Musical royalty and legends will grace the stage for The Corrs Down Under tour at UTAS Stadium, and a Launceston born and bred musician will be among them.
Christian O'Donnell is the lead guitarist for the legendary Toni Childs and has one wish for the fly-in-fly-out visit to his home town.
"My goal while in Launceston is hopefully to walk around the Gorge, and to see a peacock if they're still around," O'Donnell said.
Saturday's gig will bring a blast from the past with The Corrs sharing some of their biggest songs of the last three decades. They will be supported not only by Childs, but also Natalie Imbruglia and Adelaide trio Germein.
O'Donnell said the whole bill was great and offered nice balance.
"With Toni's stuff we do a lot of her old hits, but she's got a bunch of new stuff that really works in the stadiums," he said.
"I think that's how she's written this new stuff - for the bigger places."
He said all the people on tour were lovely, and praised the sound of The Corrs continued to thrill audiences with.
"It's like driving a Bentley ... I don't know whether it's because they're siblings, but they're incredible," he said.
Since leaving Launceston in the 1990s, O'Donnell has split his time between England and Queensland.
He has had some "crazy journeys" over the past 10 years in Childs' band.
Taking a PA and band equipment 10-11,000 feet high for a gig in the Himalayas with a bunch of Sherpas was "crazy" and "pretty amazing", O'Donnell said.
"It was very, very cold. My solos were pretty unexcited in that temperature," he said.
"Then actually on the very day that we flew out of Kathmandu, that's when the big earthquake happened in 2015. We missed it by a day, and it was in places where we'd been as well.
"So when we went back to Queensland we put on a charity fundraiser for them. And Toni and her husband took the money over and distributed it, which was a lovely thing to do."
It's the climate, you're indoors all the time practicing. That's why there's so many great musicians in Tasmania.
- Christian O'Donnell
Dedicated to making a career in the music industry, O'Donnell said the only other job he has had was at KFC as a kid in Launceston, which lasted two shifts.
"I had to go to Bicheno over a New Years Eve gig as a little fella and I couldn't get back for my third shift and my boss says 'just don't worry about coming back'," he said.
He said likened growing up in Tasmania to spending time in England.
"It's the climate, you're indoors all the time practicing. That's why there's so many great musicians in Tasmania," O'Donnell said.
The Corrs Down Under tour will be held at Launceston's UTAS Stadium on Saturday, November 4. Tickets are available online at Ticketmaster.
Molly Appleton
Molly Appleton is a senior journalist at The Examiner, having formerly worked at The Advocate as a news and sports reporter. She brings a passion for storytelling and knowledge of Tasmania across the three major regions. For any story ideas contact her on 0448 184 160.
Molly Appleton is a senior journalist at The Examiner, having formerly worked at The Advocate as a news and sports reporter. She brings a passion for storytelling and knowledge of Tasmania across the three major regions. For any story ideas contact her on 0448 184 160.
