Six rising SA acts to play Adelaide 500 with Robbie Williams, Chisel, +Live+

Six emerging South Australian acts have the chance to get exposure by opening for the likes of Robbie Williams, Cold Chisel and +LIVE+ onstage at the 2018 Adelaide 500 V8 race in March.

The race drew up to 244,000 last year and 263,500 the year before.

The idea of the opening acts, called Bands On Track, is an initiative of the state’s peak music association Music SA.

Friday March 2, the Made In SA showcase, stars Cold Chisel, Kasey Chambers and previous Bands On Track winners, Bad //Dreems.

Joining them are alt-country duo and festival draws Hana & Jessie-Lee and hard rock trio Donnarumma.

Saturday, March 3, with +LIVE+ and Birds of Tokyo will open with blues-rock band Kitchen Witch and punk rockers Young Offenders.

Warming up the crowd for Robbie Williams and Sheppard on Sunday, March 4 are pop act Neon Tetra and soulful singer-songwriter Ollie English.

“Adelaide is a designated UNESCO City of Music and we are constantly recognised a thriving live music hotspot,” said Premier and Arts Minister Jay Weatherill.

“The Adelaide 500 concerts create an opportunity for local musicians to be ambassadors for the industry, takingpart in an internationally flavoured event that is a major fixture in the live music calendar.”

Music SA’s General Manager Lisa Bishop said she was thrilled that 100 acts had applied to be part of Bands On Track, and chosen by a music industry panel.

“Bands On Track initiative has been a special long-standing partnership with Adelaide 500,” Bishop commented.

“It showcases the incredible talent produced by a growing and vibrant music industry in SA.

“This is a rare career defining opportunity for local artists to perform on a large stage, to a highly receptive crowd and with an outstanding level of technical sound and lighting support. “

Previous Bands On Tracks winners have included The Beard, Bad//Dreems, Grenadiers, Wanderers, Lazy Eye and Koolta.

The South Australian Government has always used music as a drawcard for the race, with Kiss enjoying the biggest crowd, followed by Cold Chisel.

Other major names have been Motley Crue, Santana, Keith Urban, Hilltop Hoods, The Doobie Brothers and Rob Thomas.

Last year race organisers dropped the Sunday concert because it clashed with a free Neil Finn show as part of the Adelaide Fringe.

They soon realised it was a mistake: race crowds were down on the whole day while 15,000 went off to see Finn.