Best music venues and festivals around the world, named by Australia's top musicians

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Best music venues and festivals around the world, named by Australia's top musicians

By Andrea Black
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Travellers chase many things in their journeys, from history to sun to snow to beaches. And it is no different for the music lover in search of the next birthplace of a musician or festival. But it's the musicians themselves who know more than most. They spend their lives on the road in mini-vans or on planes en route to the next destination – a stage, under bright lights, somewhere in the world. And they've played all the venues, from community halls in suburban Australia to festivals in Slovenia and Edinburgh; from ornate countryside opera houses to 85,000-seater football stadiums in the US. These experts know the venues, festivals and musician-friendly cities and hotels they would go to again.

Here, seven of Australia's top minstrels name their world favourites, which any music lover can seek out.

SATU VANSKA

 Danielle de Niese

Danielle de Niese

Principal violin and assistant leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra.

FAVOURITE VENUE IN THE WORLD

There's a really beautiful hall in London called Milton Court in the Barbican Centre. It's perfect for the ACO, there's a warm sound and obviously being in that part of London where the Barbican Centre is, there are always great concerts going on. We love playing in London. I [together with husband Richard Tognetti, leader of the ACO] might go for a walk in Regents Park and to museums and the theatre. Culturally, it really is the capital of the world. I am lucky to have a friend who always takes me out to drinks at the Savoy, that's always very glamorous. See gsmd.ac.uk

Meredith Music Festival, Victoria, Australia.

Meredith Music Festival, Victoria, Australia.Credit: Meredith O'Shea

DREAM GIG

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I would love to go to Buenos Aires at the Teatro Colon, that's a beautiful hall that I would like to see in person. See teatrocolon.org.ar

BEST FESTIVAL IN THE WORLD

I'd have to say Festival Maribor in Slovenia. Slovenia is a very beautiful country. They've got a great attitude in Maribor, it's still very eastern European; they have kept their character. See festivalmaribor.si

From August 3 until August 20, Vanska and the Australian Chamber Orchestra will be performing Mountain – an epic cinematic and musical collaboration between the ACO and BAFTA-nominated Sherpa director, Jennifer Peedom. See aco.com.au/mountain

GLENN SHORROCK

Founding member and lead singer of Little River Band, The Twilights and Axiom

FAVOURITE VENUE

A place called Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Colorado, just above Denver in the Rocky Mountains. It's been hacked out of the natural rock and is a really beautiful place. I played there a few times with other acts including Fleetwood Mac, The Doobie Brothers and Boz Scaggs. See redrocksonline.com

DREAM GIG

I've played everywhere from community halls in Adelaide in the 1960s to huge stadiums at the Dallas Cotton Bowl. I would like to play Carnegie Hall in New York though. See carnegiehall.org

BEST FESTIVAL

My wife, Jo, and I recently went to Desert Trip, where Coachella is held in Indio, California, to see Bob Dylan, Neil Young, The Stones, Paul McCartney, The Who and Pink Floyd. That was amazing. It was the biggest production I have seen in my life, and I have seen a few big ones. There was a full moon, it was just beautiful.

Shorrock tours regularly and has a new solo album out called Rise Again, see glennshorrock.com

PHIL JAMIESON

Lead singer of Grinspoon.

FAVOURITE VENUE

Lizotte's in Newcastle, NSW. It's an art deco building built in 1910 that was originally a dance hall – it's been a cinema, and a roller-skating rink too. It has a nice high stage and a regal air to it because of the design of the building. Owners Brian Lizotte and his wife have done an incredible job. Brian also makes a great Hot Toddy. Newcastle also has a great bar and restaurant called The Edwards, co-owned by Chris Joannou from Silverchair. The Edwards also houses a coin-operated laundry, a record store, and a motorcycle workshop – it's a one-stop shop for everything. See newcastle.lizottes.com.au and theedwards.com.au

DREAM GIG

I'd love to play the Bowery Ballroom – because it's in the Bowery and it's New York. It has an incredible reputation. See boweryballroom.com

BEST FESTIVAL

This one is not likely to happen again but it has to be Summersault Festival 1996 on the Gold Coast. I was a spectator watching the Beastie Boys, Sonic Youth, Bikini Kill, and Beck. It was an amazing experience, around 2000 people at Douglas Jennings Park near SeaWorld Resort.

