ARIA award winner Alex Lloyd made it an event to remember for families at his Pineapple Country gig on Sunday when he invited a group of children on stage to support him.
Lloyd, who has had four top 10 albums but is best known for the 2001 hit, Amazing, was about halfway into his set when he encouraged the youngsters to be his backup singers.
It began when he asked Aluna, the young daughter of his mate, celebrity chef Matt Golinski, who was seated in the front row, if she would like to come up on stage at the open-air gig.
Seeing the immediate interest of other kids nearby, who were finally still after a long game of tag, Lloyd asked if any others wanted to join him on stage.
And they did, putting their parents to shame when it came to audience involvement.
“Move over Tin Lids,” he said in reference to the 1990 Aussie kids pop group as toddlers and their big brothers and sisters scrambled up over the front of the stage and the stairs for their moment in the spotlight.
Lloyd anointed his talented offsider, Sally, who had been on keyboard, violin and backing vocals, as choir leader, and eased into a version of (You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back as the kids assembled between them.
The youngsters were not fazed when he let rip with a powerful, “You can’t run, you can’t hide, you can’t run” and quickly came to grips with their part in it.
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When he swung into the chorus, “So if you just put you hand in mine, we’re gonna leave all our troubles behind,” they chimed in under Sally’s leadership with, “Don’t look back.”
Lloyd’s move got the parents up off their picnic planets, beach chairs to the front of the stage waving iphones trying to capture the magic moment.
When the song was over, and the mini back-up singers climbed back down to the grass and back into obscurity, Lloyd confessed that it was a moment for him, too.
“I haven’t seen my kids for two months,” he said.
Sydney-based Lloyd has been on the road performing with Rockhampton country star Brad Butcher, Jeremy Marou of Busby Marou.
Butcher was also on the ticket for Pineapple Country, an event hosted by the Diablo Oasis bar at the Big Pineapple to celebrate the tourist icon’s 50th birthday on 15 August.
The crowd was warmed up by local act, Skillz FJ, before “uncle” Kelly Cork took to the stage, and also found himself with a young admirer.
After the toddler ventured close a couple of times, Cork tried to reward him with a CD but the little boy spooked and it was left to mum to be the go-between.
Diablo Oasis owner Dimi Limnatitis, keen to build a reputation for family-friendly events at the venue, was pleased when he saw parents jump up to the stage to film their kids with Lloyd.
“Thinks like that, money can’t buy,” he said.
Dimi was happy with the crowd of about 300 , which included a lot of parents with children.
There was plenty of space on the grassy slope in front of the stage for more people but he said it was better not to have a huge crowd with long queues at a family event.
He was also pleased with the turnout given the South-East Queensland lockdown earlier this month had interfered with promotion and bookings.
“We only advertised for two days before lockdown and then nobody was sure what to do, so we really only advertised for a week.”
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