It was a dream come true for Mulga Bore Hard Rock Band and their family as they supported music legends KISS at their very last show on Australian soil.
The six-piece band comes from Mulga Bore, a small outstation in the middle of Central Australia's outback, where English is a second language and opportunities can be scarce.
Frontman and lead singer Alvin Manfong said the weekend's experience on the Gold Coast was "awesome".
"It was a dream come true.
"Meeting the legends and the other support acts, Tumbleweed and Wolfmother, was amazing."
Manfong said the band and family members were grateful for the experience.
"It was amazing to watch KISS on stage."
Smashing success
Independent documentary film-maker Rebecca McLean said the trip was a "smashing success".
"Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and the whole [KISS] band were watching them play," she said.
"They all loved it, plus there was a huge crowd considering they were the first act on at 4pm."
Ms McLean said it was a massive effort to get Mulga Bore Hard Rock ready for the gig of a lifetime.
"The band members were so professional; we had our own band room out back and we had a film crew ... plus one of the big things was to get the family to be there."
'You rocked'
It was at the official photo opportunity when the band brushed shoulders with their idols.
"KISS was coming around the corner and then the drummer walked passed us and said: 'You rocked!'"
Ms McLean said Stanley singled out the band's 13-year-old Aiden Manfong.
"He fist bumped Aiden and said: 'You rock.'"
Experience gives hope
Narla Kunoth-Monks is extended family of the band members and said the whole experience was surreal.
"I think that the kids are just so ecstatic about where they've come to," she said.
"They're from a little community way out in the bush to be able to come and play on the big stage with their idols."
She said the experience gave hope to everyone in the community who had a dream.
"We live a lot of the times in Third-World conditions; we've got two houses for four families at one of the communities.
"And the water at Mulga Bore has to be boiled before you can drink it, so that goes to show where our kids are coming from."