Grinspoon's new 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of Guide To Better Living is out on June 23 – the launch date for their national tour. See grinspoon.com.au

DANIELLE DE NIESE

One of the world's leading opera sopranos, de Niese started her career as a contestant on Young Talent Time.

FAVOURITE VENUE

That's an easy one for me, because it's also my home. I am lucky enough to live "over the shop" at Glyndebourne in the East Sussex countryside, so to perform there is not only fantastic from an artistic point of view, but it is also family to me. It has one of the best opera acoustics going, the ideal size and a dream acoustic created by natural local materials. The setting is also pretty special, even the sheep are an enchanting part of the experience. See glyndebourne.com

DREAM GIG

I have never performed at the Sydney Opera House, and obviously as an icon from my earliest days, that is top of the list. This is why I will be coming home to sing there in December. See sydneyoperahouse.com

BEST FESTIVAL

I love to visit the Festival Napa Valley in California and have sung there many times. The combination of relaxed vibe, great people, sunshine and wine country is hard to beat. See festivalnapavalley.org

See danielledeniese.com

TIM ROGERS

Frontman of You Am I.

FAVOURITE VENUE

The Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland, Ohio. When You Am I first played there, it didn't take long to discover the excellent jukebox, and the staff plied us with drinks and edibles. The stage was about one foot high, the sound was visceral, if not assaultive, there was a smattering of smiling, kinda goofy folks who were all intent on having a great time. The area, Collinwood, has its many charms for the long hours between soundcheck and show. One of my best friends, a native of Cleveland, Andre, will take me to a bar around the corner and fill me in on the baseball season. See beachlandballroom.com

DREAM GIG

Playing CBGBs a few times and the 100 Club in London definitely ticked off a few dreamed-for shows. I'd say the Fillmore in San Francisco, made famous in the 1960s for concerts Bill Graham put on, for its history. See thefillmore.com

BEST FESTIVAL

Meredith Festival, Golden Plains Festival and Boogie Festival. These are three Victorian festivals that pulse with good times and conviviality, minus the hysteria of larger festivals. It's always guaranteed you'll encounter a musical act you've never heard before, who you will get a tattoo of the day after. See mmf.com.au; see goldenplains.com.au; see boogie.net.au

Rogers has a new solo record, An Actor Repairs, out now and is touring nationally. See timrogersmusic.net

DAVE GRANEY

Singer-songwriter and author.

FAVOURITE VENUE

I have played in some interesting places, including the Cocos Islands, which was quite amazing. We had to borrow some equipment from the local people and this led to drummer Clare Moore playing an electronic drum kit, but we made show! It's 2750 kilometres into the Indian Ocean past Perth, and was just an unrepeatable experience. We stayed on the island for a week. A gig pulled together by local people who just want to hear music, those are my favourite kinds of places to play. See cocoskeelingislands.com.au

DREAM GIG

I haven't played the Beacon Theatre in New York. I would like to play there because, until recently, the Allman Brothers set up shop and played 20 dates there every December. See beacontheatre.com

BEST FESTIVAL

Newport Jazz Festival, it's still around but I'd pick the 1958 version. The whole audience wore preppy modern jazz gear and sat on deckchairs and grooved behind their Ray Bans. Anita O'Day wore long gloves, Chuck Berry killed it, Gerry Mulligan too. See newportjazz.org

Dave Graney, together with Clare Moore, has just released an album called Let's Get Tight. See davegraney.com

MARCIA HINES

Marcia Hines has had a successful solo career spanning decades.

FAVOURITE VENUE IN THE WORLD

The Sydney Opera House. What an amazing space to perform in, and to see a performance. I spent five weeks performing my show, Velvet, at the Sydney Opera House in 2016. Following a performance, it was always great to share a drink or a meal with friends at any one of the restaurants nearby. Great company, great food and a view across Sydney Harbour at night is truly magical. See sydneyoperahouse.com

DREAM GIG

There's actually two – Carnegie Hall in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London. Both iconic venues with amazing acoustics – something a performer always looks for. See royalalberthall.com

BEST FESTIVAL

BluesFest, no doubt about it. I had an absolute blast back in 2011 at Byron Bay with the guys from RocKwiz. See bluesfest.com.au

Hines is currently performing in the "divine discotheque circus" Velvet, touring nationally. See marciahines.com.au

TV OR NOT TV: THAT IS THE QUESTION

GLENN SHORROCK

The only thing I ever threw out the window was a telephone book, I was with Glenn Frey from The Eagles. We got up to a bit of mischief, but nothing really serious.

