Tones and I Announces Surprise Show After NRL Grand Final Fallout

Tones and I has announced a surprise pop-up show on the same weekend she was due to headline the NRL Grand Final pre-game entertainment, before those plans collapsed.

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The singer, born Toni Watson, will perform an all-ages acoustic show at the Echuca Hotel in Victoria on Friday (Oct. 2), with a meet-and-greet, two days before the Grand Final in Sydney. Tickets go on sale Wednesday (Sept. 30). The gig sits alongside her headline slot at the Deni Ute Muster festival in Deniliquin, New South Wales, on Oct. 2-3.

The pop-up follows the breakdown of talks for Watson to headline the NRL Grand Final pre-show on Oct. 4, with the National Rugby League initially declaring there would be no pre-game entertainment, citing “creative differences,” and initially planned to redirect the performance fee to grassroots football.

NRL boss Peter V’landys initially said the league would still redirect the performance fee to junior rugby league, but has since confirmed a surprise pre-game act will take the field after all, without revealing who.

“It’ll probably be the most high-rated 11 minutes you’ll ever see because no one knows what it is,” he said, adding that fans “won’t be shocked, but you’ll be very, very well entertained.” Local acts including Shannon Noll and Jon Stevens have offered themselves up for the slot. The Grand Final, between the Sydney Roosters and Newcastle Knights, takes place Sunday.

According to a statement from Tones’ team at Lemon Tree Management, however, the singer was “recently approached to perform the preshow at the NRL Grand Final.” An offer was presented to Tones via management on Sept. 5, reads the message, seen by Billboard.

“Tones had a prior commitment with Macklemore in America and explored all avenues to make it work.” However, “nothing was signed or confirmed in writing.”

“Due to the last minute nature,” the statement continues, “and prior commitments by Tones, we were unable to accept the offer. We wish the NRL nothing but the very best for their event.”

Watson became one of Australia’s biggest global success stories with “Dance Monkey.” Released in 2019, the track topped the charts in more than 30 countries and reached No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. In Australia, it spent a record 24 weeks at No. 1 on the ARIA Singles Chart and became one of the most-streamed songs of all time. Watson, who was busking in Byron Bay shortly before the song’s release, has won multiple ARIA Awards and remains one of the country’s most successful contemporary artists.