2021 performers

David Campbell co-hosts TODAY Extra alongside Sylvia Jeffreys and Belinda Russell, as well as hosting the beloved annual Carols by Candlelight telecast.

David is one of Australia’s most popular and versatile entertainers. A proven television and radio host, he also headlines theatre, cabaret and concert performances, as well as being a multi-platinum recording artist.

Allison is one of Australia’s most respected journalists and co-host of Channel 9’s breakfast show TODAY alongside Karl Stefanovic.

She began on TODAY with Karl on January 4, 2020 in what became the biggest news year in modern memory, starting with bushfires that rolled into COVID-19, economies in freefall, Black Lives Matter protests, the Beirut explosion, the US election and then ending the year with American politics in turmoil.

Singer, Actor, Writer – Bonnie Anderson is a dynamic, versatile and creative Performing Artist. She won our hearts and stole the show at the age of 12 winning the first ever season of Australia’s Got Talent in 2007. With that captivating stage moment Bonnie’s career opened up to provide a string of career highlights that have included her successful debut single ‘Raise the Bar’ released in 2013 and written by chart toppers DNA, followed by her first top 20 hit “Blackout” that went Platinum in 2014, and the following year releasing “Unbroken”.

The Australian Girls Choir has developed a reputation for inspirational performances to audiences around the world, through national and international tours, television appearances, and thousands of public events. Founded in 1984, the AGC now has 6,000 girls in training in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney.

Born into Australian rock royalty, influenced by her father Jimmy Barnes, Mahalia naturally began singing at a very young age, but professionally since she was 16 and mostly as a backing vocalist for other Aussie artists. All this time she’s also been trying to carve out her own originals music career and has recently recorded a solo album. As an artist, she’s drawn to guitar-driven gutsy soul, rock and blues, and is inspired by acts like Ike and Tina Turner and legendary queen of soul Aretha Franklin.

No stranger to Australian audiences and the Carols by Candlelight stage, ARIA Award winner Anthony Callea is undoubtedly one of Australia’s favourite and most recognised singers and performers. This year marks Anthony’s 18th consecutive year at Carols By Candlelight and again like every year, we can only expect more breathtaking performances. The LIVE stage is where Anthony shines and after already 4 sold out concerts in Melbourne, March 2022 will see Anthony continuing his TOGETHER AGAIN tour in NSW & QLD. These concerts are not to be missed. For dates and tickets for concerts in NSW & Queensland head to anthonycallea.com

The Black Sorrows are one of Australia’s most prolific and enduringly popular bands renowned for their high-energy live shows, musicianship, and infectious, roots-soaked blues rock. Joe Camilleri has been at the forefront of Australian music for decades as the leader of Jo Jo Zep and The Falcons and The Black Sorrows and as writer of radio anthems Hit & Run, Shape I’m In, Chained To The Wheel, Harley & Rose and Never Let Me Go.

Tim Campbell is one of Australia's most versatile and much loved entertainers. From leading roles on Home and Away, House Husbands, Big Sky, Dead Gorgeous and host of national prime time shows Celebrity Singing Bee, Wheel of Fortune, National Bingo Night and countless other TV roles, to lead roles in the stage shows Wicked, Rent and Shout!, Tim is certainly a star of both stage and screen. When he’s not Dancing With the Stars or entertaining on Channel 9’s Carols By Candlelight, Tim is performing the classic 70s and 80s dance floor hits with his band from his ARIA top 30 and iTunes top 10 album High School Disco, traveling around the country in concert and at special events. 
This will be Tim’s lucky 13th performance at Carols by Candlelight, and what better way to celebrate then to have our magnificent audience back with us.

Gorgi’s diverse experience in news, current affairs, media, journalism, travel, musical theatre, science, education and professional singing have made her one of the most wellrounded television presenters in the industry. Gorgi is an accomplished and classically trained singer and professional stage performer.

Darlinghurst is a new Melbourne based four-piece Australian Country-Pop group. Their debut self-titled album debuted at #1 on the ARIA Country Album chart.

Darlinghurst have just been nominated for three awards at the 2022 50th Anniversary Golden Guitar Awards - New Talent of the Year, Capital News Group or Duo of the Year and Contemporary Country Album of the Year.

Consisting of Jason Resch, Pagan Newman, Cassie Leopold and Matt Darvidis, all four members share vocal responsibilities, blending together in sumptuous harmonies to create a fifth voice - Darlinghurst.

After a meteoric rise to fame at the age of 16, Casey became the youngest ever winner of Australian Idol in 2004. Over the last seventeen years, Donovan has made her mark not only as a musician, but also in the areas of stage, screen, presenting and writing. Casey is a multi-Award winner & nominee, including an ARIA No #1 Award for Listen with Your Heart and Deadly Awards for Best Album, Best Single and Most Promising New Talent.

