Indie rock band DMA’S to headline Brisbane’s debut AFL Grand Final
The Sydney trio will headline the Saturday night entertainment for 30,000 fans at the AFL Grand Final and millions more TV viewers.
It’s the sort of creative quandary that few Australian artists have to face: which songs are we going to perform at the AFL Grand Final?
That is the task confronting Sydney indie rock trio DMA’S, who will headline the match entertainment in Brisbane on Saturday night when Geelong takes on Richmond.
“This gig is for people that might not know who we are because we’re playing on much more of a mainstream stage compared to other shows we’ve done,” said singer Tommy O’Dell.
“We’ll probably play our main single off the record, Criminals, which has just been added to Triple M — and then we might do a cover, because some of our covers have done really well in the past.”
The group will perform for 30,000 fans inside The Gabba as well as an expected television audience of millions, including a Victorian population still labouring under an extended lockdown that has forced the beloved sporting contest to be taken interstate for the first time in AFL history.
“To be a part of something so special and iconic for Australia, it’s a real honour — particularly this year, when people thought there might not even be a final,” said O’Dell. “What’s happened with COVID has actually shed light on Australian acts, as opposed to bringing international acts in [to play at the grand final],” he said. “It’s kind of a positive thing in that respect.”
In early March, the trio — completed by guitarists Johnny Took and Matt Mason — played to 5000 fans at London’s Brixton Academy, before the world changed. Its third album The Glow was released in July and debuted at No 1 in Scotland, No 2 in Australia and No 4 in Britain.
Although plans for a full-scale tour blending its signature sound — which combines elements of indie rock with acoustic guitars and electronic music — were scuttled by the pandemic, the group has opted to perform in an “unplugged and intimate” mode, backed by a violinist and drummer, which saw them play 18 sold-out shows at The Factory Theatre in Sydney.
Last week, the group received five ARIA Award nominations, including album of the year and group of the year.
While in Brisbane, DMA’S will perform six sold-out shows in three days, a heavy workload which places pressure on O’Dell to protect his distinctive, pure instrument.
“I haven’t been singing for very long; the first band I’ve sung in is DMA’S, so I’ve kind of been learning as I go,” he said. “But I think the key is to take care of your voice: properly warm up, properly warm down, and try to curb your night-time activity a little bit.”
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