Little Red at Australia DayLive 2011

Sat 22nd Jan, 2011 in Features

Australia day. The perfect opportunity to lounge at the beach, fire up the BBQ and of course to indulge in a beverage or two.

For the past eight years, Canberra has been developing its own little tradition which combines elements of all of the above, the* Australia Day Live* concert. At the concert, you can lounge around on a picnic blanket, eat until your hearts content, and of course bring whatever you choose to drink while rocking out to the tunes of some of Australia’s finest acts.

Since its initiation in 2004, the Australia Day Live concert has only expanded in size and budget, which means, yes you guessed it, bigger and better acts! Televised across the nation from the lawns of parliament house, the concert features live performances from an array of Australian artists and the announcement of the winners of the Australian of the Year awards.

Previous years have featured artists including Thirsty Merc, Ben Lee, The Veronicas, Gotye, Cassie Davis, Evermore, Ian Moss and many Australian Idol finalists. 
This year the line up is set be bigger than ever, featuring performances from Little Red, Ross Wilson, and country music sensation The McClymonts. Pop focused musical acts that will take the stage include Jessica Mauboy and X-factor winner Altyian Childs.

Keys and vocalist of the Melbourne-based band Little Red, Tom Hartney is excited for his performance in the nation’s capital. “We only get to play a couple of songs… so I’m sure we’ll just play the hits that people want to hear. ‘Rock It’ obviously. There’s not really a lot you can do with only a few songs but we’re really excited to be a part of it!”
 The indie-pop sensation are excited for their Australia Day Live debut. “Funnily enough we’ve only ever played at the ANU bar so we’re really excited to have the outdoor gig with the fantastic backdrop of Parliament House.”

Little Red has been in recent high demand and are currently booked either side of the Australia Day Live concert to perform at both the Gold Coast and Sydney Big Day Out. In terms of the band’s plans for this year, Tom says “I’m pretty sure we’re heading overseas some time this year. We’ve been to London a couple of times and have done some shows over there which have been good so wanting to head back. Japan is also possibly on the cards.”

Meanwhile, the band is hoping to focus on the production of some much-anticipated fresh new tunes. “We’re really keen to start making new music. We’ve been so busy with live gigs that we haven’t had the chance to get back in the studio so this year we are going to be trying to get our next album together,” says Hartney.

Excited to put on their first outdoor show in Canberra, Little Red are revved up and ready to rock it at the Australia Day Live concert.

Little Red @ the Australia Day Live concert, Parliament House Lawns, Canberra, Tuesday 25th January. (ABC local broadcast from 7pm.)