Chris Hemsworth, Mick Fanning, Pat Rafter join Bernard Fanning and mates for Make It Rain gigs

Chris Hemsworth and Bernard Fanning have joined forces to Make It Rain and raise funds for firefighters. They are coming together with Pat Rafter and Mick Fanning for gigs in Byron Bay.

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When the NSW fire storm “hit really close to home” for rocker Tex Perkins, he became acutely aware of the needs of our volunteer fire fighters.

As they continue to protect his home in northern NSW and thousands of others throughout the State, Perkins has rallied the musical troops including mates Bernard Fanning and Kram for Make It Rain – Fund The Fireys fundraiser in January.

While tickets to the two concerts on January 8 and 9 in Byron Bay will be snapped up quickly, it is the mind-blowing A-list collection of online auction items which will generate national and global interest in this fundraiser.

Bernard Fanning, Tex Perkins and Kram are mustering the musical forces for the fireys. Picture: Supplied

Courtesy of their children attending the same primary school, Fanning gave Hollywood star Chris Hemsworth a call to see if he wanted to get involved.

The actor and his wife Elsa Pataky pooled their fitness expertise to offer a one-hour personal training session and Hemsworth will also MC the January 9 concert at the Beach Hotel.

Wanna get fit with Hemsworth and Pataky? It’s gonna cost you! Picture: Media Mode

Mick Fanning, while no relation to the former Powderfinger frontman, was also a big yes to lend his talents to the fundraiser and has teamed up with his world champion mate Joel Parkinson to offer a surfing lesson on the mid north coast.

Tennis legend Pat Rafter will give you a tennis lesson or a match with your mates while Fanning himself is happy to sit down and help you write a song.

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Or you could bid for a recording session with Grammy winning producer Nick DiDia, a personal styling experience with cool boho crew at Spell and the Gypsy Collective or an original etching by Ben Quilty.

Fanning said calling in favours from celebrities – or the local dads and mums at school – wasn’t something he has had to do before.

“This was Tex’s idea – his place was threatened by the fires – and then he and Kram came to me and asked if I wanted to get involved,” the musician said.

Get bidding for the chance to surf with Mick Fanning and Joel Parkinson. Picture: Supplied

“Everyone said yes straight away and we are hoping that getting Chris and Pat and Mick and Joel involved will make this (gig) international.”

Perkins had already performed at the Ewingar Rising Recovery benefit last month which helped fund new short wave radios for the local fireys.

Pat Rafter has joined the Make It Rain fundraiser with a private tennis lesson. Picture: Jerad Williams

“I was aware (Ewingar) had been devastated by fire storms. It’s always an honour to be

asked to help people in hard times and to use my music for good, not only for fundraising, but for healing,” Perkins said.

“Then the rest of NSW started to burn. Suddenly fires were everywhere. Places that had never burned, and should never burn, and it hit really close to home, literally. A small bushfire in the national park near where I live quickly became a 2000 hectare blaze, it’s now over 6000 hectares and growing.

“We evacuated our animals, children and prepared as best we could. The fire still burns but we’ve been lucky … so far.

Byron local Andrew Stockdale and Wolfmother will perform at the Make It Rain concert. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty

“These guys are out here and deserve the best equipment! If they want equipment, let’s get them what they want, let’s fund the fireys.”

Fanning jokes he wants the signed Powderfinger guitar on offer to be snapped up by a “cashed-up lawyers who put vintage guitars on the wall” and rejected any suggestion he might bid for the surfing lesson with his champion namesake but might have shot at acquiring an original Quilty artwork.

“I can’t surf so I wouldn’t make Mick and Joel go through dealing with me. I probably wouldn’t want to stand next to them in a wetsuit, it would be like the cover photo of that Indecent Obsession record all those years ago,” he joked.

Rock supergroup ARC – Daniel Middleton, Davey Lane, Jet’s Mark Wilson and Spiderbait's Kram will be doing it for the fireys. Picture: Supplied

“Make It Rain is shamelessly about raising a tonne of money and getting people talking about why we need to look at funding for things which are so obviously and desperately needed for the volunteers to do their jobs,” he said.

To buy tickets to the January 8 (Wolfmother, ARC and more) and January 9 (Bernard Fanning, T’n’T, Tex Perkins and the Loose Rubber Band and more) concerts or to make an online auction bid until January 17, go to www.makeitrain2020.com.au