Young regional musicians to open for Bon Jovi

Jesse Teinaki, 21 from Somerset, Tasmania, knows his life is about to change. At last night’s Telstra Road To Discovery final, held at the Forum in Melbourne, Teinaki and songwriter Angie McMahon, 19 from Alphington, Victoria, were personally selected by Bon Jovi as the opening act for their Australian tour in December.

Last night’s finals also saw Christopher Coleman, 25, from Hobart and Helen Shanahan, 24, from South Perth, crowned the overall winners in the performer and songwriter categories respectively. The pair will receive a return trip and showcase performance at the Americana Music Festival, a $14,000 tailored music-developed fund, and 12-month mentoring packages.

Coleman was stoked by his victory, telling TMN that, “thanks to Mother Telstra I may even be able to get off Centrelink.” He states that music has always been a part of his life, joking that he was “locked in a room with only my dancing shoes and no water until the age of twenty.” Shanahan, who took out the songwriting category, was quick to point out to TMN that the Telstra Road To Discovery differs from similar talent competitions. “Usually I would be wary of entering a talent competition, however this one seemed to be very nurturing and supportive of unearthed talent.”

Jesse Teinaki  and Angie McMahon will, however, be the entrants whose lives will change the most dramatically, with the opening slot locked in for Bon Jovi’s massive December tour. Obviously, this will be a huge shift, and Teinaki is well aware of the massive challenge that lays ahead.

“It really still hasn’t sunk in at all”, he tells TMN. “Everything seems very surreal at the moment, so I’m just taking it as it comes.”

And although Teinaki tells us he has started to take his music career more seriously over the past twelve months, he obviously isn’t quite prepared for arena performances just yet.

“The main focus will be practice, practice, practice. Getting in a few gigs between now and the tour will help too. With the rock band I was part of, I was lucky to play at some of Tassie’s biggest music festivals, which was amazing. In terms of my solo career, I play one gig weekly at the local pubs and clubs.”

And while playing in front of tens of thousands of roaring Bon Jovi fans will certainly be a life-changing experience for Teinaki, he’s quick to thank both Telstra, and the person that made it possible.

“It was actually my step-dad who mentioned it to me”, Teinaki says. “I’d never really heard much about it but he said he had a ’good feeling’ and suggested I enter. I’m glad he did.”

Promoter Paul Dainty, who is bringing Bon Jovi to Australia, told TMN: “The Telstra Road to Discovery has been an great opportunity provided by Telstra to give young Aussie musicians an opportunity to play in front of massive audiences across the country.”

Watch the two acts Bon Jovi chose to accompany them on their Australian tour.