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New this week: AFL, James Bay, BTS, Hamilton, and more

Our weekly round up of this week's biggest news in music, sport, theatre, and comedy from around the globe

This week the 2020 AFL Finals begin, UK musician James Bay announces a global livestream concert, Friends! The Musical Parody announce rescheduled dates, and that’s only scratching the surface.

Here’s the latest, biggest news in live entertainment.

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Music news this week

Summer festival season is well and truly in the air with the announcement of another stacked SummerSalt lineup. The first event to be announced in this series will see homegrown stars Missy HigginsThe Cat EmpireBoy & Bear, L.A.BMontaigne and Emily Wurramara take over Adelaide’s Glenelg Beach on Sunday 14 February 2021. More picturesque and iconic locations will be announced soon, but tickets to the Adelaide event are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.

The must-watch livestreams are stacking up with the latest batch to arrive fresh out of the UK. Psych-pop pals Glass Animals will celebrate their new album Dreamland, alongside some choice cuts from their catalogue, with a special ‘Live on the Internet’ gig and virtual experience. “We’re going to do something that we probably couldn’t do in real life anyway, because the internet has these amazing capabilities,” says vocalist Dave Bayley so expect an experiment. “Live on the Internet” will stream on Friday 16 October at 8pm AEST and tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Joining the fun is English singer-songwriter James Bay who just announced a special full-band concert at iconic London venue Shakespeare’s Globe. Catch the performance on Thursday 22 October @ 8pm AEST, with tickets going on sale Thursday 22 October @ 8pm AEST via Ticketmaster.com.au.

James Bay – Chew On My Heart (Official Music Video)

Brisbane’s The Tivoli has announced a jam-packed program of events spread across the summer called Open Season. Featuring local musicians including Ed Kuepper, Cub Sport, Electric Fields, and Washington alongside jaw-dropping cabaret show Bite Club and daring circus and physical theatre piece Le Coup, you don’t want to miss a single second. Another round of shows will be announced soon, but in the meantime, Open Season is on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Australian music legend James Reyne has rescheduled his upcoming 40th-anniversary tour in celebration of his band Australian Crawl’s iconic hit ‘The Boys Light Up’. Now a 41-year anniversary, the new dates will see Reyne perform at Wollongong’s Anita’s Theatre on Friday 23 and Saturday 24 April 2021, Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Friday 7 May 2021, Brisbane’s The Tivoli on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 June 2021. Tickets to the new dates are on sale via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Last month, Bigsound announced its 2020 event would look a little different, going virtual and being free to attend for the first time in the event’s 19-year history. Alongside previously announced speakers including Tom Morello, Amy Shark, and Tones and I, the festival has dropped their full program, featuring conversations about everything from ‘The Indigenous Future of the Music Industry’ to TikTok, Music Marketing, self-care, livestreaming and more. They’ve also announced their Bigsound50 showcasing the most anticipated up-and-coming artists including Jerome Farah, Jess Day, Ms Thandi, The Merindas and a stack more. Read all about it and sign up for your FREE delegate pass at Bigsound.org.au.

Jerome Farah – I Can't Breathe (Official Video)

Trailblazing Australian singer and feminist icon Helen Reddy, who became a global superstar with her hit single ‘I Am Woman’, has passed away in Los Angeles at the age of 78. She was regarded as one of the queens of ’70s pop with her hits including ‘Delta Dawn’, ‘Angie Baby’, ‘Leave Me Alone (Ruby Red Dress)’ and ‘Ain’t No Way To Treat A Lady’. In collecting her 1973 Grammy Award for best female vocalist, Reddy famously thanked “God because she makes everything possible”. Vale to a true legend.

In new music news, the album announcements keep rolling in. Following the release of his solo album Western Stars last June – his third No.1 album in Australia – Bruce Springsteen has rejoined his E Street band, announcing his new album Letter To You will land on Friday 23 October. The album was recorded in five days with Springsteen’s band playing live in his home studio in New Jersey. Global superstars, Korea’s BTS are really treating us this year, announcing we can hear their second album in 2020, BE, on Friday 20 November. Their first 2020 album, Map of the Soul: 7 dropped in February, while their first full-English single ‘Dynamite’ broke the YouTube record for most views in a 24-hour period, racking up 101.1 million.

