Star Producer Steve Lillywhite To Speak At Amp

Five time Grammy Award winning producer Steve Lillywhite is coming to Australia to speak at The Coopers Amp's winners event next week.

The winner of the $30,000 album prize will be announced Wednesday 5 March at Sydney's The Basement, with Lillywhite to speak at the annual 'Amped Up In Conversation' luncheon prior to the reveal.

During his career Lillywhite was worked with artists including The Rolling Stones, U2, Talking Heads, David Byrne, The Killers, Simple Minds and the Dave Matthews Band, to name a few. He's was made a Commander of the Order Of The British Empire (OBE) in 2012 for his contributions to music.

Last year renowned journalist David Fricke was the Amp and PPCA's (who donated the prize money) guest for the conversation.

Nine albums are still in the running for the cash prize after an extensive long-listing process. They are:

Beaches – She Beats
Big Scary – Not Art
Cloud Control – Dream Cave
Dialectrix – The Cold Light Of Day
Horrorshow – King Amongst Many
Jagwar Ma – Howlin'
Jen Cloher – In Blood Memory
Jimblah – Phoenix
Kirin J Callinan – Embracism

Tickets for the conversation and winners event are $199, including a two course lunch. Due to capacity, they're initially only available to shortlisted artists, judges, patrons and sponsors.