Hunter Valley Concerts - All the latest concert news and announcements from the Hunter Valley

The Hunter Valley is fast becoming THE concert destination for international and local acts alike. The concert season extends from September through to April - with announcements and news regularly circulated. Upcoming Concerts in the 2011/2012 season include:

Steely Dan & Steve Winwood- A Day on the Green on Saturday October 22nd, 2011 at Bimbadgen Estate Hunter Valley > MORE INFO
Dolly Parton in two concerts - Saturday 19th November & Sunday 20th November 2011 at Hope Estate > MORE INFO
Elton John & his band - Saturday 3rd December 2011 at Hope Estate >MORE INFO
** 2ND CONCERT ** Elton John & his band - Sunday 4th December 2011 at Hope Estate

STEELY DAN AND STEVE WINWOOD OCTOBER NATIONAL TOUR KICKS OFF THE NEXT A DAY ON THE GREEN SEASON

After dazzling audiences with their first ever Australian shows in 2007, jazz rock icons STEELY DAN are returning for an encore tour in October.

And in a real treat for music lovers, legendary British vocalist STEVE WINWOOD will be the special guest in his first visit here in more than two decades!

The Frontier Touring Company and Roundhouse Entertainment are thrilled to announce Steely Dan and Steve Winwood will play arena concerts in Melbourne and Sydney, and five a day on the green events nationally including Bimbadgen Winery, Hunter Valley on Saturday October 22.

After recently completing a stellar 10th anniversary summer, the concert is the first to be announced for a day on the green's 2011/12 series. The chance to see two of music's most revered and multi-Grammy Award winning artists on one stage is undoubtedly a night not to be missed.

Steely Dan's sold out concert at Bimbadgen Winery in September 2007 was the fastest selling a day on the green ever held in the Hunter Valley to that time and is the second fastest in our entire 10 year history, so this is a fine way to kick off the upcoming season!

Steely Dan - Walter Becker and Donald Fagen - had critics raving on recent US shows with The New York Timesstating that Fagen "was deep in the music... a cross between Count Basie and Ray Charles." The Chicago Sun-Times proclaimed: "This was different. This was live. This was vibrant. This was a cascade of color carried along by Fagen, Becker, eight brilliant supporting musicians and three superb backing vocalists." The Los Angeles Times raved: "Everyone gathered Friday evening was a believer - and they were treated to something close to rapture."

Steely Dan has sold more than 30 million albums worldwide and helped define the soundtrack of the '70s with hits including 'Do It Again', 'Reelin' in the Years', 'Rikki Don't Lose That Number', 'F.M.', 'Peg' and 'Hey Nineteen'. They reunited in the early '90s and have toured throughout the decade and beyond, releasing the four time Grammy winner Two Against Nature in 2000 and its acclaimed follow-up Everything Must Go in 2003.

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker will be joined by an awesome group of players, now dubbed the Miles High Big Band, including Keith Carlock (drums); Jon Herington (guitar); Freddie Washington (bass); Jim Beard (keys); Michael Leonhart, Walt Weiskopf, Roger Rosenberg and Jim Pugh (horns); plus their backup trio, named the Embassy Brats, singers Carolyn Leonhart, Cindy Mizelle and Catherine Russell.

Steve Winwood was just a teenager when he rocketed into the international spotlight as the prodigious singer of the Spencer Davis Group. The blues and R&B-influenced rock of 'Gimme Some Lovin' and 'I'm a Man' had Winwood's singing drawing comparisons to that of his idol Ray Charles - despite his tender age. Seeking a wider artistic palette, in the next decade Winwood formed Traffic with friends Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason and then the "supergroup" Blind Faith with Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Rick Grech, producing some of the most inventive and arresting music of the time.

With 1977's Steve Winwood a rich solo career launched in earnest. Arc of a Diver (1980) featured the hit 'While You See a Chance', whilst Talking Back to the Night (1982), Back in the High Life (1986), and Roll With It (1988) produced era-defining songs including 'Valerie', 'Higher Love', 'Back in the High Life', and 'Roll With It'.

