Opening Concert
LAUNCH
by Joy Burch MLA (Minister for Multicultural Affairs)
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 7:15pm - 7:25pm
Headline Act
Anthony Callea
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 7:30pm - 8:25pm
Anthony Callea is one of Australia’s favourite and most recognised singers and performers. The Aria Award winner began singing at the age of 5, and now at the age of 28, has forged a highly successful music career with that most powerful, passionate and pure voice.
Introduced to the country via Australian Idol in 2004, his debut single The Prayer became Australia’s fastest and highest selling single of all time with sales in excess of 4 x platinum and was at the top of the charts for an amazing 5 weeks. Anthony has well and truly proven to be one of this country’s most successful recording artists.
Anthony followed his debut single with another multi-platinum number 1 single, Rain/Bridge Over Troubled Water and a self-titled multi-platinum number 1 selling album. Another two top 10 hits came off this debut album with Hurts so Bad and Per Sempre. He embarked on an international song writing trip for his sophomore album A New Chapter was accredited Gold and featured two top 20 singles with Live for Love and Addicted To You. Anthony also released a Live Concert DVD which debuted at No 3 on the Aria DVD Charts, sold Platinum and later screened as a television music special on Foxtel.
He also recorded the song Healing of the Heart for the soundtrack of Walt Disney’s Bambi 2 along with international artists Martina McBride and Alison Krauss.
Anthony has embarked on two successful national concert tours, playing to sell-out crowds across Australia and appeared as special guest for touring international superstars including Ms Diana Ross, Westlife, Celine Dion and more recently Whitney Houston. Anthony has also performed for a host of international dignitaries including the late Luciano Pavarotti, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Frederik and Princess Mary of Denmark.
Anthony has appeared on many special television events such as the Logies, Australia Day Concert, The Aria Awards, Good Friday Appeals and the Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight to name a few. Anthony’s entertainment and mentoring skills have been witnessed by millions of television viewers in recent years as he featured on Channel Seven’s It Takes Two and Foxtel’s Ultimate School Musical.
In 2007 Anthony tread the boards in his first musical production at the State Theatre in Sydney. He played a supporting role in Dead Man Walking, the true story of Sister Helen Prejean. This acclaimed opera production was directed by Nigel Jamieson (Sydney 2000 Olympics Opening Ceremony). Following on from this Anthony played the role of Mark in Perth’s musical production of Rent alongside Tim Campbell and Nikki Webster.
Anthony played the role of Boq in the premiere Melbourne season of hit Broadway musical Wicked where he received audience and critical acclaim. The Sunday Telegraph commented ‘Anthony Callea is winning as a munchkin Boq’ and The Age said ‘as the munchkin Boq in Wicked, Callea is impressive’.
Anthony has also accumulated a string of awards including an Aria Award along with 3 further Aria nominations, Channel V Artist of the Year, Pop Republic Artist of the Year, MTV Viewers’ Choice Award, Variety’s Young Entertainer of the Year, MO Award, Dolly Teen Choice Award and a Gospel Music Award.
2011 sees Anthony release his brand new single ‘Oh Oh Oh Oh’ co written with the Black Eye Peas’ DJ Poet. In the past couple of years Anthony has been traveling and writing music with Australian and international writers and producers creating his sound and musical footprint. This pumping summer dance track is sure to be a hit on dance floors all over the country.
Anthony’s growth and evolution as a music artist and entertainer will no doubt continue to inspire in this next phase whilst always demonstrating his determination and incredibly faultless vocal talent.
Coloured Stone
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 6:30pm - 7:15pm
Coloured Stone is a band from the Koonibba Mission, west of Ceduna, South Australia. Their sound has been described as having a unique feel and Aboriginal qualities. The band performs using guitar, bass, drums, and Aboriginal instruments - didgeridoo, bundawuthada (gong stone) and clap sticks - to play traditional music such as the haunting "Mouydjengara", a whale-dreaming song of the Mirning people.
Coloured Stone was co-founded in 1977. The band rose to prominence in 1984 and their music featured on Australian national radio as they toured extensively. In the 1990s the group slowed their recording and touring schedule but released a greatest hits compilation in 1997.
Dyan Tai
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 10:25pm - 10:55pm
After being crowned the 2007 Rexona King of Cool in Malaysia, Dyan Tai took a daring step and moved to Sydney in hopes of taking his music to the next level.
In 2010, Dyan won the inaugural Sydneyvision Song Contest and the music video was screened to a full house audience at Dendy Cinema, Newtown. The winning song, Why Sydney? , speaks about single Sydneysiders who have yet to find their significant other, despite living in one of the best cities in the world. Following his win, Dyan performed a live electro-acoustic version of Why Sydney? on Mix 106.5's Mike E and Carmela show.
Dyan has since then opened for Jessica Mauboy and Pete Wentz at the official Blackberry Pearl Launch Party, performed at Newtown Festival, Fair Day 2010, Strathfield Spring Festival, The Burbs Festival (Westpoint, Blacktown) and the International Student Festival at Darling Harbour. Dyan was a guest performer at the sold-out Jurassic Lounge Finale Night at the Australian Museum recently.
