Today, Stryper returns with a powerful new single, ‘I’m Alright (I’m Okay),’ reaffirming why they remain one of the most influential and enduring bands in Christian metal. Decades into their career, the band continues to balance their unmistakable message with a sound that is every bit as commanding, melodic, and relevant as ever. On the new single, Michael Sweet comments: “This […]
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Frankenbok’s music embraces heaviness, humour and brutality! This Australian legacy metal band boasts a diverse sound, unafraid to try anything and are ALWAYS impulsively applying that to their craft. Since their inception in 1997, they’ve defied boundaries, constantly evolving, yet never losing their core. The path they have been carving for close to 30 years […]
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TICKETS ON SALE AT 10AM ON TUESDAY 2ND JUNE FROM TICKETEK
120 Artists Live On Stage Including a 38 Piece Orchestra, Choir & The John Farnham Band
Tina Arena • Jimmy Barnes • Mahalia Barnes • Kate Ceberano Diesel • Hans • Human Nature • Jack Jones • Richard Marx
Jessica Mauboy • Ruby Rodgers • Jon Stevens
Mitch Tambo • Keith Urban • Mark Vincent • Ross Wilson
With Celine Dion (from Paris) & Hugh Jackman (from Los Angeles) performing via satellite
More artists to be announced soon!
Minister for Sport and Major Events Steve Dimopoulos, together with producers Tony Cochrane AM and Thea Jeanes-Cochrane of Cochrane Entertainment Collective and Paul Dainty AO of TEG Dainty, announce a once-in-a-generation Melbourne only concert event – THE SONGS OF JOHN FARNHAM: A LIVING LEGEND THE CELEBRATION CONCERT to take centre stage at Rod Laver Arena on Sunday 20th September. Global and Australian stars will lead an extraordinary lineup of 120 artists and musicians on stage for a powerful night of John Farnham’s music celebrating the extraordinary legacy of the icon — while helping to raise vital funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia.
Tickets go on sale at 10am on Tuesday 2nd June from TICKETEK.
In a venue that has become synonymous with Farnham’s remarkable career— having set the record performing there an astonishing 94 times to more than 1 million people — this one-night-only celebration concert will unite on stage an unparalleled lineup of talent, all personally invited by John, to perform his extensive catalogue of songs.
A host of the world’s most celebrated performers will come together on stage at Rod Laver Arena, including Tina Arena, Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia Barnes, Kate Ceberano, Diesel, Hans, Human Nature, Jack Jones, Richard Marx, Jessica Mauboy, Ruby Rodgers, Jon Stevens, Mitch Tambo, Keith Urban, Mark Vincent and Ross Wilson. Legends Celine Dion and Hugh Jackman will perform via satellite for a spectacular celebration of one of the nation’s most beloved voices — a rare coming together of artists whose own careers have helped shape the soundtrack of generations. More artists will be announced soon!
Adding to the scale and significance of the night, Farnham’s longtime musical director Chong Lim will lead the John Farnham Band, alongside a 38-piece orchestra and choir, delivering a rich, powerful sound befitting the catalogue that has defined generations.
More than just a concert, the event will serve a greater purpose — shining a spotlight on head and neck cancer and helping to raise funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia.
John Farnham. Image Credit: David Anderson Photography
John Farnham’s music has formed the soundtrack to generations of Australians — from the defiant anthem You’re the Voice, the emotional power of Burn for You, Age of Reason, and A Touch of Paradise. Alongside classics like Two Strong Hearts, Pressure Down, and Chain Reaction, his songs have filled stadiums, united crowds, and become part of the fabric of Australian life — marking celebrations, milestones and deeply personal moments alike. These songs will be reinterpreted for one extraordinary night — a live musical anthology of a body of work that continues to unite, inspire and resonate across the world.
