The Beach Boys will headline a new music festival set to coincide with the revamped Gold Coast 600 V8 supercar race.
The 600 Sounds music festival, to be held in the precinct once the day’s racing is complete, will also attract Empire of the Sun, Sneaky Sound System, the Angels, the Baby Animals and Noiseworks.
The Beach Boys have been named as the headline entertainment act at the Gold Coast 600 motor race in October.
The band’s Mike Love says the Gold Coast gig will be a one-off on this trip but they are planning another visit to Australia in 2012.
“It’s going to be fun – or should I say, Fun Fun Fun,” he joked.
“We sing the songs in their original keys and if you close your eyes it sounds just like the mid ’60’s when we’re singing California Girls, I Get Around, Fun Fun Fun, Help Me Rhonda, Do it Again and all that.
“We’re really obsessed with making those songs come to life like the originals and being true to their original forms.
“The subject matter of The Beach Boys was diverse. It was songs about things we knew from growing up in southern California, not too far from the beach.
“How do you get to the beach? In your car. What kind of car do you have? Well I’d like to have a Corvette, I’d like to have a Thunderbird.
Gold Coast 600 general manager Shane Howard said 600 Sounds would the bands play over three nights on two stages in the Broadwater Parklands precinct.
Tickets would allow entry to both the music festival and the V8 racing.
“The admission for each night of 600 Sounds is included in the same day ticket price, and with a unique racing format during the day followed by the nightly entertainment that ticket is amazing value for money,” he said.
Mr Howard said $49 would pay for a full day’s racing and six bands on the Friday.
Sports Minister Phil Reeves, said the event would be a “major boost” to the Queensland economy.
“It’s hard to predict what will be bigger, the roar generated from the V8s charging through the streets of the Gold Coast or the one that will greet Rock ‘n’ Roll royalty when the Beach Boys take to the stage,” Mr Reeves said.
