{"id":491366,"date":"2026-02-20T01:36:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T01:36:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/491366\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T01:36:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T01:36:17","slug":"ingham-abuzz-as-recovering-sugar-town-prepares-to-host-tones-and-i-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/491366\/","title":{"rendered":"Ingham abuzz as recovering sugar town prepares to host Tones And I concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

A North Queensland sugarcane town more familiar with rodeos and agricultural shows will host Australian indie-pop sensation Tones And I at a live show this afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Amber Pollock commissioned artist Kristina Fontana to do a Tones And I mural on the side of her boutique. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Ingham boutique owner Amber Pollock said the town of about 5,000 won over the Australian musician with AI-generated depictions of Toni Watson, aka Tones and I, visiting iconic local sites.<\/p>\n

\"Four<\/p>\n

Ingham residents used AI to create pictures of Tones And I in North Queensland locations, doing various jobs around town. (Facebook)<\/p>\n

“There were some pretty good ones \u2014 she was in the cane paddocks, she was having coffee, [she] was in the shops shopping,” Ms Pollock said.<\/p>\n

“Everyone is very, very excited.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Ingham community wants to make sure Tones And I enjoys a warm welcome.\u00a0 (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Situated between Townsville and Cairns, Ingham is often called north Queensland’s “Little Italy”, being a community with a strong Italian cultural heritage and a hub for the region’s sugar industry.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The Ingham Showgrounds will host the concert tonight. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Recovery from devastating floods in February 2025 \u2014 which isolated the community for more than a week \u2014 is ongoing for many homes and businesses.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Small businesses across Ingham are decorating for Tones And I’s visit.\u00a0 (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Ms Pollock said a visit from a pop star was just what the community needed.<\/p>\n

“It’s hard this time of year, it’s quiet; it was 12 months since the flood, not too long ago. So, I think this has given everyone something to look forward to,” she said.<\/p>\n

“We’ve got murals happening, we’ve got colouring competitions, our shop fronts are all decorated, ready for Tones [and I].”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Street artist Kennie Deaner painted a mural at JK’s Deli in Ingham in about seven hours. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Ingham has Tones And I fever<\/p>\n

Tones And I reached number one on the official music charts of 30 countries with her 2019 hit Dance Monkey.<\/p>\n

The singer, originally from Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula, performed two of her singles at the 2019 AFL Grand Final.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Kids from Ingham have been taking part in a ‘Tones and Ingham’ colouring-in competition. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Long-term Ingham resident Karen Venables said she had commissioned a local artist to paint a mural of the songstress inside her cafe \u2014 a permanent reminder of the time Tones And I came to town.<\/p>\n

“It’s our job to rise to the challenge and make our town as great as it possibly can be for them, for artists to look at us and say, maybe we should start looking at Ingham, these guys are really thinking outside of the box,” she said.<\/p>\n

“My dad always used to say, if you build things, they will come.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wherever you go in Ingham, you can’t escape Tones And I. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Hinchinbrook MP Wayde Chiesa said he hoped visitors to the community made the most of their time.<\/p>\n

“It’s a buzz, the vibe is good, and it just injects money into small and family businesses, and that’s really important, especially 12 months after the flood,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Credit to the community \u2014 can’t wait for Friday night.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Wayde Chiesa and Small Business Minister Steve Minnikin have praised the community of Ingham for its resilience after the 2025 floods. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

Ms Pollock said Tones And I was the biggest act to come to town in more than 30 years, since Tina Arena performed at the local Italian cultural festival.<\/p>\n

“The kids are excited. For some of them, this is their first concert,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I think it will definitely give the town a boost.”<\/p>\n

Chamber of Commerce president Mary Brown said the push to bring the musician to town had been an “organic” initiative, and she was proud to see the community’s momentum.<\/p>\n

“I don’t know if the artist truly understands what she’s done for our community, how she’s brought them together,” Ms Brown said.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

Mary Brown says the concert is bringing a much-needed buzz to the town after a hard year of flood recovery. (ABC News: Baz Ruddick)<\/p>\n

She said even if today was a rainy day, it would still be a memorable event.<\/p>\n

“The forecast is not great, but we’ll still party, we’ll still have fun, and we’ll still make the most of it because that’s the North Queensland way.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A North Queensland sugarcane town more familiar with rodeos and agricultural shows will host Australian indie-pop sensation Tones…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":491367,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,248196,134,52873,1770,248195,136,248194],"class_list":["post-491366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-community-concert","tag-entertainment","tag-flood-recovery","tag-indie","tag-ingham","tag-music","tag-tones-and-i"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491366","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=491366"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/491366\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/491367"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=491366"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=491366"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=491366"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}