Alfredo Malabello
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 8:30pm - 9:15pm
Alfredo Malabello is Australia’s very own Italian son of song, and he’s harboured a burning passion for music as far back as he can remember. “As a very young boy growing up in Adelaide, I couldn’t fall asleep unless I had the radio on. Music was my one true escape, and even now, if everything is crumbling around me, as soon as I start to play my piano and sing, the world as it is stops and my own private universe begins.”
Born to immigrant Italian parents, Sydney-based Alfredo is a true citizen of the world, and his colourful career has transported him to many places across the globe. “I’ve played in cities as varied as New York, Nashville, Tokyo, Milan, Dusseldorf, Saint Moritz, Munich, Rome, London, and all over Australia of course. What a trip it’s been!”
With over 30 years experience on stages around the world, Alfredo has earned a reputation as one of Australia’s most remarkable live artists. He has performed at VIP parties for Canadian crooner Michael Bublé, he’s entertained guests at a lavish ceremony to celebrate the opening of the 2011 Formula One in Melbourne, and he’s also shared a stage with Tina Arena and the Western Australian Symphony Orchestra. “Tina used to come and sing with me in a small bar in Melbourne in the late 1980s, and it was a special moment when she recently chose me to sing The Prayer with her, backed by grand sixty piece orchestra. It was a glorious highlight of my career.” Along with his credentials on stage, Alfredo has also cemented his status as an exceptional recording artist. His 2010 debut album Ciao Bella peaked at Number 4 on the Jazz and Blues chart in Australia, spending an astounding twenty-seven weeks in the Top Twenty. “I was pleasantly surprised with the success of Ciao Bella, and I’m thrilled I’m able to connect with so many people.”
Alfredo is a man of many surprising talents, and although he has recently acted in the acclaimed SBS series Carla Cametti PD, as well as in Channel Nine’s successful Underbelly Files, his next journey sees him returning to his passion for music as he consolidates the success of Ciao Bella with his new release The Two Of Us. A tour de force of burning passion, The Two Of Us contains “a fun introduction, a seduction, a courtship, foreplay, right through some slow whisper pillow talk.” Even though he’s a damaged rogue, Alfredo proudly admits he wears his heart on his sleeve. “I’m a hopeless romantic! In relationships, I believe a man has to be a rock.” Recorded in Byron Bay with acclaimed producer Paul Wiltshire (Human Nature, Backstreet Boys, Marcia Hines), The Two Of Us is a warm, tender album that features some of Australia’s finest musicians, including a twenty-piece orchestra. On The Two Of Us, Alfredo lends his passionate, soulful vocals to a smoky version of All Is Fair In Love, a sexy interpretation of Music To Watch Girls By, and he has also re-written the Chicago classic Just You And Me in Italian.
Containing eight English compositions and four Italian songs, The Two Of Us is the perfect album for relaxing and romancing. And as Alfredo promises, “When it’s just me and my piano, you get to the real heart of who I am.”
Sol Nation
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 9:20pm - 10:20pm
Infectious rhythm, worldly lyrics and impassioned musicianship are just the beginning for any Sol Nation performance. From Lisbon to Cairns, Dili to Port Louis, Sol Nation draws upon a wealth of international musical culture to bring you a melting pot of reggae, samba,funk, salsa, East Timorese folksong and African dance music.
Sol Nation is the product of Melbourneʼs communal musical scene - at its heart lies the reggae experience of Paulo Almeida (The Dili Allstars), the rock charisma of Colin Badger (Painters and Dockers), and the fiery ardor of songstress Deline Briscoe (The Briscoe Sisters). East Timorese vocalist Almeida is the voice of Sol Nation, soaring and weaving through the music in a mixture of English, Portuguese and Tetum, a product of his life experience living in several different countries during his homelandʼs occupation by Indonesia. “The band is more than the sum of its parts, though,” says Almeida. “Itʼs about having a good time, having a dance, and enjoying the global mixture of music that weʼve found here in Melbourne.”
Bombay Royale
When: Friday 10 February 2012
Where: Stage 1 - Garema Place
Time: 11:00pm - 12:00am
Funky, bizarre and mysterious music from vintage Indian cinema productions is being affectionately revived by Melbourne band The Bombay Royale. Dedicated to dusting off relics from 1960s and 1970s Bollywood soundtracks by such iconic Indian musicians as RD Burman, Anandji-Kalyanji, Asha Bhosle and Mohammed Rafi, the ensemble recreates an unusually broad and eclectic spread of musical styles, from slammin' surf sounds to extravagant disco and funk tunes. The cinematic nature of this music and the many genres it borrows from produces a heady cocktail of eastern and western influences. Coming together in early 2010, the band is fronted by Parvyn Singh and Shourov Bhattacharya, who sing largely in Hindi. The rest of the band is drawn from the cream of Melbourne's live music scene, featuring key members from such notable bands as LABJACD, The Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, San Lazaro, Mr Savona, Vulgargrad and Illzilla, together with guest tabla player Sam Evans, and Josh Bennett on sitar, dilruba and tabla. Their excitement in discovering a sweep of music that is relatively unknown or performed outside of India has inspired them to both respectfully reinterpret this material and to compose new works drawing on this sparkling era of Bollywood for inspiration.
