UPDATE (26/07) #2:
Tour promoter Live Nation has released ticket refund information.
UPDATE (26/07) #1:
Live Nation has confirmed via social media that Frank Ocean has cancelled the rest of his Australian tour dates.
Regrettably we can confirm that Frank Ocean’s remaining Australian shows have been cancelled. Standby for further information.
— Live Nation AUS & NZ (@LiveNationOzNz) July 26, 2013
Anecdotal reports from punters at the singer’s first Melbourne show last night confirmed the artist appeared visibly ill, and, even though he managed to put on a strong show, was definitely struggling with the vocal performances throughout.
“Sometimes you go on tour for a month and you just get sick.”
LATEST LATEST UPDATE (18/06):
If you’re one of the many many people who missed out on Frank Ocean tickets when they went on sale early in the month – here’s your second shot. Niche and Live Nation have listened to the overwhelming demand, and added a second date for Melbourne (sorry Sydney, we’ll keep you in the loop). The second show is Thursday 25th July, tickets go on sale 10am this Friday the 21st of June – although there’s a pre-sale window for members of Niche and Live Nation’s newsletter.
LATEST UPDATE:
Surprise surprise, our confirmation is here! Frank Ocean will play two sideshows – Hordern Pavilion in Sydney and Festival Hall in Melbourne. Tickets will be on sale for general public at 10am Thursday June 6. Set your alarms.
Frank Ocean Splendour Sideshows
Thursday July 25 – Festival Hall, Melbourne
Friday July 26 – Festival Hall, Melbourne (SOLD OUT)
Monday July 29 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (SOLD OUT)
Full purchase info via Niche Productions and Live Nation.
PREVIOUSLY:
I don’t know about you but to say I was excited at the news of Frank Ocean being on the same continent as me is probably the biggest understatement of the year. Having said that, being a time-poor Melbourne-based ‘starving artist’ does not bode well for interstate music festivals. I (along with pretty much everyone else I know) am counting on a local sideshow.
However, the first official release of sideshow info was missing the one name everyone was waiting on. Though all is not lost. Maybe.
According to John Denison (promoter previously affiliated with Supafest), via Twitter, there are apparently two venues (in Sydney and Melbourne) teed up for a solo show by the Odd Future alumni.
Whether there’s any merit in this, we don’t really know. But we sure as hell will be keeping an ear out (and bugging the right people). Check the Tweet below, keep your fingers crossed and stay tuned.
@queenbbabyyy @frank_ocean doing Hordern pavilion and festival hall
— john denison (@realjohndenison) April 30, 2013
UPDATE:
We reached out to John Denison to see if this is the real deal – the response was still vaguely inconclusive, as you can read for yourself below. But then again, he’s a guy in the know and we want to believe. Keep your ears to the ground.
@acclaimmagazine it will b
— john denison (@realjohndenison) May 6, 2013