{"id":702891,"date":"2026-05-29T20:23:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:23:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/702891\/"},"modified":"2026-05-29T20:23:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-29T20:23:13","slug":"celine-dion-hugh-jackman-more-to-honour-john-farnham-at-tribute-concert","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/702891\/","title":{"rendered":"Celine Dion, Hugh Jackman & More to Honour John Farnham at Tribute Concert"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celine Dion, Hugh Jackman and Keith Urban are just a few names that will perform at a tribute concert honouring Australian music legend, John Farnham<\/a>, this year.<\/p>\n

As reported by\u00a0Herald Sun<\/a>,\u00a0The Songs of John Farnham: A Living Legend will go ahead on September 20th at Rod Laver Arena, with funds raised from the concert to go towards Head and Neck Cancer Australia, which supported Farnham during his own battle in recent years.<\/p>\n

Other names expected to perform, reportedly personally invited by Farnham, include Jimmy Barnes, Tina Arena, Richard Marx, Human Nature and Jessica Mauboy.<\/p>\n

The show will officially be announced at the venue later this morning by Paul Dainty. Tickets go on sale from 10am on Tuesday, June 2nd.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been incredibly lucky to spend my life doing what I love, and even luckier to have Australians embrace my music the way they have,\u201d Farnham said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis (tribute concert) isn\u2019t about me \u2014 it\u2019s about giving something back and supporting a cause that means a great deal to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that so many extraordinary artists from around the world have so generously agreed to be part of this night is incredibly humbling and says far more about the spirit behind this event than it does about me. I hope everyone has a great night.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Farnham retired from public life in 2024 after being diagnosed with mouth cancer. Speaking to\u00a0Herald Sun<\/a>, the local music legend said he will not perform in public ever again.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can rule that out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of the surgeries to my mouth and face over the past few years, singing on stage is not something I can consider again. It\u2019s just not possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Farnham, who will celebrate the 40th anniversary of his iconic album\u00a0Whispering Jack this year, said he initially turned down offers for the tribute show.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt made me feel terribly uncomfortable, to be honest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Paul and Tony first spoke with me about this idea late last year, I said no. I didn\u2019t want it to happen at all. It sounded too much like a big, crazy idea and frankly, a lot of fuss and work for everyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one needs to come and do this for me. I\u2019m not dead yet, remember. But Tony and Paul were very patient and just left it with me to think about some more. When they came back to me again I still said no, for the same reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the suggestion to raise funds for head and neck charities changed his mind.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had to look at this a different way.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, here we are. I\u2019m gobsmacked and truly grateful that everyone has said yes. It is truly humbling and I can\u2019t thank them enough for what they will be doing for this cause, which is very special and personal for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the premiere of Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical<\/a> is set to premiere at Sydney\u2019s Roslyn Packer Theatre in November.<\/p>\n

Forty years since its release in 1986, the musical, led by Sydney Theatre Company\u2019s Artistic Director Mitchell Butel, will bring to life the story behind the titular album that made Farnham a household name in Australia. Local actor\u00a0Michael Paynter will take on the lead role.<\/p>\n

Helping raise funds for Head and Neck Cancer Australia<\/p>\n

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 20th aT ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE<\/p>\n

TICKETS ON SALE AT 10AM ON TUESDAY, 2nd JUNE<\/p>\n

120 Artists Live On Stage including
\u00a0a 38 Piece Orchestra, Choir & The John Farnham Band<\/p>\n

Tina Arena \u2022 Jimmy Barnes \u2022 Mahalia Barnes \u2022 Kate Ceberano
Diesel \u2022 Hans \u2022 Human Nature \u2022 Jack Jones \u2022 Richard Marx
Jessica Mauboy \u2022 Ruby Rodgers \u2022 Jon Stevens
Mitch Tambo \u2022 Keith Urban\u00a0\u2022\u00a0Mark Vincent \u2022 Ross Wilson<\/p>\n

With Celine Dion (from Paris) & Hugh Jackman (from Los Angeles)
performing via satellite<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Celine Dion, Hugh Jackman and Keith Urban are just a few names that will perform at a tribute…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":702892,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,142322,134,36597,63349,2899,221809],"class_list":["post-702891","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-celine-dion","tag-entertainment","tag-hugh-jackman","tag-john-farnham","tag-keith-urban","tag-rod-laver-arena"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702891","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=702891"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/702891\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/702892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=702891"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=702891"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=702891"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}