- WA artists win competition to support Coldplay at their Perth concerts
- Coldplay chooses Perth-based King Ibis and Adrian Dzvuke to perform in front of capacity Optus Stadium audience
- Winners will each receive a $15,000 grant from the Cook Government to further boost their careers
Two Western Australian bands have been handed a rare career-boosting opportunity to support Coldplay at their upcoming sell-out Perth concerts.
Indie pop/rock band King Ibis and African-born R&B/pop/Afrobeats artist Adrian Dzvuke and his band were chosen by Coldplay after entering the competition. Hopefuls had to submit an original music track and a video of them performing to be considered.
Adrian Dzvuke's band will perform at Coldplay's 'Music of the Spheres' concert on Saturday, 18 November and King Ibis will play on Sunday, 19 November 2023, to more than 60,000 people.
The competition was Coldplay's idea and a shortlist of 20 entrants was compiled by a judging panel that included representatives of Coldplay management, concert promoter Live Nation, Perth radio station RTR-FM and Warner Music. A playlist of the shortlisted entries will be available on Spotify and promoted to Coldplay's more than 40 million social media followers.
The winners will receive financial support from the Cook Government, which includes a grant of $15,000 each, through the Contemporary Music Fund, to help with activities such as recording, marketing, touring and attending industry events. This is additional to their performance fee.
In May, the State Government announced financial support had resulted in Perth being included in Coldplay's world tour. The Australian-exclusive concerts will inject millions of dollars into the WA economy, especially into the tourism and hospitality sectors, with thousands of interstate and international visitors coming to Perth.
As stated by Premier Roger Cook:
"We're told by Coldplay and Live Nation that this competition attracted many high-quality entries, revealing the true wealth of exciting talent we have here in WA.
"Our homegrown talent will now be showcased as the winning bands share the Optus Stadium stage with Coldplay, one of the world's most successful and iconic bands.
"I am incredibly proud of King Ibis and Adrian Dzvuke for impressing Coldplay and the judging panel, and congratulate them on securing this golden opportunity to share their music with new audiences and further their careers.
"This drawcard concert is part of my Government's strategy to bring incredible events to our State that entice visitors to travel to and enjoy all that Western Australia has to offer."
As stated by Culture and the Arts Minister David Templeman:
"The fact that two bands were chosen by Coldplay instead of just one indicates the high standard of the entries, which is a credit to the WA industry. I've always known that WA artists are extremely talented, now a packed Optus Stadium will see it for themselves.
"The WA Government is also pleased to provide financial support to the winning bands. There is a clear synergy between this competition and the Contemporary Music Fund, which aims to support local artists to promote and develop their work, as well as broaden their audience nationally and internationally."
As stated by Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti:
"The Coldplay concerts in November are going to attract thousands of visitors to Western Australia and deliver a significant boost to local businesses and our hospitality industry.
"Each concert will be an evening to remember and provides an incredible opportunity for these local artists to perform on the Optus Stadium stage in front of tens of thousands of potential new fans."
Background
Adrian Dzvuke(pronounced Zu-Kay) is a multi-award-winning Perth-based artist who has quickly become one of Australia's most in-demand emerging acts, asshown by performances atSplendour in the Grass,Groovin The MooandWave Rockfestivals, as well as support slots forPOND,Spacey Jane,Omah Lay,San Cisco,Stella Donnelly&Winston Surfshirt.
Equally at home onstage with his band or in the studio, his soulful mixture of R&B, Pop & Afrobeats has been gainingfans at every show and with every release.
Born in Zimbabwe, Adrian moved to Australia aged 12 where, in the finest R&B tradition, he began his music careersinging and playing drums in church. Fast forward some years and Adrian's recent run of singles and debut EP 'Phone Me When You Lonely' have seen him featured bytriple j,MTV,Spotify,Apple Music,Amazon&VEVO, amassing two million streams and landing on the Top 100 Australian iTunes, Spotify & Shazam charts.
Band members include:
Conor Lawson - guitarist
Oscar Van Gass - drummer
Alfred Bangezhano - bassist/keys
King Ibis is a Perth indie-pop/rock band that makes music that feels distinctively Western Australian, while also being distinctly unique.
Their sun-bleached, stripped-down rhythms combine with soaring vocals and a cheeky sense of humour to create irresistibly catchy songs. King Ibis describe themselves as fun, heartfelt and a little bit quirky.
Band members include:
Nadene Burchell singer/songwriter
Matthew Oakley guitarist
Samantha Goddard bassist
John McAndrew drummer
