A former Australian National University School of Music student has been announced as the support act to open for Sir Elton John on his upcoming Australian tour.
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Tate Sheridan, a 26-year-old pianist and singer-songwriter, will be the opening act for all 22 outdoor shows on the Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour, Sir Elton's last in Australia, which starts in Perth on November 30.
Originally from Port Macquarie and now based in Sydney, Sheridan was in New York when he received the call from legendary music promoter Michael Chugg telling him he had the prestigious gig with Elton John.
"It's pretty surreal," he said.
"Elton John is my biggest childhood hero and he's the reason I wanted to study piano and make music."
Sheridan completed his music degree at the Canberra School of Music, saying it was a major influence on his career, right down to him gigging with his lecturers at the time.
"I owe the School of Music a lot," he said.
Sheridan's music has been on Sir Elton's radar for some time.
In 2015, the then 23-year old Sheridan was asked to open select Australian and New Zealand dates on Elton John's national tour that December.
Since then, Elton has taken keen interest in Sheridan's music, playing Sheridan's song Fade To Black on his Apple Music Beats 1 Radio Show to an audience of millions.
Sheridan remembers the first time Sir Elton rang him - direct.
"He said, 'H, this is Elton' and I actually hung up because I thought it was one of my friends pranking me," he said.
"It was my extreme good fortune that he did ring back."
Sheridan said while his previous tour with Sir Elton played in smaller venues, this tour would be in arenas holding more than 25,000 people.
"I'm going to try to treat them like any other gig, just do what I do best, and not get too much into my own head," he said.
Sheridan said he would be having some interaction with Sir Elton during the tour but the superstar was always in demand.
"Every show there's always 15 to 20 super-famous people lining up to see him. It's a bit of a celeb-fest," he said.
Sadly, Sir Elton's tour won't be coming to his old stamping ground of Canberra.
"I think the closest place will be Bathurst, which is weird," Sheridan said.
"A few of my friends from Canberra will be schlepping up there."
