On Wednesday the Brisbane-based five-piece will commandeer the Albury Sportsground for a mammoth concert that promises to be the Border’s biggest gig of the year.

Melbourne rock band Jet and Something for Kate vocalist and guitarist Paul Dempsey are the supports.

Powderfinger’s Sunsets Farewell Tour kicked off in Newcastle on September 1 and is set to finish on November 13 at the Riverstage in Brisbane, the city where it all began for the fledgling band in 1989.

Like so many big-name Australian acts, Powderfinger began as a school band playing classic rock by big-name artists.

One of those artists was Neil Young whose 1975 song Powderfinger was chosen by three young Brisbane Grammar School students — Ian Haug, John Collins and Steven Bishop — as the name of the new band.

Later while studying architecture at the University of Brisbane, Haug befriended journalism student Bernard Fanning.

All both could think of was music and Fanning soon joined the band replacing singer and guitarist Haug as the band’s lead vocalist.

Guitarist Darren Middleton signed on in 1992 and drummer Steven Bishop was replaced by Jon Coghill.

The band’s breakthrough second album was Double Allergic, which spawned two hit singles, Pick You Up and DAF, which went double platinum.

But it was their third album, Internationalist, that propelled Powderfinger into national consciousness.

The album shot straight to the top of the charts, spent 100 weeks on the ARIA charts and scored Powderfinger a swag of ARIA Awards including album of the year.

Odyssey Number Five was released worldwide in 2000 becoming a five-time platinum-seller in Australia with hit singles My Happiness and These Days.

Vulture Street followed in 2003 and saw chart success and extensive touring before the band took a break during 2005 and 2006, which gave frontman Bernard Fanning a chance to release his ARIA award-winning solo album Tea and Sympathy.

In 2007, Powderfinger’s sixth album, Dream Days at the Hotel Existence, was the band’s fourth consecutive number one album.

Later that year the band teamed up with Silverchair for the Across the Great Divide tour which brought the bands to the Border and a big-top concert that attracted more than 8000 fans to Wodonga’s Gateway Island.

In November last year the band released what was to be their final album, Golden Rule.

Now Powderfinger is mid-way through its biggest tour ever.

Fanning says the band’s decision to split was a difficult one.

“We have decided after much deliberation and agonising that after this final tour we will call it a day as a recording and touring band,” he says.

“With the completion of our last album, Golden Rule, we feel that we have said all that we want to say as a musical group,” the band said.

“We firmly believe that it is our most complete and satisfying album and can’t think of a better way to farewell our fans than with music that we all believe in and also with, hopefully, our best tour to date.”

Powderfinger, along with their supports, will perform at the Albury Sportsground on Wednesday.

Tickets are available from Ticketek at www.ticketek.com.au or by phone at 132 849; in person at Albury Entertainment Centre box office -- phone (02) 6051 3051; MEGAS Music Store; or Indigo Central, Beechworth.