This special event reflects not only his musical legacy, but also his personal journey — and his desire to give back. Each artist appearing on the night has been personally invited by Farnham, a testament to the deep respect and admiration he commands across the global music community. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to spend my life doing what I love, and even luckier to have Australians embrace my music the way they have. This night isn’t about me — it’s about giving something back and supporting a cause that means a great deal to me. The fact that so many extraordinary artists from around the world have so generously agreed to be part of this night is incredibly humbling and says far more about the spirit behind this event than it does about me. I hope everyone has a great night. Just enjoy the music and have a laugh too!” John Farnham
This is a single, unrepeatable moment in time — a one-night-only gathering of extraordinary talent to celebrate a living legend and create a piece of Australian music history — all celebrating the power of music to unite, uplift and inspire. The national significance of the event has been recognised by General the Honourable Sir Peter Cosgrove AK AC (Mil) CVO MC (Retd), former Governor-General of Australia, whose support speaks to the profound place John Farnham holds in the Australian story.
THE SONGS OF JOHN FARNHAM: A LIVING LEGEND THE CELEBRATION CONCERT
Date: Sunday 20th September, 2026 Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Tickets: On sale at 10am on Tuesday 2nd June from Ticketek
This show is a tribute to John Farnham, he will not be performing.
FUNDRAISING INFORMATION
Charitable purpose
Funds raised will support Head and Neck Cancer Australia to provide free information and specialist support for the more than 5,300 Australians diagnosed with a type of Head and Neck Cancer each year, while raising awareness to increase early diagnosis, encourage prevention and drive national advocacy to improve patient outcomes.
Fundraising appeal runs from 2 June 2026 – 20 September 2026
I am a killer of killers of the killing line of men who kill every night Wa-ooooooooo! No more mumbo jumbo from your medicine man Your badland heart is all mine
Mask Appeal came together with the blunt inevitability of a bar fight nobody had to schedule. Mike Shelbourn’s jungle-born drums chase the song through the underbrush, snapping branches, kicking up dirt, and grinning at the damage. Dan Graziano’s bass slithers beneath him with oily confidence, a low-end bad conscience that keeps finding another corner to coil around. Dante White Aliano’s guitar tears at the edges, sometimes with a deathrock leer, sometimes with a garage-punk fever, sometimes like a man carving warnings into a fence he plans to climb anyway.
These are Los Angeles music-scene veterans, and you can hear the road rash in their playing. Their histories run through Detroit Cobras, Oozelles, The Starlite Desperation, Gestapo Khazi, Neighborhood Brats, Frontier Club, and more. They know the racket from the inside: the blown amp, the bent bill, the cheap motel sink, the promoter with soft hands and a hard story.
Their most recent single, Badland Bloodrite, is a song about crossing the line after the line has already warned you, cursed you, spat tobacco juice at your boots, and told you exactly what kind of fool you are. Mask Appeal builds the track around a violent myth of possession and trespass, where love comes dressed as a blood oath, and geography behaves like a trap with teeth. The karst is the key image: porous ground, hidden chambers, sudden drops, the earth pretending to be solid until appetite steps forward and vanishes waist-deep into its own ruin.
From there, Badland Bloodrite sinks into a psychic badland where romance, conquest, inheritance, and murder all share the same cracked cup. The vocals proclaim a murderous lineage while trying to seize another person’s heart and fate, and every warning not to cross the karst lands with the force of an old taboo. This is border music in the least respectable sense: the border between hunger and harm, between wanting someone and wanting to own the air around them.
The reference points crowd around the song like shrouded witnesses: Theatre of Hate and Death Cult with their desert-stained drama; The Birthday Party with their deranged grin; Bauhaus in their theatrical pallor; The Stranglers with their raven-clad menace; The Contortions in their crooked angles; Bow Wow Wow in their tribal snap; PIL in their bass-led unease; and Echo and the Bunnymen in their grand, doomed reach.
Mask Appeal uses those ghosts as gasoline for the fire, but Badland Bloodrite leaves its ugly implications standing in plain view. It sounds hot, sick, funny in the cruel places, and wired to old fear. The song knows trespass can be seduction, theft, ceremony, and sentence all at once, and Mask Appeal rides straight over the karst with their eyes open.
Frankenbok’s music embraces heaviness, humour and brutality! This Australian legacy metal band boasts a diverse sound, unafraid to try anything and are ALWAYS impulsively applying that to their craft. Since their inception in 1997, they’ve defied boundaries, constantly evolving, yet never losing their core. The path they have been carving for close to 30 years […]