BTS (방탄소년단) 'Dynamite' Official MV

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Sport news this week

After a season like no other, the AFL top 8 are locked in. The first week of the 2020 AFL Finals series kicks off this weekend with four huge matches held in Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide. Minor premiers Port Adelaide will face Geelong at Adelaide Oval on Thursday night, before the second Qualifying Final takes us to Queensland as the Brisbane Lions take on reigning premiers Richmond on Friday night at The Gabba. Both elimination finals set Saturday up as a huge day of footy – with St Kilda battling the Western Bulldogs at The Gabba and West Coast Eagles facing Collingwood at Optus Stadium. Read all about it here.

At the end of the Suncorp Super Netball season, a couple of Australian Diamonds have called time on their careers. Caitlin Thwaites, who played 54 games for the Diamonds, scoring 1106 goals, will bid farewell to the sport alongside Tegan Philip, who played 14 test matches for the Diamonds and scored 130 goals. Their careers aren’t quite over yet, with the Melbourne Vixens taking out the season’s minor premiership. They join fellow 2020 retirees including former Diamonds goal attack Nat Medhurst who called time on her decorated 17-year netball career and Collingwood co-captain and former Australian Diamond Madi Browne, who retires after 15 seasons.

The 2020 NRL top eight was locked in a few weeks ago, but following the weekend’s regular-season ending round, the final positions have been confirmed. Anything can happen come finals time. Minor Premiers Penrith are on a huge 15-game winning streak, they take on the two-time defending champion Roosters on Friday night. Canberra host Cronulla on Saturday in an elimination final before Melbourne take on Parramatta in the other qualifying final. The first week of the finals finishes on Sunday with Souths up against Newcastle in the second sudden-death playoff.

Fixtures for the highly-anticipated Rugby Championship were recently unveiled, with a cluster of back-to-back matches scheduled across the east coast of Australia. The four-nation event will see squads from Argentina, South Africa, New Zealand and Australia playoff in a six-week Championship, launching on Saturday 7 November. Tickets to the Round Four doubleheader on Saturday 28 November at McDonald Jones Stadium, Newcastle go on sale Thursday 8 October via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Round two of the French Open is underway, with some shock early exits including Men’s fourth seed Daniil Medvedev, Men’s eighth seed Gael Monfils, Women’s tenth seed Victoria Azarenka, American teenage sensation Coco Gauff, as well as 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams withdrawing before her second-round clash. Meanwhile, Lorenzo Giustino and Corentin Moutet have played out the second-longest match in French Open history, battling it out for six hours and five minutes at Roland Garros. The tournament shocks became more literal when a fighter plane breaking the sound barrier interrupted some of the on-court action.

Lebron James has become just the third All-Star to face his former team in the NBA Finals when his Los Angeles Lakers took the court against his former side Miami Heat. Playing in the Finals for an incredible ninth time in 10 years and 10th time in his career, the Lakers are favourites in the playoff, but can they go all the way?

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Theatre news this week

The future of Australian theatre is looking incredibly promising, with international productions Frozen The Musical and Hamilton joining the likes of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child across the country.

To continue the Frozen The Musical magic, for a limited time fans can purchase a stunning 3D Collector Ticket. The Australian production – opening in December 2020 at Sydney’s Capitol Theatre – will feature Jemma Rix and Courtney Monsma as Elsa and Anna, respectively, alongside Matt Lee, Thomas McGuane, Sean Sinclair and more. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.

The Australian debut season of Broadway smash-hit Hamilton at Sydney Lyric Theatre recently went on sale, and as expected tickets for the hotly anticipated production were quickly snapped up. Currently, if you’re looking for great seats, the best availability is in mid-week evening or Sunday performances from late May through to the end of July 2021. Don’t throw away your shot, tickets are on sale via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Friends The Musical Parody has rescheduled their upcoming Australian tour dates until 2021. The show will now perform at Comedy Theatre, Melbourne from Wednesday 16 to Saturday 19 June 2021, before heading to Brisbane’s The Tivoli from Thursday 19 until Saturday 21 August 2021. Tickets are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.

Based on the Tony Award-winning stage revival, The Boys in the Band film is now streaming on Netflix. Directed by Joe Mantello, and featuring Jim Parsons, Matt Bomer, Zachary Quinto and Andrew Rannells, the film focusses on an uncomfortable birthday gathering amongst a group of gay friends on Manhattan’s Upper East Side.

The Boys in the Band | Official Trailer | Netflix

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Stay up to date on all the latest live entertainment news at Ticketmaster Discover. Tickets to the best music, sport, theatre, comedy and more are on sale now via Ticketmaster.com.au.