‘Non essential’: Headline acts denied entry to Coast gig

Musicians are screaming out to be acknowledged as “essential” workers after two of Australia’s biggest acts were denied access to Queensland.

Australian acts Boy and Bear and members of Matt Corby’s band have been denied access to Queensland to perform at the sold-out Sandstone Point Hotel concert.

Musicians are screaming out to be acknowledged as "essential" workers after two of Australia's biggest acts were denied access to Queensland for a Sunshine Coast performance.

Headline artists Boy and Bear and members of Matt Corby's band were due to perform at the sold-out Sandstone Point Hotel concert on Saturday alongside former Powderfinger frontman Bernard Fanning.

However, according to Queensland Health, the NSW musicians have not been endorsed as specialist or essential workers and therefore may not enter the state.

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Boy and Bear released a statement on Wednesday advising their fans they had been denied entry in Queensland.

"Our team has worked tirelessly along with the good people at the venue to get through this red-tape, but frustratingly and disappointingly without success," the band said.

"Let's hope our Governments start acknowledging musicians as 'specialist' and music as 'essential' so we can work toward a collective recovery in Australia this summer."

Sandstone Point Hotel director Rob Comiskey echoed the notion that musicians should be classed as essential workers.

"We were blown away by it. We thought it was a mistake at first," he said.

"We wanted feedback but didn't get any."

Sandstone Point Hotel announced On Wednesday they had locked in Ballpark Music and Xavier Rudd to replace the NSW-based artists for Saturday's show.

The venue director said if they were not able to replace the headline artists they could have lost in excess of $250,000.

"We were very lucky, we have had ten people working around the clock to replace them," Mr Comiskey said.

In reply, a Queensland Health spokesperson advised "the process of quarantining people upon their return from overseas travel or an interstate hotspot is designed to catch cases of COVID-19 before it can enter the community."

"Exemptions are rarely granted, and usually only in exceptional circumstances," they said.

"In every situation where an exemption has been granted, the Chief Health Officer has been satisfied the same strict quarantine conditions that are required in government-arranged accommodation were able to be met."

"In some cases, they have exceeded what would be required in hotel quarantine by employing additional medical and safety requirements administered by a trusted third party.

"Queensland's current border restrictions are in place for one purpose - to save lives."

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