second season.

The first season featured Daniel Johns, Keith Urban, Magda Szubanski, Cher, Mick Fanning and Guy Pearce.

Ratings were an average of 500,000 overnight metros.

“I can’t tell you who’ll be in the blue guest chairs this year, because first, that would spoil the surprise, and second, nobody tells me anything around here.

Apparently, I’m just a pretty face,” Denton said.

“Interview” comes coupled with a same-titled podcast series, through Nova Entertainment in partnership with Acast.

It will provide listeners with behind-the-scenes information on the TV show, including the motivation and approach for each guest.

New episodes will be available every Tuesday and Thursday.

SOLD OUT APIA TOUR ADDS DARWIN

The 7th Apia Good Times All-Stars tour has added Darwin to its itinerary.

It’s at the Entertainment Centre on Tuesday, June 11.

Of the 12 shows starting next month, five have sold out!

The sold pout shows are Bunbury, Bendigo, Tweed Heads,
Brisbane and Thirroul.

Performing are Vika & Linda Bull, Brian Cadd, Joe Camilleri, Kate Ceberano, Russell Morris, Ross Wilson and John Paul Young.

AND A FEW OTHER THINGS…

BTS say they want to collaborate with Billie Eilish.

The Disney+ streaming video on demand (SVOD) service is due to launch in the US on November 12 with the Australian release “not far behind”.

The Adelaide Advertiser reports that for the first time, a majority of South Australians support a new indoor stadium in Adelaide’s Riverbank but can’t decide between rival proposals — either a $250 million arena on Memorial Drive or a $700 million city railyard bid.

Just weeks after the suicide of Keith Flint, The Prodigy have been hit with another blow. Flint’s long time minder Con has died.

A plan is in motion for two converted buses to tour disadvantaged Cairns suburbs and beyond bringing music to the youth.

Danny Boyle is exec producing a biopic of Creation Records founder Alan McGee, in a team up with Trainspotting author Irvine Welsh. Creation Stories is based on McGee’s memoirs, touching on how he discovered and signed Oasis, Primal Scream and The Jesus & Mary Chain.

Perth club identity DJ Roski aka Roscoe Holyoake is up on kidnapping charges in the US. He is accused of grabbing a two-year old boy from the arms of his mother as they were walking down a San Francisco street. Bystanders chased and made a citizen’s arrest. Bail is set at $US500,000.

Melbourne band Totally Mild have broken up after allegations of abuse were aimed at a band member.

In the meantime, US band Hey Violet confirmed they have parted ways with bassist Iain Shipp’s following sexual assault allegations.

Yesterday Michael Jackson estate co-executor John Branca said he was considering filing a lawsuit against Leaving Neverland director Dan Reed.

New Zealand rapper Scribe, a Muslim, has been accused of breaching his supervision sentence by leaving Christchurch after mosque shootings. He admitted that breach when he appeared in the Christchurch District Court to receive a sentence of a further eight-week stay in rehabilitation for possessing methamphetamine.

Rehearsals started this week in Melbourne for The Production Company’s new production of the David Bowie and Enda Walsh musical Lazarus. It’s the first staging of the musical which features 18 Bowie finger-clickers, including ‘Changes’, ‘Heroes’ and ‘Absolute Beginners’. Inspired by the novel The Man Who Fell to Earth by Walter Tevis, Lazarus begins a limited season in the Playhouse at Arts Centre Melbourne from May 18 – June 9.