Metropolis Touring, one of Australia’s premiere independent promoters, has announced the introduction of subsidiary company Total Touring.
Total Touring will concentrate solely on the ever-growing and popular tribute shows market.
Tribute acts, by their very nature, evoke a combination of adulation and fascination. As renowned British music journalist Paul Morley recently wrote when reviewing Smiths tribute band, The Smyths: “They can be the ultimate in besotted fans, who find the greatest outlet for their agonized passion by pretending that they are the real thing even as they reek of fakery. If ignorance is strength, and only the strong survive, then tribute bands truly can last forever.”
The rise of the tribute act has also made its way to American prime time television with the E! Network in 2021 introducing their flagship show Clash of the Cover Bands featuring Adam Lambert and Meaghan Trainor as judges, Fergie as host and produced by Jimmy Fallon.
In each episode, two bands of similar musical genre (e.g. Pop Divas, Boy Bands, Heavy Metal etc.) go head-to-head to see which band has the most entertaining cover performance to win the show and bragging rights.
First season winners, Strangelove – the Depeche Mode experience, played a sold out tour of Australia in 2022, presented by Metropolis, on the back of their Clash of the Cover Bands appearance.
Over the past 3 years, Metropolis has accumulated an impressive line-up of a cross-section of tours for artists from around the world. Frazer Bourke, Metropolis CEO says, “Creating Total Touring under the Metropolis umbrella means we can now concentrate on delivering the best tribute shows and ultimately maximize the experience for both the artists and the audience.”
Past tours which will now fall under Total Touring have included:
The Doors Alive (The Doors)
Letz Zep (Led Zeppelin)
Hybrid Theory (Linkin Park)
The Jersey Guys (The Jersey Boys)
The Smyths (The Smiths)
The Winehouse Experience (Amy Winehouse)
Definitely Oasis (Oasis)
Strangelove (Depeche Mode)
One Step Beyond (Madness)