KINGS of Leon are going to play in Mildura?
Did we hear that right?
When Victorian Government Minister Martin Pakula came to town for a “significant announcement” on Thursday, it’s fair to say none of us saw this one coming.
But what great news for Mildura. I mean, Kings of Leon? Performing here?
The four-time Grammy Award winners, who have headlined the world’s biggest festivals including Coachella and Lollapalooza in Chicago and Berlin (twice), have included Mildura as the only regional gig in their Australian tour later this year.
The concert, at the new Mildura Sporting Precinct, is expected to draw a sellout crowd of 15,000.
It’s on Melbourne Cup weekend, so visitors will flood in from every direction, filling accommodation and giving the economy a huge boost.
This announcement comes on the back of the Somersault music festival last month, which drew a crowd of well over 4000 to Nowingi Place. And, in December, superstar Australian singer Jessica Mauboy will be the headline act of the inaugural Mildura Riverfront Festival concert, which will raise money for the hospital.
After the Easter Powersports festival had every accommodation venue in town booked out, with huge crowds across the weekend, Mildura isn’t just creeping out of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is roaring back.
Mildura Rural City Council chief executive Martin Hawson said having Kings of Leon coming to town was a “real feather in the cap” for Mildura.”It’s a really big coup for us, no doubt about it,” Mr Hawson said yesterday.
“I thought that’s akin to when the Triple J concert was here and that was massive for us. But this is an internationally renowned act, I mean they are huge, and I can’t recall ever having an act of that calibre coming here. I think it will be the best we will ever see here.
“The fact that we are the only regional town to be chosen is a real feather in our cap. They won’t be performing in Adelaide, so the Adelaide crowd will also be keen to get tickets here because of our proximity.”
Kings of Leon will perform twice in Auckland before the October 29 gig in Mildura, ahead of concerts in Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne and Perth.
Their promoter, Paul Dainty, said the band of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, with their cousin Matthew Followill, were particularly excited about the Mildura gig.
“Absolutely they are,” he said. “We can all Sydneys and Melbournes and the like, but to do something different, to get out beyond the big cities, to explore the country and reach new audiences, that is one of the big reasons we are doing it.
“They loved the idea of it and will have a great time being there. We are bringing the full show in terms of production.”
Mr Dainty said the tour had been months in negotiations, with plenty of COVID-19 related interruptions along the way, but it was now locked in.
“It’s allowing us to get back to business,” he said.
“Major international arts have been cut off for two years, so you can imagine the energy they have to be back on stage.
“Where this is really important is that if it all goes well (in Mildura), it bodes well for future events like it, so there is a lot riding on it.””