Lucy Durack is one of Australia’s most well-known leading ladies with major roles to her credit including in Netflix hits Sisters and The Letdown, Nine Network/Acorn TV’s Doctor Doctor, as a judge on Australia’s Got Talent and onstage nationally as Glinda in Wicked, Princess Fiona in Shrek, and Elle Woods in Legally Blonde, for which she won a Helpmann and Sydney Theatre Award.

Isaiah Firebrace first shot to fame when he won The X Factor in 2016 and grabbed global attention for his #1 single ‘It's Gotta Be You’, which is certified Platinum in Australia, 2 x Platinum in Sweden, Platinum in Norway and Gold in Denmark and has now been streamed over 280 million times. He represented Australia as the first Indigenous Australian and third ever competing Australian contestant at the Eurovision Song Contest (finishing in the top 10) and features on many high-profile television events, including The Masked Singer Australia 2020.

Bobby Fox is an Irish born Australian actor who originated the role of Franki Valli in the Australian production of Jersey Boys which he performed over 850 times. He is a 4 times World Irish Dance Champion and toured with dance productions Riverdance, Dancing on Dangerous Ground, To Dance on the Moon and starred in the revival of Australian musical Hot Shoe Shuffle as Spring. On stage Bobby has had lead roles in Blood Brothers, Mamma Mia!, Leader of the Pack, Dusty – The Original Pop Diva, We Will Rock You, Spamalot and The Production Company’s Oklahoma, Sweet Charity and Damn Yankees.

From the producers of Aladdin, The Lion King and Mary Poppins comes Disney’s new hit musical Frozen.

Adapted from the Oscar-winning film, this beloved story is brought to life on stage in an all new, unforgettable theatrical experience.

An inspiring tale of sisterhood and true love, it features the songs you know and love from the original film plus an expanded score with a dozen new numbers.

Simon’s theatre credits include: Splinter (Griffin Theatre Company) An Ideal Husband, Hay Fever and Rupert (Melbourne Theatre Company); Southwark Fair (Royal National Theatre, London); A Little Night Music (Victorian Opera); Oklahoma!, Curtains and Chess (The Production Company); Les Misérables – West End, London (Cameron Macintosh Ltd London); Les Misérables – Australia (Cameron Macintosh Australia); Harbour and The Republic of Myopia (Sydney Theatre Company); Love Never Dies (Gustave Stage Productions); Imagine This (New London Theatre, West End); The Far Pavilions (Shaftesbury Theatre, West End); Certified Male (Edinburgh Festival); Three Sides; The Silver Lake (Wexford Festival, Ireland) and, Shoes (Sadler’s Wells).

HAMILTON is the story of America then, told by America now. A record-breaking masterpiece that has “transformed theatre and the way we think about history.” –  The New York Times.

HAMILTON, the Tony®, Grammy®, Olivier and Pulitzer Prize winning musical is currently playing at the Sydney Lyric Theatre until 27 February 2022 before it then heads to Melbourne and begins performances at Her Majesty’s Theatre, 15 March 2022. Tickets at hamiltonmusical.com.au

Esther’s recent theatre credits include Cosi (Melbourne & Sydney Theatre Company); Twelfth Night (Melbourne Theatre Company) Beautiful: Carole King the Musical (Michael Cassel Group); Mr. Burns (Belvoir); Little Shop of Horrors (Tinderbox Productions); The Last Man Standing (Melbourne Theatre Company); King Kong (Global Creatures); Hairspray (Dainty). As well as gracing the stage in Carole King’s Tapestry – 50th Anniversary In Concert tour.

Australian tenor and composer David Hobson is one of Australia’s best known operatic and recording artists.

He has sung many roles for Opera Australia including his award-winning performances as Rodolfo (La Boheme) and the title role in Orphee. Other roles include Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni), Ferrando (Cosi fan tutte), Count Almaviva (The Barber of Saville), Nadir (Pearl Fishers), Frederic (The Pirates of Penzance), The Architect - in the world premiere of The Eighth Wonder, Eisenstein (Die Fledermaus), Aristaeus/Pluto (Orpheus in the Underworld), the title role in Candide and, Danilo in Opera Queensland’s The Merry Widow.

Beginning her musical journey as a virtuoso pianist, Dami has continued to evolve and produce music that has sustained a strong and loyal connection with her audience. Since capturing our hearts with her emotive and powerful vocals in 2013 when she won The X-Factor Australia, she has released a string of hit albums and singles such as ‘Alive’, ‘Super Love’ and ‘Gladiator’. She went onto secure her status as ‘Eurovision Royalty’ in 2016 when she earned the highest placing of any Australian artist with her global smash hit ‘Sound of Silence’ which charted in 38 countries across the world.

With “voices of the angels”, the Melbourne Gospel Choir is a much-loved part of the Vision Australia’s Carols by Candlelight family, and this year are pushing into their 22 year of joyful Carols performances. 

