Sheppard Announced On Line-Up For World's Biggest Music Festival

Queensland's own world-beating pop stars Sheppard have been announced as the only Australian act so far on this year's line-up for the annual Rock In Rio festival, widely acknowledged as the world's largest live music event.

The festival's wider roster this year includes international drawcard acts such as Sam Smith, Rihanna, Katy Perry, System Of A Down, A-Ha, Queens Of The Stone Age, Faith No More, Elton John, Metallica, Queen & Adam Lambert, Motley Crue, Mastodon, Rod Stewart, OneRepublic, The Script, Slipknot, John Legend, Korn, deftones, Steve Vai and more, putting Sheppard firmly in A-list company for their impending performance in Brazil this September.

Rock In Rio has been spreading its rambunctious good vibes for 30 years, with 14 events taking place in that time — five in Brazil, six in Portugal and three in Spain, with the first-ever US leg of the festival headed to Las Vegas in May this year before heading on to Rio De Janeiro a few months later.

Sheppard will be releasing their new single, A-Grade Playa, this week. There are some fan-shot videos of the song being performed live circulating on YouTube, if you're interested, but you're probably better off waiting for better-quality audio to hear how the ubiquitous sextet move forward from the massive momentum afforded them over the past 12 or so months.

Sheppard were scheduled to play this weekend's Bluesfest event in Byron Bay, but were forced to pull out at the last minute after a successful appearance on US late-night television led to a surge in booked appearances and other commitments in support of debut album Bombs Away for American audiences.