Legends on the Lawn returns in 2023

AFTER a sold-out inaugural event in Mackay earlier this year, Legends On The Lawn returns in 2023 with an iconic all-Australian line-up.

Featuring Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins, Mark Seymour, Vika & Linda and Ian Moss & Troy Cassar-Daley, the one-day festival is back on 20 May, 2023 at the Great Barrier Arena, Mackay, and by all reports, it is guaranteed to sell out early.

Mackay Mayor Greg Williamson said after the success of the 2022 Legends On The Lawn it was fantastic to see such huge names stepping out for the 2023 event.

“Legends On The Lawn will return again in May,” he said. “With Australian music icons Paul Kelly, Bernard Fanning, Missy Higgins and Mark Seymour, as well as crowd favourites Vika & Linda and Troy Cassar-Daley, it’s certain to again be an epic live music event that will benefit our community and our economy. 

"Legends On The Lawn is shaping up to be a major drawcard for our region, attracting visitors who will also have the opportunity to experience all of the natural attractions on offer, including platypus spotting, sunrise on the beach with kangaroos and exploring our pristine beaches and tropical rainforests.”

Great Barrier Reef Arena general manager Adrian Young agreed. “We’re extremely excited to be involved in one of the best line-ups ever assembled in North Queensland,” he said. “This year’s event was outstanding and we expect 2023 to be even better. We can’t wait.”

PAUL KELLY has been writing songs, making records and touring for over forty years. Along the way he has released over 40 albums, including live concerts, compilations and soundtracks. He has collaborated with many other artists, notably writing Treaty with Yothu Yindi and co-producing Archie Roach’s landmark debut album Charcoal Lane. His awards, too numerous to mention, include 17 ARIAs and an Order of Australia. He has published several books, including collections of his lyrics, a memoir How To Make Gravy and an anthology of his favourite poems Love Is Strong As Death.

Paul’s songs have a way of digging into the country in a way that few artists do - how it looks, feels, tastes, sounds. The joys and sorrows, achievements and follies. If you want to know something about Australia, how it feels to be Australian, you can find it in his songs. His live shows in recent years reveal a performer and band at the peak of their powers. They bring all the shades and colours. Passionate, dramatic, tender and emotional.

For the Legends On The Lawn, he will be playing a generous selection from his ever-green, ever-selling greatest hits record Songs From The South, as well as delving into a range of songs from his vast catalogue.

BERNARD FANNING has accumulated one of the most celebrated songbooks on the Australian rock spectrum. The former Powderfinger frontman has collectively released 11 studio albums producing songs that have become ingrained in the Australian psyche. Tracks like My Happiness, These Days, Sunsets, Burn Your Name, Wish You Well, Songbird, Blue Toowong Skies and Belly Of The Beast have become the moving soundtrack for a generation, with Bernard’s emotive and distinctive voice completely capturing our hearts. He has a trophy cabinet that holds seven number #1 albums, 23 ARIA Awards, and five APRA Awards to name a few… his songs have appeared in triple j’s Hottest 100 an incredible 23 times including three #1 spots for These Days (1999), My Happiness (2000) and Wish You Well (2005). 

It’s fair to say Bernard Fanning has firmly cemented his position as one of Australia’s finest singer-songwriters and lyricists. With over 20 years of touring, expect a rock show with swagger, entertaining banter, crowd interaction and a display of pure musical talent by a member of Australian rock royalty and his band who are the perfect accompaniment to his wide-ranging set list of heartfelt country - folk tinged charm and classic rock grooves.

MISSY HIGGINS is one of our most beloved singer/songwriters and her acclaimed studio albums, The Sound of White, On a Clear Night, The Ol’ Razzle Dazzle, Oz and Solastalgia have sold more than two million copies. Classic songs like Scar, The Special Two, Steer, Everyone’s Waiting and Futon Couch, plus her unforgettable live shows, have made Missy an authentic household name. She has won nine ARIA awards and multiple APRA Awards. Missy also received a Screen Music Award for Best Original Song composed for the Screen for Australian Film Don’t Tell. 

Earlier in 2022, Missy released mini-album Total Control featuring songs inspired initially by the musical fragments she wrote for the powerful ABC TV Series of the same name. The songs pick up themes of exploitation and female empowerment that run through Total Control and which also dominated real world headlines last year as a string of abuse allegations emerged from Parliament House. The stories Missy shares through songwriting come to life on stage as enjoyed by the thousands of fans who attend her concerts.

MARK SEYMOUR formed Hunters and Collectors in 1980 with a bunch of Uni friends. The band become famous for its rhythmic power and very quickly became touted as the ‘next big thing’. The album Human Frailty has proven to be one of the most important and enduring record of the 80s. With Human Frailty, Mark discovered love, loss, and pop melody – his solo records are directly connected to this era and bear the same stamp of raw honesty and emotional power. He continues to search for the emotional truth in a song. As well as 13 Hunters and Collectors albums, Mark has released eight further albums. Mark Seymour is one of our finest songwriters, capturing our stories of love, loss, human courage and achievement.

VIKA & LINDA's effortless harmonies and journey through rock, country, gospel, reggae, R&B, soul and blues, while always paying tribute to their rich Tongan heritage, has earned the respect and admiration of their greatest fans – the renowned Australian artists they’ve performed and recorded with, and whose work their voices have enhanced. 

Paul Kelly says “Their voices combined sound salty-sweet and have that elusive twinned quality you only get when siblings sing together ...  They make the air beat in sync.”  In September 2021, Vika & Linda released The Wait, their first original studio album since 2002. It debuted at #2 on the ARIA chart. The Wait has continued a triumphant period for Vika & Linda which saw them score their first number one album with their career anthology, ‘Akilotoa, and three months later a #2 debut for their gospel collection, Sunday (The Gospel According To Iso).

IAN MOSS and TROY CASSAR-DALEY, two powerhouse artists, joined forces in 2022 for one of the year's most successful tours. A truly remarkable partnership, with simplicity proving to be a powerful vessel to tell a story and share a song, will delight audiences at Legends On The Lawn. 

Ian Moss, a founding member of one of Australia's greatest bands, Cold Chisel, is respected globally as one of our most iconic musicians. A multi-award winner, Mossy, who delivers a unique sound – not only as a telling soloist on guitar but also with his silken voice ringing with clarity and resonating with pure soul – was described by Cold Chisel bandmate Don Walker as "the most gifted musician I've ever seen." Enough said. 

Troy Cassar-Daley, a proud Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung man, comes from a long line of storytellers and is regarded as one of Australia's finest songwriters. On his way to collect every accolade possible including ARIA's, APRA's, Golden Guitars (the most in the awards history), Deadlys, National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) and more, he has written with Paul Kelly, penned the anthemic Shutting Down Our Town for Jimmy Barnes, and recently Briggs sampled Troy's harrowing and impactful story of Shadows On the Hill. No matter what story Troy is telling via song you just need to listen. 

The 2023 Legends On The Lawn is guaranteed to sell-out – tickets are available now through Ticketmaster so grab your tickets early to avoid disappointment.

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