As Australia's most sought after Gospel vocal group for TV appearances and backing vocals for international artists. A bunch of the Melbourne Gospel Choir members have recently joined with the Chorus Collective Choir to tour Australia and perform around the world with Tones and I, on US shows like Ellen, Jimmy Kimmel, and the Today Show.

Nearly 20 years since his debut on the small screen on Australian Idol, Rob Mills has quite the resume.

For the last decade or so, Rob has worked tirelessly to establish his impressive credentials in musical theatre. He was thrilled to be cast in the role of Fiyero in the highly successful Broadway blockbuster Wicked and played over 500 shows in Melbourne and Sydney, receiving rave reviews and establishing Rob as one of Australia’s favourite leading men.

Enter a world of splendour and romance, of eye-popping excess, of glitz, grandeur and glory! A world where Bohemians and aristocrats rub elbows and revel in electrifying enchantment. Pop the champagne and prepare for the spectacular spectacular…

Welcome to Moulin Rouge! The Musical!

Founded in 1964 by Kevin Casey, the National Boys Choir of Australia has established itself as one of Australia’s finest treble choirs.

The level of commitment and self-discipline expected of the choristers is high as they are required to attend weekly or twice weekly rehearsals and regular music workshops. This training enables the boys to present challenging repertoires with music ranging from early motets through to contemporary commissioned works and fully staged children’s operas, as well as musical comedy, art songs and folk songs from many lands.

Silvie Paladino is one of Australia’s most versatile and talented entertainers.

Her first theatrical role was Eponine in the Australasian tour of Les Misérables at the age of eighteen. She was then invited to perform the same role in the London production. In 1997, Silvie returned to London where she performed the role of Fantine in Les Miserables for a successful two-year season.

Silvie’s Australian credits include the roles of: Jeannie in Hair, Grizabella in Cats, Ellen in Miss Saigon, Donna in the smash hit Mamma Mia!, Rita in Sideshow Alley, Clara in Passion and for The Production Company: Lady Thiang in The King And I, Florence in Chess (Green Room and Helpmann Award nominations) and Jerry’s Girls.

Silvie has performed at many special events such as the world-wide telecast of the Rugby League Grand Final, the Australian Football League Grand Final, Boxing Day Cricket Test, the President’s Cup Golf tournament and a concert in Beijing, as part of the 2008 Olympics.

Marina Prior is known as Australia’s Leading Lady of Musical Theatre.

Marina’s first professional audition resulted in her first lead role - that of Mabel The Pirates of Penzance. She was subsequently invited to perform the role of Guinevere opposite Richard Harris in Camelot. Since then she has performed over thirty lead roles throughout Australia. Possibly her most memorable being the role of Christine Daae, in the original Australian production of The Phantom of the Opera, which she performed for three years.

Other roles include Jellylorum in Cats, Cosette in, Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes, Maria in West Side Story, Lily in The Secret Garden, Magnolia in Showboat, Miss Adelaide in Guys And Dolls, , Mrs Banks in Mary Poppins, Baroness Schraeder in The Sound of Music , Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly, and, more recently, the role of Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie for The Production Company.

Boasting over three million listeners per month on Spotify, over 850 million streams across all platforms, and a handful of #1’s and Top Ten hits in countries around the world, Brisbane’s Sheppard have already achieved more than most bands could dream of in their lifetime. The band — now a core three-piece of founding members and siblings George, Amy, and Emma are sounding more assured and effortless than ever.

Global superstar Tones And I is without doubt one of the most exciting names in music. Following the enormous success of her breakout hit “Dance Monkey” – which has accrued 7 billion worldwide streams, 1.7 billion views on YouTube and is 16 x platinum – Tones And I released her debut studio album, Welcome to the Madhouse, which debuted at #1 on the ARIA Album Chart and features hit singles ‘Fly Away’ and ‘Cloudy Day'.

2021 has been a year of challenge and excitement for Denis Walter. 3AW Nights with Denis has soared to record ratings having made 8pm to midnight his own with a mix of News, Entertainment and plenty of listener calls. Denis has broadcast from his home studio for much of this year. His new Sony album Yesterday Once More was released in Autumn and in 2022 he will return to concert venues around Australia to bring the music to the people. The album is a tribute to the music of the 60's and 70's. After 51 years in showbusiness his star shines brightly.

Christie Whelan Browne is one of Australia’s most versatile stage and screen performers. An awardwinning actress who has delighted audiences in shows as varied as A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Forum, The Importance Of Being Earnest, The Drowsy Chaperone (Helpmann Award Nomination) and Britney Spears: The Cabaret. Christie has been described by The Australian as “immaculate and untouchable”; by The Age as “magnificent”; and by the Herald Sun as “a musical and cabaret talent not to be missed”.