BRISBANE — They’re back. Powderfinger, arguably Australia’s biggest guitar band of the century, are reuniting for a one-off fundraising virtual concert.
Dubbed One Night Lonely, the gig will stream Saturday, May 23 on YouTube and will raise much needed money for Support Act, the national charity that helps artists, roadies and music workers in crisis, and Beyond Blue, an organization that provides advice and support on mental health issues.
Rumors of a Powderfinger reunion are as regular as a hot Australian summer. A teaser on social media Wednesday confirmed something was up, and the official announcement dropped early Thursday.
It’s been a decade since the five-piece from Brisbane were an active outfit. The classic lineup of Bernard Fanning (vocals), Ian Haug (guitars), Darren Middleton (guitars), John Collins (bass) and Jon Coghill (drums) went their separate ways in 2010 with a final Sunsets lap of the country, which sold more than 200,000 tickets.
The objective of the reunion? “We thought maybe we should put out a song or try and help out some way,” Fanning to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Zan Rowe on Thursday morning (May 14).
“We were trying to just put a smile on people’s faces,” Fanning continued. “As cheesy as that sounds, it’s really what we were hoping to do.”
Middleton chimed in, “the motivation is really just to alleviate a little bit of something for someone out there.”
It’s only a matter of time before the rockers are inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, having sold more than 2.5 million albums and won 18 ARIA Awards, the third highest total all-time behind Silverchair (21) and John Farnham (20).
The group also claimed the prestigious ARIA Award for album of the year on three successive releases, and their last five albums all went to No. 1 on the national ARIA chart.
The One Night Lonely virtual gig starts 7pm AEST (5am ET) next Saturday. For sign-up details, visit Powderfinger.com.
