Australian musician Orianthi returned from Los Angeles for a series of homeland headline shows including this final one at The Corner Hotel in Melbourne on Sunday 12 January 2025, just ten days before her fortieth birthday. Orianthi Panagaris has released five solo studio albums to date. Back in 2009, she appeared at the Grammy Awards as Carrie Underwood’s lead guitarist, which quickly led to her being hand-picked by Michael Jackson to become his lead guitarist.
She participated at all rehearsals for his This Is It concerts before his death, then subsequently played and sang at his memorial that was globally televised. Her debut single that year, “According to You,” peaked at No. 3 in Japan, No. 8 in Australia and No. 17 in the US. Additionally, she has worked alongside iconic artists including Steve Vai, Carlos Santana, Michael Bolton, Prince, ZZ Top, Adam Lambert, John Mayer, Dave Stewart, Dave Navarro and Richie Sambora. Orianthi was the first female member of the Alice Cooper band, and will rejoin his band following this current tour, in order to replace Nita Strauss for a couple of weeks. Joining her in performance tonight was Justin Andres on bass and Warren Trout on drums.