Later albums Refugees of the Heart, Junction 7, About Time and 2008's Nine Lives (which gained his highest ever Billboard album debut at #12) all continued to display Winwood's supreme musical talents. This will be his first Australian tour since 1990.

Acclaimed Melbourne band Oh Mercy will open the show. With Paul Kelly singing their praises and a new Triple J Album of The Week in Great Barrier Grief produced in the US by Mitchell Froom (Crowded House, Elvis Costello), their evocative acoustic pop makes them one of Australia's most promising bands to watch.

Promoter Roundhouse Entertainment looks forward to another great season of a day on the green concerts at the Hunter Valley's premier music destination Bimbadgen Winery and again welcomes LG as the event's major sponsor for the second year.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22 - BIMBADGEN WINERY, HUNTER VALLEY. TICKETS ONSALE NOW - TICKETMASTER

ELTON JOHN & HIS BAND RETURN TO AUSTRALIA THIS SUMMER

Chugg Entertainment is proud to present the much-lauded return of the one and only Elton John to Australia this summer.

On this, his 15TH tour of Australia, Elton John & His Band will play two performances under the stars at Hope Estate on Saturday 3 December and Sunday December 4th - in his only appearances in NSW on the tour.

To draw comparisons to Sir Elton John is impossible; artist, altruistic philanthropist, Grammy, Oscar, Tony and BRIT winner, his many accolades have made him an inimitable force in a career spanning five decades, with his versatility and effortless talent showing no sign of slowing down.

Acclaimed as one of the world’s greatest living pop icons, Elton’s audience has seen him traverse a career that began in the 1960s when he was a shy singer/songwriter and saw him grow into one of the most successful musicians of all time. His crossovers from classic balladry, soul and disco to country, gospel and rock have often confounded but never disappointed his legion of worldwide fans. As one of the greatest showmen of all time, his spectacular stage shows continue to leave the competition standing still in his wake.

As a humanitarian, Elton is a force for good whose public and private generosity support a staggering number of causes around the world, including establishing the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992, and in 1997 raising over $40 million for charity through sales of ‘Candle In The Wind 1997,’ the single released following the death of his friend Diana, Princess of Wales.

Having sold over 250 million albums worldwide - in 1975, one in every fifty albums sold was an Elton John record - and boasting a career that has kept him and his songwriting partner, Bernie Taupin, at the top of the charts for nearly 40 years, his lifework has amalgamated into more than that of just a recording artist. Through a partnership with lyricist Tim Rice came the music for both the feature film and Broadway stage production of ‘The Lion King.’ Elton also wrote the music for the stage production of ‘Billy Elliot: The Musical’ and more recently for the box office smash, ‘Gnomeo & Juliet.’ In 2010, Elton forged a collaboration with long-time musical hero, Leon Russell on the T Bone Burnett produced album, The Union, of which he said of Russell, “When I started he was my idol, mentor and everything I wanted to be as a songwriter.”

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to hear one of the world’s greatest pop musicians in spectacular form when ROCKET MAN returns to Australia this November/December.

TICKETS FOR ALL SHOWS ON SALE 9AM, TUESDAY 24 MAY

DOLLY PARTON TO TOUR FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIRTY YEARS!!!

How does one begin to describe an icon like Dolly Parton? Singer-songwriter, author, multi-instrumentalist, actress, philanthropist, businesswoman; this mighty talent’s list of credentials is worth every ounce of veneration she receives.

Hailed as ‘The Queen of Country Music,’ her four and a half decade career since her national chart debut has seen her become one of the most successful female artists in the history of the country genre, with twenty-five number one singles, and a record forty-one top 10 country albums. In addition to her illustrious music career, Parton’s foray into other ventures include a self-titled theme park, television variety shows and several successful films – including an Oscar nomination for her role in 9 to 5 – all of which have cemented her status as an American superstar.

Dolly Parton is the most honoured female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her Hall of Fame career have reportedly topped a staggering 100 million records world-wide.

She has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year Award.

Parton’s arrival on Australian shores in November this year, will be her first in nearly thirty years and is certain to be the milestone event of the 2011 touring calendar. Tickets go on sale June 20th through Ticketek.