For King Ibis, opening for Coldplay is a royal welcome
When Coldplay touches down in WA this weekend to play two sold-out shows, the opening acts will face the largest audiences of their nascent careers.
When chart-topping British rock quartet Coldplay touches down in Western Australia this weekend to play two exclusive sold-out shows, the opening acts will be performing for the largest audiences of their nascent careers.
To date, the biggest crowd Perth indie rock band King Ibis has drawn was about 500 people at WA’s Nannup Music Festival.
On Sunday, there will be a few more than that watching and listening: when full, Perth’s Optus Stadium has a capacity of about 67,000.
Led by singer/guitarist Nadene Burchell, the quartet will play a tight 20-minute set to open proceedings.
“The performance is just so important to us: we really want to showcase what we do, and make it the best show that we’ve ever played,” said Burchell.
King Ibis was one of two WA acts to win a statewide competition to support one of the world’s most popular bands. On Saturday, Zimbabwe-born R&B artist Adrian Dzvuke will strut his stuff on stage before Coldplay.
These two local acts were chosen from hundreds of entries, and both will receive $15,000 grants from the WA government’s contemporary music fund.
The four musicians in King Ibis have been playing together since 2018, and have yet to perform outside WA; the grant will help amend that fact by covering travel costs.
Of securing the Coldplay support gig, Burchell said, “It felt so validating, and it felt like the last few years have been really worth it, because sometimes it can be a bit thankless. When you’ve been hustling away so hard, and you’ve got another job, things get a bit tough – but it just goes to show that it’s all worth it in the end.”
Coldplay’s exclusive visit to Perth this weekend was arranged in partnership with Tourism WA and promoter Live Nation.
It is the latest example of a trend that began last year with Foo Fighters, Bruno Mars and Billy Joel, who played shows only in Geelong, Sydney and Melbourne, respectively.
Also this month, US pop artist Christina Aguilera and country singer-songwriter Zach Bryan will each play to about 30,000 fans at one-off headline concerts in Melbourne, under the Victorian government’s Always Live banner.
According to live music industry executives, this post-pandemic trend is here to stay, thanks to lucrative sweeteners offered by state governments seeking to lure music-mad tourists interstate.
In Review, a feature story canvasses this recent phenomenon, which can trigger both agony and ecstasy in cash-strapped music fans.
Deals made between tour promoters and state governments are guarded as commercial-in-confidence, but The Weekend Australian understands major artists can expect to earn at least $1m on top of their usual fee for agreeing to play in one city only.
