MEDIA RELEASE:: MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW RETURNS TO CAULFIELD RACECOURSE ON AUGUST 5 & 6 FEATURING INTERNATIONAL GUITAR LEGENDS STEVE HACKETT (GENESIS), NICK JOHNSTON, ALEX HUTCHINGS AND MORE #MGS2017
It was big in 2015, huge in 2016, and today the Australian Music Association has announced the 2017 return of the Melbourne Guitar Show to rock Caulfield Racecourse on August 5 and 6 – and this year, it’ll be bigger than ever. Proudly presented by Triple M and Australian Musician, the line-up boasts not only an incredible haul of local guitarists, but also massive international artists – UK’s legendary Steve Hackett (Genesis), Canada’s renowned Nick Johnston and UK superstar Alex Hutchings. In addition to some killer performances, MGS will also hold a monster exhibition that will feature a gigantic variety of electric and acoustic guitars, effects pedals, amps and more state-of-the-art guitar technology, both home-grown and from around the world. It will continue to be Australia’s biggest guitar pop-up shop…and that’s not all. In addition to this, the Melbourne Guitar Show will host information seminars, demonstrations, and live performances from Australia’s most talented guitarists, including: Lloyd Spiegel, Nick Charles and Bob Spencer with many more to be announced.
This year will be extra special as the Melbourne Guitar Show welcomes UK guitar royalty, namely, the original Genesis guitarist and successful solo artist in his own right, Steve Hackett, in a very special premium ticketed event. Hackett will be touring Australia for the very first time with his lavish Genesis Revisited tour, playing classic Genesis prog-rock tunes as well as selected material from his 25 solo albums. For the Melbourne Guitar Show however, in a more eclectic and informal setting, Steve will play an exclusive up close and personal acoustic-based show featuring musical director Roger King on keyboards and woodwind/ brass virtuoso Rob Townshend. This will be the only Australian performance by the Steve Hackett Acoustic Trio.
Genesis, only ever made it to Australia once, in 1986 – years after Steve and singer Peter Gabriel left the band, so Steve is making it up to fans by bringing some Genesis magic to our shores. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for long serving Genesis fans and aficionados of 70s prog-rock. Steve will also participate in an onstage Q&A session following his guitar show performance. Excited about the upcoming tour, Steve says, “I’m thrilled to bring my Genesis Revisited tour to Australia. I’ll be playing there for the first time and I’m hugely looking forward to it! It’ll be great to meet fans and friends, and I know it’s an incredibly beautiful country. I can’t wait!”
Another star joining the stacked line-up is the Canadian guitar virtuoso Nick Johnston. Known for his catchy, melody-driven instrumental music Nick has been able to carve out his own unique style within a crowded landscape of instrumental guitarists. Nick’s playing has attracted sponsorship from massive international brands including Friedman Amps, D’Addario and Schecter Guitars. Also on board this year, we welcome world-renowned guitarist Alex Hutchings (UK), a modern fusion guitarist par extraordinaire, lauded by many as one of the finest players in the genre. His international following has exploded in recent years thanks to millions of YouTube views via both his own channel and JamTrackCentral (alongside such contemporaries such as Guthrie Govan, Andy James and Jack Thammerat). Regularly touring around the globe, Alex performs under his own name and as an international demonstrator for BOSS/Roland.
Drawing over 5,500 guitar lovers and enthusiasts to last year’s exhibit, the Melbourne Guitar Show is gearing up for the biggest event yet. The voice of the Australian music products industry, the Australian Music Association (AMA) will be teaming up with Australianmusician.com.au and presenting sponsors Triple M and Aon to present this year’s guitar-centric weekend. “We are looking forward to a show this year that builds steadily based on the merit and popularity of the first two and on the presentation of the best people we can find”, says AMA executive officer and MGS organiser, Rob Walker. Not only will the 2017 MGS provide a hands-on chance to see, hear and play a broad range of the world’s favourite brands, it will also see exhibitors offering great show deals, plus an opportunity to get close to some hand-crafted, locally made instruments and epic guitar and gear collections. Describing the exciting developments, Rob continues, “We will have more exhibitors this year, as well as bigger stand presentations by many brands. We are in discussions with an increasing list of players who want to be a part of it, so we are sure this show will provide great value for guitar enthusiasts once again.”
The first artist line up announcement includes: Steve Hackett (UK), Nick Johnston (Canada), Alex Hutchings (UK), Lloyd Spiegel, Nick Charles, Bob Spencer, Shannon Bourne, Lloyd Spiegel, James Ryan and many more to be announced over the coming weeks.
The Melbourne Guitar Show will be held at Caulfield Racecourse on August 5 and 6.
Tickets are on sale from June 1, 2017.
