iTunes will present a series of concerts featuring exclusive live performances from the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) nominees this year starting November 1, 2010.

iTunes Live: ARIA Awards Concert Series 2010 will feature performances by ten acts over five unforgettable nights, as well as revealing the 2010 ARIA Award winners in 16 genre categories.

The iTunes Live: ARIA Awards Concert Series 2010 will also feature special performances by five 2010 ARIA Award nominees and special guests. These exclusive live recordings will be made available only on iTunes.

The concert will be held in Sydney's Botanic Gardens, overlooking the sails of the Sydney Opera House. Some ofthe highlights package of the performances will be broadcast on Nova FM nationally at 10.00pm Monday (AEDT) Thursday. The broadcast also serves as a preview to the main event, the 2010 ARIA Awards. A highlight package of the Friday performance will be broadcast on Sunday, 7 November. (See the line-up below)

Music fans can also catch all the acceptance speeches and nominee packages from the event on Network Ten's Video Hits on November 6 and 7.

The 2010 ARIA Genre Award categories are: Best Rock Album, Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Album, Best Adult Contemporary Album, Best Adult Alternative Album, Best Pop Release, Best Comedy Release, Best Country Album, Best Blues & Roots Album, Best Children's Album, Best Dance Release, Best Urban Album, Best Music DVD, Best Classical Album, Best Jazz Album, Best World Music Album, Best Original Soundtrack/Cast/Show Album.

To win FREE tickets to the exclusive iTunes Live: ARIA Awards Concert Series 2010, those interested can go to the Australian iTunes Facebook page here.

Here's the line-up for iTunes Live: ARIA Awards Concert Series 2010:

  • Monday, 1 November - John Butler (with special guest, Dan Sultan). Three ARIA Genre Awards will also be presented this night for: BEST HARD ROCK/HEAVY METAL ALBUM, BEST MUSIC DVD and BEST WORLD MUSIC ALBUM.
  • Tuesday, 2 November - Washington (with special guest, Boy & Bear) The three ARIA Genre Awards to be presented on Tuesday, 2 November are: BEST BLUES & ROOTS ALBUM, BEST CHILDREN'S ALBUM and BEST ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK/CAST/SHOW.
  • Wednesday, 3 November - Guy Sebastian (with special guest, Amy Meredith) ARIA will also be announcing the winners in the following Genre Award categories on Wednesday, 3 November: BEST JAZZ ALBUM, BEST DANCE ALBUM and BEST URBAN ALBUM.
  • Thursday, 4 November - Sia (with special guest, Sally Seltmann) There will be four ARIA Genre Awards presented on the Thursday night with the winners being announced in the categories of BEST COUNTRY ALBUM, BEST ADULT CONTEMPORARY ALBUM, BEST COMEDY RELEASE and BEST CLASSICAL ALBUM.
  • Friday, 5 November - Angus and Julia Stone (with special guest, Old Man River) The ARIA Awards in the final three Genre Award categories will be given out this night in the categories of BEST POP RELEASE, BEST ROCK ALBUM and BEST ADULT ALTERNATIVE ALBUM.

Full performances of the iTunes Live: ARIA Awards Concert Series 2010 will be broadcast exclusively on MTV (channel 124) & MTV Hits (channel 808) at 8pm each night.