Source : PERTHNOW NEWS
Not too many musicians know what it’s like to play for an MCG grand final crowd, but Powderfinger’s Darren Middleton is one of them.
Powderfinger performed (Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind plus a notable cover of AC/DC’s It’s A Long Way To The Top, complete with bagpipers, before the 2008 AFL grand final.
But in the years since, overseas acts have come to dominate the headline entertainment on the biggest day of the year for Australian Rules football.
“There’s a bunch of us who notice that the AFL are flying in an international group to take the prime position,” Middleton said.
“Naturally we would prefer an Aussie artist to be either given that spot.”
While the list of Australian greats to perform at the grand final includes Peter Allen, Slim Dusty, Olivia Newton-John, John Farnham, The Seekers, Archie Roach, Tim Rogers and Paul Kelly, and local acts are frequently booked as supports, in recent years US stars have been the headliners.
Middleton, along with former Richmond player Matthew Richardson, are part of a campaign by lobby group Save Our Arts for Australian acts to headline grand final entertainment.
Imported acts have a varied record at the grand final, with perhaps the most infamous a 2011 appearance by Meatloaf which was widely panned as some of the worst grand final entertainment ever.
Most recently, the choice of American rapper Snoop Dogg for the 2025 grand final pre-game entertainment drew criticism due to his misogynistic and homophobic lyrics.
In 2024 US pop star Katy Perry entered the arena on a silver car, and in 2023 rockers Kiss were the headliners.
“Kiss is a good example of superannuated old rockers. Their career is well and truly over, they’re not putting out new albums or playing new songs,” said Dr Ben Eltham from Save Our Arts.
The Brisbane supporter has enjoyed finals football in recent years, but the entertainment, not so much.
“It’s an Australian game, our own Indigenous code of football, it’s got so much history in this country,” Eltham said.
“For our centrepiece game we spend all this money to get in a couple of Americans, it’s pretty insulting to Australian musicians.”
The campaign also seeks to highlight threats to the local music industry more broadly, with the cancellation of a string of festivals, and local music struggling to compete with overseas content on streaming services.
In the streaming era, live performance has become the only way Australian acts can hope to make a living, according to Middleton, as the AFL’s programming feeds a perception that local acts may not be up to the job of headlining grand final entertainment.
“By importing international acts, they’re saying to a degree that maybe it’s not so good back at home, we need something super professional,” he said.
The AFL has been contacted for comment.