Online ticket prices when pre-ordered:: Adult day pass $20, adult weekend pass $30, family day pass $35, concession day pass $10, concession weekend pass $15, premium ticket** $40
**Premium tickets include admission to Steve Hackett show – limited tickets available
MELBOURNE GUITAR SHOW DETAILS
SATURDAY AUG 5 | CAULFIELD RACECOURSE |10.00am – 6.00pm
SUNDAY AUG 6 | CAULFIELD RACECOURSE | 10.00am – 6.00pm
#MGS2017
PETE MURRAY RETURNS WITH NEW SINGLE ‘TAKE ME DOWN’ + ALBUM ‘CAMACHO’ AND 33-DATE NATIONAL TOUR
Byron Bay singer-songwriter and one of Australia’s most loved musicians, Pete Murray has today released his new single, Take Me Down (out now), alongside the announcement of his sixth studio album, Camacho – available June 2. With over one million album sales to his name, the quiet achiever of Australian music will showcase new tracks and old favourites on an epic 33-date national Camacho Tour that will kickstart in Lismore on July 12 and finish up in Darwin on September 9.
Beat-driven and anthemic, Take Me Down cleverly reveals a new direction for Pete, yet still manages to feel like a catch up with an old friend – his smooth, familiar voice both warm and inviting. “Take me down is about a beautiful relationship with an unknown future,” insights Pete. “It’s about not knowing how much time is left and being in the moment. It’s emotive, moody, sexual and vulnerable.”
Determined to shake things up and find a fresh sound for the album, Pete explored different writing and recording techniques. “My main goal was to work with loops and beats and to have a cool, phat drum sound,” says Pete. He collaborated with hip hop producer Trials (AB Original) to achieve the drum sounds he was looking for, and saddled up with an array of well-known industry talent to get the Camacho show on the road. “There was only one guy that I was interested in mixing this album and that was Eric J Dubowsky. He was starting to do a lot of phat, warm sounds and I really wanted this flavour of mixing on my album.” Also in the assemblage was Aussie producer Tony Buchen (Montaigne, The Preatures, Bob Evans), Sydney-based producer One Above aka Andrew Burford (Hilltop Hoods, Drapht, Allday), and ARIA winning producer Jon Hume (Matt Corby, Lisa Mitchell).
“The thing I wanted to do different with this album was to take my time and get it right. So many times in the past I have jumped into a studio for 4 – 6 weeks and recorded an album. Once the recording time is over, so is the album,” explains Pete, “with Camacho there was no rush, it was going to be finished when it was finished.”
And finished it is – guaranteed to be lapped up by new and old fans alike, Pete Murray has delivered a cool, uplifting, emotive, and powerful album and it will be celebrated and brought to life on the greatly anticipated Camacho Tour. Following sell-out shows across the country, the 33-date tour will take in capital cities and a host of regional centres throughout July, August and September.
Pumped to hit the road and play his new tunes for fans across Australia, Pete enthuses, “I’ll be taking the full band on the road and heading to a stack of places I haven’t been to in a while. I’m also really excited about playing the new music for the first time and cannot wait to get out there and see the crowd’s reaction.”
Camacho is set for release on June 2 and is available to pre-order from www.petemurray.com – all album iTunes pre-orders will instantly receive the Take Me Down single.
PETE MURRAY NATIONAL CAMACHO TOUR
Presented by TEG LIVE
WED 12 JUL | LISMORE CITY HALL, LISMORE NSW | LIC AA
THU 13 JUL | VILLA NOOSA, NOOSAVILLE, QLD | 18+
FRI 14 JUL | THE TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
THU 20 JUL | GREAT WESTERN HOTEL, ROCKHAMPTON, QLD | LIC AA
FRI 21 JUL | RACEHORSE HOTEL, IPSWICH, QLD | 18+
SAT 22 JUL | THE STAR GOLD COAST, QLD | LIC AA
SUN 23 JUL | REDLAND BAY HOTEL, REDLAND BAY, QLD | 18+
WED 26 JUL | CEX COFFS HARBOUR, NSW | 18+
THU 27 JUL | THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE, NSW | 18+
FRI 28 JUL | THE ENTRANCE LEAGUES CLUB, BATEAU BAY | 18+
SAT 29 JUL | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY NSW | LIC AA
THU 3 AUG | NAUTILUS THEATRE, PORT LINCOLN, SA | LIC AA
FRI 4 AUG | HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, ADELAIDE, SA | LIC AA
SAT 5 AUG | LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE, WARRNAMBOOL, VIC | LIC AA
WED 9 AUG | EASTBANK THEATRE, SHEPPARTON, VIC | LIC AA
THU 10 AUG | CHELSEA HEIGHTS HOTEL, CHELSEA HEIGHTS, VIC | 18+
