Irish singer Hozier is set to tour Australia.
Camera IconIrish singer Hozier is set to tour Australia. Credit: Supplied

Hozier, Bryan Adams, Lany and Kylie Minogue join Australia’s crowded calendar of touring stars in 2019

Kathy McCabeNews Corp Australia Network

GOLDEN pop goddess Kylie Minogue, enduring rocker Bryan Adams, teen pop idols Lany and now Irish anthem king Hozier are just four artists to announce 2019 concerts in Australia in the past week.

Hozier revealed he will play two nights at the Sydney Opera House and a show at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre while here for the annual Bluesfest in Byron Bay next April.

As another major international rock act preps their tour announce for Friday, the competition for the 2019 concert dollar across festival, winery, arena and theatre shows from artists of all genres is tough.

Kylie Minogue will be big at the box office with her Golden tour.
Camera IconKylie Minogue will be big at the box office with her Golden tour. Credit: Herald Sun, Supplied.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

The tour business is booming with the recent Live Performance Australia annual report on ticket revenue and attendance for 2017 revealing sales were up almost 32 per cent to $1.88 billion.

This increase in revenue was the result of a 21.7% increase in paid tickets in 2017, coupled with an increase in the average ticket price by 8.2% from $83.72 to $90.59.

But some industry insiders fear there is a cooling of demand for concert tickets, with the family-friendly mega-tours of Ed Sheeran and P! nk sucking a lot of oxygen out of the market.

Certainly that was demonstrated by how many artists were selling last-minute tickets at heavily discounted prices as their tour made its way around the country.

Bryan Adams announced this week he will be back performing in Australia next year.
Camera IconBryan Adams announced this week he will be back performing in Australia next year. Credit: Herald Sun, Supplied.

It wasn’t that the shows weren’t great; it was simply that fans had spent all their money on other artists.

Next year’s touring calendar, while already crowded for February, March and April, isn’t whipping up the same frenzy at the box office as Sheeran and P! nk did when they went on sale and kept selling until there wasn’t a ticket left anywhere.

Perhaps that’s because most of the tours aren’t at stadium level, with only Eminem booking the big outdoor venues thus far in 2019.

Instead, fans are after the weekend-away experience offered by the winery and festival circuit or the more intimate surrounds of the theatres and arenas.

Already on next year’s calendars are concerts by Hanson, Eagles, Bryan Ferry, Arctic Monkeys, Rufus Wainwright, Missy Higgins, Tash Sultana, Anne Marie, Lily Allen, Post Malone, Nickelback, Maroon 5 and Bring Me The Horizon.

Hozier releases new single Movement as he announces Australian shows for 2019.
Camera IconHozier releases new single Movement as he announces Australian shows for 2019. Credit: Supplied, Supplied.

Tickets for Hozier’s concerts are expected to be snapped up quickly when they go on sale on November 23.

The Irish singer songwriter exploded onto the world charts four years ago with his single Take Me To Church and spent the next two years chasing its success around the world.

His new single Movement will introduce his much-anticipated second record, due for release before he tours Australia in April.

The love song about watching a partner dancing was also inspired by the protest movements advocating for gun control and human rights around the world.

“When I was writing the song I wanted to make it personal and about watching a loved one in the act of dancing but it was also written at a time when there were a lot of movements around the world, a lot going on,” he said.

“There’s a few songs on the album that try to credit the value and worthwhile nature of protests, of marching and being involved in a movement.

“It’s always been a thankful task, the slow march towards progress, it might seem hopeless but the actual doing of something is important.”

Originally published as Hozier books Australian concerts