Powderfinger get the band back together for star-studded Support Act tribute

Powderfinger will be the stars of the show when a prestigious honour is bestowed on the much-loved Aussie rockers.

Powderfinger will stage a rare reunion next week in celebration of their historic online benefit concert One Night Lonely.

But they will be the stars of the show rather than playing at it.

The revered rockers will be the guests of honour at the annual Music In The House industry fundraiser for Support Act on August 20, where they will be presented with the Excellence in the Community Award.

They are being recognised for their musicianship and contribution to the community including raising $500,000 for Support Act and Beyond Blue with their One Night Lonely concert to entertain fans during the early months of lockdown in 2020.

Previous recipients of the prestigious honour include Marcia Hines and Midnight Oil.

Powderfinger’s Music In The House moment will be only the third time Bernard Fanning, Ian Haug, John Collins, Darren Middleton and Jon Coghill have publicly reunited since their final concert on the Sunsets Farewell tour in November 2010.

Powderfinger the exclusive fan event and film screening celebrating the 20th anniversary of its 2003 album Vulture Street hosted by author Trent Dalton. Picture: Marianna Heberley / Supplied

They will be in the audience at the sold-out Sydney charity dinner to watch musician mates Paul Dempsey, Sarah Blasko, Davey Lane and Troy and Jem Cassar-Daley perform acoustic covers of Powderfinger classics.

The five members of the iconic Aussie band were together in the same room last August 2023 to launch the 20th anniversary reissue of their Vulture Street record with a fan screening and Q&A event in their Brisbane hometown.

A live recording of the concert was also released. Picture: Supplied

But it is the surprise One Night Lonely gig, broadcast on YouTube on May 23, 2020, their first in a decade after calling time on the band, which will reunite them next week.

The live stream of that momentous gig was watched by about 100,000 people on the night and the full concert now has more than 1.1 million views on YouTube.

Filmed at each member’s home because of lockdown restrictions, the individual performances were edited into a seamless, thrilling 38-minute concert of seven songs including Bless My Soul, Sunsets, My Happiness, On My Mind and These Days.

In those early months of the pandemic, the concert proved to be a triumph of technology and willpower to entertain their isolated fans, despite the five musicians being separated across three states.

But it also served a greater purpose for the band members with One Night Lonely raising more than $500,000 for Support Act and Beyond Blue to assist music industry workers who had no work or income, and the wider community faced with mental health challenges during the Covid pandemic.

At the Vulture Street fan event last year, Fanning pre-empted the obvious question of whether they had plans to ever play music together again with the statement: “No. We’re all really busy. We have no plans.”

The band’s frontman is indeed busy. He was back in the ARIA charts last week with Fanning Dempsey National Park, his collaboration with Something for Kate mate Paul Dempsey, debuting at No. 3 with their record The Deluge.

The Music In The House online auction and raffle, which feature a raft of prizes including rare instruments and VIP tickets to tours by Pearl Jam and Cold Chisel, are open to the public from now until 9.05pm, August 20 at musicinthehouse.org

Originally published as Powderfinger get the band back together for star-studded Support Act tribute