FRI 11 AUG | WREST POINT SHOWROOM, HOBART, TAS | 18+
SAT 12 AUG | LAUNCESTON COUNTRY CLUB, LAUNCESTON, TAS | LIC AA
THU 17 AUG | BATEMANS BAY SOLDIERS CLUB, BATEMANS BAY, NSW | 18+
FRI 18 AUG | WAVES, WOLLONGONG, NSW | 18+
SAT 19 AUG | CANBERRA THEATRE, CANBERRA, ACT | LIC AA
SUN 20 AUG | BEER DELUXE, ALBURY, NSW | 18+
WED 23 AUG | ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO, VIC | LIC AA
THU 24 AUG | REGENT MULTIPLEX THEATRE, BALLARAT, VIC | LIC AA
FRI 25 AUG | FORUM THEATRE, MELBOURNE, VIC | 18+
SAT 26 AUG | THE WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG, VIC | 18+
FRI 1 SEP | WINTERSUN HOTEL, GERALDTON, WA | 18+
SAT 2 SEP | FREMANTLE ARTS CENTRE, FREMANTLE, WA | 18+
SUN 3 SEP | DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH, WA | 18+
WED 6 SEP | EMPIRE THEATRE, TOOWOOMBA, QLD | LIC AA
THU 7 SEP | THE VILLE, TOWNSVILLE, QLD | LIC AA
FRI 8 SEP | TANKS ARTS CENTRE, CAIRNS, QLD | 18+
SAT 9 SEP | DARWIN SKI CLUB, DARWIN, NT | LIC/AA
TICKETING INFORMATION
Velocity Frequent Flyer is offering a pre-sale window on selected shows for a limited time to Velocity members, available via Velocity Live from 1pm Friday 7 April 2017 until 8am Monday 10 April 2017. Visit www.velocitylive.com.au for details.
The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets from 11am Monday 10 April 2017.
For further information, head to www.petemurray.com.
GRINSPOON ANNOUNCE 27-DATE NATIONAL TOUR + 20TH ANNIVERSARY DELUXE EDITION OF ‘GUIDE TO BETTER LIVING’
Post-grunge Aussie rockers, Grinspoon have today announced a 20th Anniversary deluxe edition of the album that kickstarted their long-standing music career, Guide To Better Living, alongside an epic 27-date national tour of Australia, playing the album cover to cover for fans throughout June, July, August and September.
It’s 1995. A band from Lismore named Grinspoon (named after Associate Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Dr Lester Grinspoon who supported the medicinal use of marijuana) submitted the track, Sickfest to triple j’s Unearthed national band comp in its inaugural year. To everyone’s amazement, they won – and for the next two months the song was the station’s number one request. Fast forward to September 1997, signed to Universal Music’s Grudge imprint, Grinspoon released their debut album, Guide To Better Living.
Going on to boast double-platinum accrediation on the back of five singles; Pedestrian, DC×3, Repeat, Just Ace and Don’t Go Away – Guide To Better Living (GTBL) spent 36 weeks in the ARIA Top 50. The album stands now as a similar coming of age as The Angels’ Face to Face, Cold Chisel’s East and Midnight Oil’s 10, 9, 8… were at the time. Since then, it’s been a rolling success and yeah, occasionally, excess story with certified sales of well over half a million, seven albums all very familiar with the Top Ten, ARIA Awards, 13 ARIA nominations, more than 1,000 gigs, tens of thousands of international frequent flyer miles, 7 appearances at the Big Day Out as well as slots at Homebake, Falls Festival, Splendour in the Grass, an NRL Grand Final and a Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony in Melbourne.
Twenty years later – with the album chalking up a double decade of acclaim – Grinspoon are emerging from hiatus to celebrate their debut album with the Guide To Better Living tour. Supported nationally by Hockey Dad, they’ll be playing the album cover to cover across June-September 2017, alongside a selection of later favourites from their albums that followed. The tour takes in 27 dates across the nation – the first tour of such scale since the band went on hiatus in 2013, broken only for a support slot on Cold Chisel’s Perfect Crime tour of Australia in 2015.
Candidly chatting about the 20th anniversary of their monumental debut release, vocalist Phil Jamieson jests, “I hate nostalgia, it gets my goat. What I do love are tunes, and we’ve got tunes! NBT – Balding Matters – Scalped are probably what are considered to be album tracks or ‘filler’, but I can’t wait to spit ‘em out with as much venom as I did as a 19 year old. Then there is Railroader – Repeat – Just Ace – Champion – Boundary …. it’s like a little treasure box of ditties! I don’t think I really knew what I was doing when I made Guide To Better Living, but I know that playing this album from start to finish is going to be one of the most challenging, enjoyable & kickass things I’ll ever do! Bring on the road, bring on the tour, bring on the shows… happy 20th birthday GTBL!”
