Tame Impala, Flume And More Receive Helpmann Nod

Iconic Aussie acts such as Tame Impala, Flume, Hunters & Collectors and The Presets have been recognised with nominations for this year’s Helpmann Awards, in the category of Best Australian Contemporary Concert.

West Australian psych-rockers Tame Impala received the nod for their Chugg Entertainment-orchestrated national jaunt, while ubiquitous one-man-army Flume scored his nomination for his Infinity Prism Tour, presented by Future Classic, Lunatic Entertainment and the folks at Chugg.

Frontier Touring and Roundhouse Entertainment brought veteran Aussie rock act Hunters & Collectors back to the popular conscious with a slick run of theatre shows in Melbourne and Sydney as well as the Jimmy Barnes-favoured path of a winery tour with a day on the green, while The Presets tackled a whole different arena (literally and figuratively) with their collaborative performances alongside the Australian Chamber Orchestra at the Sydney Opera House – conceived in collaboration between the band, those organisations and state tourism body Destination NSW.

As far as our festival scene is concerned, those that (are still around to) earn Helpmann acknowledgements include the 25th-anniversary edition of Bluesfest Byron Bay, the Lunatic and Chugg-presented Laneway festival, Destination NSW and the Opera House’s yearly magnum opus Vivid LIVE, and The Falls Music & Arts Festival.

On the International Contemporary Concert front, veteran acts Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band, Eddie Vedder, Beyonce and P!nk are all up for awards, rounding out the year’s music-recognition contingent.

Despite this year’s awards still being at nomination stage, it has also been announced that Destination NSW will be the recipient of 2014’s Best Special Event Award for the 2013 iteration of Vivid Sydney, which in its sixth year welcomed more than 800,000 visitors across its 130-event, three-week calendar.

The Helpmann Awards were established in 2001 by Live Performance Australia to recognise, celebrate and promote the nation’s live performance industry, similar to Broadway’s Tony Awards and London’s Olivier Awards.

The 14th Annual Helpmann Awards will be presented live in Sydney at the Capitol Theatre on Monday, August 18, and will be broadcast on Foxtel channel Arena. See the awards' website for more information.