Michael Chugg Named International Promoter Of The Year In Canadian Awards

Australian touring legend Michael Chugg has been awarded with the trophy for International Promoter Of The Year at this year’s Canadian Live Music Awards (CLMAs).

The ceremony was held last Saturday (June 10) as part of Canadian Music Week (CMW). Chugg himself delivered a keynote interview the day prior, and in an interview with Pollstar, CMW president Neill Dixon described him as “one of the biggest promoters in the world and one of the key people Down Under”. Also notable is that Chugg was the only Australian celebrated at the 2023 CLMAs.

Cutting his teeth at 16 as a local promoter in kanamaluka/Launceston, Chugg went on to become one of the most influential people in the Australian music industry, launching the iconic Frontier Touring company (alongside the likes of the late, great Michael Gudinski) in 1979, and then the eponymous Michael Chugg Entertainment brand (later Chugg Entertainment and Chugg Music) 20 years later. 

He’s still going strong at 75, and just last week launched the new country music booking agency Wheelhouse in tandem with Select Music alumni and Dan Biddle. 

Chugg vouched in a statement that Wheelhouse fills a gap created in the local industry by virtue of “the growth of country music in Australia over the last few years”. He said of the company’s origin story: “It was clear that the market needed a new agency to service the many great new artists coming through along with the established artists who are kicking major goals. 

“With our many decades of experience across all facets of live touring, combined with our knowledge of the country music industry, there is no better team in Australia to help artists develop their live careers and grow their audiences.” 

Back in March, Chugg broke the seal on some of the wildest moments he’s experienced over the past 60-odd years. In an episode of Matty Johns’ Good Chat podcast, he cited Fleetwood Mac, Guns N’ Roses, Elton John, Simon & Garfunkel and Iggy Pop as some of the artists responsible for his most cherished – and chaotic – memories.