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Birds of Toyko, Eskimo Joe and Baker Boy to feature at AFL decider on Perth’s big day
By Jake Niall
Birds of Tokyo and Eskimo Joe are among the headline acts for the AFL grand final entertainment, which will have a theme of Australian anthems.
Border restrictions mean that the entertainment will be dominated by Western Australian artists, with one act, Indigenous hip hop performer Baker Boy, travelling to Perth and quarantining to play at the AFL grand final at Perth’s Optus Stadium.
Back when ... Birds of Tokyo perform at the 2013 AFL grand final.Credit: Jason South
Birds of Tokyo, the popular Perth rock band who have played at two previous grand finals, will perform during half-time of the game, which will be broadcast into an evening time slot in the eastern states.
The entertainment will carry the theme of “Australian anthems” - featuring well-known Australian songs. Other WA-based artists will be part of the pre-game line-up, which are set to be announced soon.
Solo artist Baker Boy, who is based in Victoria, grew up in Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory and has become a ground-breaking Indigenous rapper who performs both in English and his native Yolnu Matha.
Baker Boy, 24, fills the AFL’s clear wish to have an Indigenous artist in their array of grand final performers. He was young Australian of the year in 2019 and has won several National Indigenous Music Awards.
Baker Boy.
Birds of Tokyo played at both the 2013 and 2019 grand finals at the MCG - performing alongside Hunters and Collectors at the 2013 grand final in the pre-game music.
Eskimo Joe, formed in 1997 and a well-established alternative band, were formed in East Fremantle, the heartland of WA football.
The format for the entertainment appears likely to be similar to last year’s Gabba’s grand final - when there were pre-game acts and then one primary half-time performance. The 5.15pm start in Perth, however, means that the pre-game acts will be played in daylight, while Birds of Tokyo will be playing in early-evening twilight, rather than the night time that Sheppard played in at half-time at the Gabba last year.
The entertainment this year has been sourced by Mushroom, whose founder Michael Gudinski passed away during 2021. In 2020, Gold Coast chairman Tony Cochrane’s company recruited the largely Queensland local acts.