To correspond with the tour, an accompanying expanded, multi-format reissue of the album will be released on June 23. Grinspoon have curated a 20th Anniversary edition of Guide To Better Living, expanding the original 16-track album to a mammoth 49 track feast of rarities, live tracks and unreleased recordings. The album also appears on vinyl for the very first time in the form of a limited edition red vinyl pressing, coupling the original album with a second disc Live At CBGB’s – an incendiary 10-track live recording of the band taken from the fabled CBGB’s venue in New York. The recording was found in a scour of the vaults late in 2016. The physical 2CD edition is packaged in a deluxe slipcase, alongside a 36 page book featuring unseen images, scans of memorabilia, full lyrics and essays from each of the band members.
The original 16 track album is augmented with Live recordings, rare B-Sides and an unreleased track ‘Green Grass Meadow’ recorded at the time of Guide To Better Living, unheard until now. The set is finished off with a previously unreleased 13-track performance from the Falls Festival of 1997. 49 tracks in all!
“IIt’s a real honour to be releasing the 20th Anniversary of Guide To Better Living. It was an amazing time in the band’s life. Going back and listening to the album and watching old footage reminds me of what was an unbelievably exciting time in all our lives,” says guitarist Pat Davern.
Grinspoon is Phil Jamieson on vocals, Pat Davern on guitar, Joe Hansen on bass and Kristian Hopes on drums.
Guide To Better Living 20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition is set for release on June 23. Pre-order album bundles are onsale from www.grinspoon.com.au.
GUIDE TO BETTER LIVING NATIONAL TOUR DATES
Presented by TEG LIVE and Triple M
FRI 23 JUN | KAY ST ENTERTAINMENT COMPLEX, TRARALGON VIC | 18+
FRI 30 JUN | MARGARET COURT ARENA, MELBOURNE, VIC | LIC AA
SAT 1 JUL | VILLAGE GREEN HOTEL, MULGRAVE, VIC | 18+
FRI 7 JUL | ENMORE THEATRE, SYDNEY, NSW | LIC AA
SAT 8 JUL | THE TIVOLI THEATRE, BRISBANE, QLD | 18+
SAT 29 JUL | ONE TROPICAL DAY @ DARWIN SKI CLUB, DARWIN, NT | LIC AA **
THU 3 AUG | THE WOOL EXCHANGE, GEELONG, VIC | 18+
FRI 4 AUG | PIER BANDROOM, FRANKSTON, VIC | 18+
SAT 5 AUG | GRANADA TAVERN, HOBART, TAS | 18+
THU 10 AUG | THE JACK, CAIRNS, QLD | 18+
FRI 11 AUG | DALRYMPLE HOTEL, TOWNSVILLE, QLD | 18+
SAT 12 AUG | MAGNUMS, AIRLIE BEACH, QLD | 18+
THU 17 AUG | VILLA NOOSA, NOOSAVILLE, QLD | 18+
FRI 18 AUG | REDLAND BAY HOTEL, REDLAND BAY, QLD | 18+
SAT 19 AUG | SHAKA FEST – MIAMI TAVERN, GOLD COAST, QLD | 18+ **
THU 24 AUG | DUNSBOROUGH TAVERN, DUNSBOROUGH, WA | 18+
FRI 25 AUG | METRO CITY, PERTH, WA | 18+
SAT 26 AUG | ADELAIDE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, ADELAIDE, SA | AA
THU 31 AUG | THE CAMBRIDGE HOTEL, NEWCASTLE, NSW | 18+
FRI 1 SEP | LISMORE CITY HALL , LISMORE, NSW | 18+
SAT 2 SEP | RACEHORSE HOTEL, IPSWICH, QLD | 18+
THU 14 SEP | THE ENTRANCE LEAGUES CLUB, BATEAU BAY, NSW | 18+
FRI 15 SEP | WAVES, WOLLONGONG, NSW | 18+
SAT 16 SEP | UC REFECTORY, CANBERRA, ACT | 18+
WED 20 SEP | CSU, WAGGA WAGGA, NSW | 18+
FRI 22 SEP | BEER DELUXE, ALBURY, NSW | 18+
SUN 24 SEP | BATEMANS BAY SOLDIERS CLUB, BATEMANS BAY, NSW | 18+
**Hockey Dad not appearing
TICKETING INFORMATION
Telstra is offering their customers an exclusive Telstra Thanks 48-hour pre-sale on most shows from 9am Wednesday 5 April 2017. For more details regarding the pre-sale, please visit www.telstra.com/music.
Velocity Frequent Flyer is offering a pre-sale window for a limited time to Velocity members, available via Velocity Live from 11am Friday 7 April 2017 until 8am Monday 10 April 2017.
The general public will have the opportunity to purchase tickets from 9am Monday 10 April 2017.
For further information, head to www.grinspoon.com.au.