It’s September, which means it’s finals season for both major sporting codes in Australia, AFL and NRL. It also means that plans are well underway for both sports big bash, the Grand Final.
Plans for the entertainment at the AFL Grand Final was announced a few weeks ago, with Tom Jones and chart-straddling British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran both set to perform as pre-game entertainment and at a post-premiership after party open to the general public following the Grand Final match.
Now we’ve got nothing against the 78-year-old crooner or Sheeran, but the lack of home grown talent has irked more than a few fans of the code.
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In fact, we only have to go back less than 24 months when former AFL Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Demetriou, was telling us that “our fans have been telling us that they want more Australian music at the footy and we’ve acted on that by showcasing the best home grown talent all season.”
Acting on this, the AFL had made great progress using their substantial airtime on television and radio to promote Australian artists.
But apparently their memories are short. Does no one remember the massive backlash from the appalling performance by Meatloaf in 2011?
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Still, the AFL has a much better track record than its rival the NRL, who today revealed their Grand Final entertainment will be Guns N’ Roses legend Slash and Train. Yes, Train.
Not that we should be all that surprised, the last few years the NRL has chosen the likes of Good Charlotte, Ricky Martin and Kelly Clarkson, ahead of any Aussie acts.
Now, we can’t ignore that there are commercial imperatives when deciding who to book for these high profile performances. Organisers need acts that are not only talented, but appeal to a wide audience and demographic.
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But at the same time, Australian cultural institutions such as football should be supporting other local culture such as music.
Yet this year local artists seem to be getting the same raw deal they get from commercial radio. Television is even worse; The Logies are a musical disgrace, and you try getting a performance by a local band on any of the commercial networks.
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But to say that Aussie artists aren’t commercially appealing is willfully ignorant.
In fact, it is exactly these metrics that should be putting Australian acts at the top of the pile. Here’s just a handful of the plethora of great local acts that would have been better choices.
Vance Joy
Vance Joy has undoubtedly had a massive 18 months; with his breakthrough single Riptide topped Triple J’s Hottest 100 earlier this year. He’s just put out his debut album which shot straight to number one on the ARIA Charts, and the huge exposure a performance at the either Grand Final would provide would be a huge boost at such a critical time in his career.
Not to mention Joy is a footballer himself, playing for the Coburg Football Club in the Victorian Football League (VFL) form 2008-2009. He even won the best first year player award in 2008 before he eventually gave up football to pursue a music career.
Sheppard
Sheppard may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it’s hard to ignore that their infectious pop rock has made a lasting impact on the psyche of many Australians. With their breakthrough single Geronimo, Sheppard became the first indie act to hit the top of the Aussie singles chart in a decade and ‘Geronimo’ the longest independently released #1 release ever.
The single has now gone 4x platinum here in Australia, and has charted in a number of different countries around the world. If you’re looking for an act that’s radio friendly, popular, and local, then you really needn’t look any further.
Violent Soho
Violent Soho’s is Aussie music’s great comeback story. Off the back of their latest LP, Hungry Ghost, the group have been catapulted into the stratosphere and are now comfortably one of the most high profile local bands in the country.
Their electric performance at Splendour was one of the highlights of the festival, and a performance in front of millions as part of a Grand Final would be a huge leg up on their career path. Not to mention we’d love to see a stadium shouting “Hell Fuck Yeah”.
Peking Duk
A strong contender for song of the summer is Peking Duk’s rousing single ‘High’, so it’s no surprise to learn that it’s already gone double platinum here in Australia.
This may be stepping outside the comfort zone for organisers, but with Stereosonic now one of the biggest music festivals in the country, it comes at a time when EDM has never been bigger and more commercially accessible in Australia. Plus, anyone who’s been to a Peking Duk show knows just how awesome it would be on a stadium scale.
Sia
While we’re on the topic of the more commercial end of music, Australian pop siren Sia has done what most musicians the world over could only dream of by reaching #1 on the charts in the US and here in Australia with her latest LP 1000 Forms of Fear.
Her lead single, Chandelier, charted in over 24 countries, and has already gone 3x platinum here in Australia in just 6 months. She’s leading what critics in America are calling the A-pop invasion, and sadly it’s the Americans who have been embracing and celebrating her success more than us here at home.
The Amity Affliction
It no surprises that ‘heavy music’ is overlooked every year by both sporting codes, the much maligned heavy music community gets more of its fair share of deaf ears from commercial radio and television too. But the networks do so at their own peril.
The Amity Affliction, who over a short number of years have grown into one of Australia’s most promising and most loved bands, have reach stratospheric heights with the release of their latest LP Let the Ocean Take Me which shot straight to #1 here in Australia upon release, and has been one of the fastest albums this year to be certified Gold, taking less than two weeks.
Off the back of that, the band have been selling out shows across the country in some of the biggest rooms you can play, and it’s hard to argue against that.