PHIL JAMIESON

"I've been on tour with bands that have thrown mattresses into the pool. It's not my bag. The only thing I do is steal the little UHT milks because my daughters love them. I'll take the free body washes and shampoos too. Such a rebel – milk and toiletries."

MARCIA HINES

"If you plan on coming back, then leave the TV where it is. Keith Moon has a lot to answer for."

TIM ROGERS

"One should leave the hotel room tidier than when they found it. And tip your housekeeper heavily. [Drummer of You Am I] Rusty was the first I've seen do it, at the Beverly Laurel Hotel in West Hollywood."

DAVE GRANEY

Leave it where it is and keep it turned on. Just like home."

SATU VANSKA

"I have to admit I hardly even notice the TV. I only turn it on when I am in America and jetlagged. Their TV programming is so wacky."

DANIELLE DE NIESE

"I tend to leave the TV in situ, and given that I have a relationship with Jumeirah Hotels they seem to prefer it that way too."

FIVE GREAT MUSIC CITIES, AS CHOSEN BY MUSICIANS

NEW YORK

"For live music, you can't go past New York," says Marcia Hines. "From the hidden clubs, speakeasies, tiny underground bars, to live theatre on and off Broadway. It's always worth checking the local street rags when in town to see what's on."

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND

"It's one of those towns where you still see bookshops and music shops, an anomaly in the world these days, "says Dave Graney. "There is a great record shop there called Coda, which has a lot of excellent folk music. I feel very at home in Edinburgh and would live there if they could arrange a few more sunny days."

NEW ORLEANS

"New Orleans has to be the best music city I have ever been to," says Glenn Shorrock. "The annual Jazzfest is where all the local and international acts perform, but walk into any venue on any given night and there will be live music playing.The roots of modern music are there definitely and anyone who wants to hear and see some great acts there's always something going on in New Orleans."

SEATTLE, US

"I love Seattle," says Tim Rogers. "I stayed with members of The Posies and The Fastbacks so I was already in the company of heroes of mine who became firm friends for life, each day and night we'd hop round town and run into folks making music or involved in venues. It doesn't have, in any regard, the breadth and brio of shows that NYC or LA does, but man, for laughs and pranks, I'd always choose Seattle."

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

"I lived in Melbourne for a while and was struck by its vibrancy, it was like no other city I had ever been to in the world in terms of art and culture," says Phil Jamieson. "I'd kick around the Duke of Windsor or the Tote, there are so many incredible venues there, and buy records from Greville Records in Prahan. New York has its things but you kind of have to know people there to know where to go, in Melbourne you can go and enjoy yourself."

FIVE OF THE WORLD'S BEST MUSICIAN-FRIENDLY DIGS

JUMEIRAH CARLTON TOWER, LONDON

"We singers need to be able to breathe, so any hotel where you can turn off the air con and open a window is always a winner in my book," says Danielle de Niese. "My favourite so far has been the Royal Suite in the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London, which is where I was residing when I performed at the Last Night of the Proms in 2015, just after the birth of my son." See jumeirah.com

FARMER'S DAUGHTER, LOS ANGELES

"Farmer's Daughter in West Hollywood is aesthetically beautiful, available and has accessible fresh air," says Tim Rogers of the hotel on Fairfax Avenue. "It's positioned a few hundred metres from my favourite bar at Farmer's Market, which is part-owned by the lead singer of Supernaut, where I can while away hours talking baseball. " See farmersdaughterhotel.com

ROYALTON, NEW YORK

"I love Ian Schrager hotels," says Marcia Hines of the famous hotelier who has helped to transform accommodation working with Philippe Starck. "Ian was one of the two original owners of Studio 54 that Velvet is based on and my favourite of all is the Royalton Hotel on West 44th in New York". See morganshotelgroup.com

SUNSET MARQUIS, LOS ANGELES

"The Sunset Marquis, in Los Angeles, is the very first hotel we stayed at, and still a favourite," says Glenn Shorrock of the hotel just off Sunset, a longtime hideaway for musicians. "That was our jumping off place, we'd stay there, get over jetlag and then get on bus and tour." See sunsetmarquis.com

SOFITEL, MELBOURNE

"The Sofitel in Melbourne has a wonderful manager there who makes sure that there is a space for a musician to practice – he looks after us very well," says Satu Vanska. "By giving over a meeting room for practice we don't have to be disturbing the neighbours." See sofitel-melbourne.com.au

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