Rock legends Jimmy Barnes and Joan Jett and the Blackhearts will take over North Gardens on the 2019 Australia Day weekend.
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The Red Hot Summer Tour will roar back into Ballarat on January 29, with The Living End, Richard Clapton, Diesel and Chocolate Starfish rounding out the bill.
More than 5000 punters turned out for the 2018 Ballarat show, even in sweltering 31 degree heat.
Chocolate Starfish’s enigmatic frontman Adam Thompson told The Courier this year’s bill was “definitely the best Red Hot Summer Tour line-up” he’d ever seen.
“There are other events that put older heritage bands out there for a couple of songs, and it’s just not as special,” he said.
“But there’s still a relevance for every one of these artists ... It’s not just a ‘Best Of’ kind of thing, every single band has got new material as well as their hits.
“It attracts music lovers first and foremost, which is a great thing.”
Known for their high-energy showmanship, Chocolate Starfish is best know for hits like Four Letter Word, Mountain and their hit cover of Carly Simon’s You’re So Vain.
But with two top 10 albums under the band’s belt, Thompson isn’t sitting on his laurels. The band is gearing up for shows at The Palms at Crown Melbourne, where they’ll perform the classic INXS album Kick.
“We do a classic album every couple of years, and did [Meatloaf’s] Bat Out of Hell last time. But we wanted something that would resonate, and really we wanted to go Aussie this time,” Mr Thompson said.
“Possibly because Michael is not around, INXS have found it difficult to find the appropriate way to deliver it, and they’ve experimented with a few different singers.
“But we also just wanted to give it some Chocolate Starfish theatrics.”
The band is also set to release a hip-hop collaboration of their song Mountain for NAIDOC Week.
Red Hot Summer Tour promoter Duane McDonald said the idea behind the tour was to “take the type of artists you would see performing at festivals in metro centres, and bring them to the regions.”
“Music fans are everywhere, and just because they don’t live in a capital city doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have access to some of the best live acts,” he said.
Tickets on sale at 9am on June 28, more at www.redhotsummertour.com.au.