Tour News - Paul Kelly announces Australia & New Zealand arena tour in August/September 2025
/ Megan MossPresented by: Frontier Touring, Triple M (AU) and Stuff (NZ)
Paul Kelly today announces his biggest shows in Australia and New Zealand to date, and his only live shows for 2025: nine huge arenas in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in August/September 2025… proudly presented by Frontier Touring, Triple M (AU) and Stuff (NZ).
Today’s tour news comes in the lead up to Kelly’s forthcoming studio album, Fever Longing Still, to be released November 1 and available for preorder now. His first album of new original material since 2018’s Nature, Fever Longing Still delivers 12 additions to a superb catalogue of love songs spanning more than 40 years. The title comes from a line in Sonnet 147 by Shakespeare, whose writing has thrilled and inspired Kelly ever since schooldays. Led by singles ‘Taught By Experts’ and ‘Houndstooth Dress’, it’s an album driven by a band in peak form – who fans can witness live onstage next year.
Awarded the Order of Australia in 2017 and with 17 ARIAs and five APRAs, few songwriters find ways to keep that creative fever burning for as long and as brightly as Kelly. The country of his birth, its emotional interior and geographical landscape, its heroes and villains, our hopes and failings, have all been a constant in Kelly’s long list of Australian-set songs: ‘To Her Door’, ‘Leaps and Bounds’, ‘From St Kilda To King’s Cross’, ‘How To Make Gravy’, ‘When I First Met Your Ma’, ‘Dumb Things’, ‘Before Too Long’… the list is endless. He has written about the country’s greatest cricketer, ‘Bradman’, and its most infamous bushranger, Ned Kelly, in ‘Our Sunshine’. ‘From Little Things Big Things Grow’, co-written with Kev Carmody, has taught more Australians about the history of the battle for land rights than newspaper headlines ever could.
From live recordings and compilations albums, Christmas standards and originals, variety has long been a key to Kelly’s recording career, which includes albums ranging from bluegrass and country (Smoke and Foggy Highway) to funk and soul (Professor Ratbaggy, The Merri Soul Sessions), alongside classic records such as Gossip, and Post. Kelly’s decades of touring have seen him play the kind of shows fans never forget.
In Australia, Kelly will be joined by special guest Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Possessing “one of the strongest, truest voices in American roots rock” (Allmusic), the six-time GRAMMY winner emerged from Alabama as a member of Drive-By Truckers, before going solo with 2007’s Sirens of the Ditch. Together with his collective, Isbell’s latest release – 2023’s Weathervanes – won Best Americana Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. Written while he was an actor on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, the album features the rolling thunder of Isbell’s fearsome live band the 400 Unit, who’ve earned a place in the rock ‘n’ roll cosmos alongside the greatest backing ensembles, as powerful and essential to the storytelling as The E Street Band or the Wailers.
Opening proceedings in Australia is 2x ARIA and 9x CMAA Golden Guitar winner Fanny Lumsden, whose gone from growing up on a sheep farm in western NSW to playing Glastonbury. Her album HEY DAWN debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Album charts and was the fourth-highest selling country album of last year. Says The Australian, “One of the genre’s most esteemed performers”.
Meanwhile in New Zealand, singer/songwriter Reb Fountain invokes a blend of folk, art-pop and rock unrivalled in Aotearoa. After standout performances at WOMADelaide and extensively touring in Europe with Marlon Williams, Fountain’s reputation for an exceptional live show has gone global, her new single ‘Come Down’ out now.
Tickets to all shows will go on sale Wednesday 30 October (3pm local time) via frontiertouring.com/paulkelly. Frontier Members can get early access via the Frontier Members presale, which starts Monday 28 October (3pm local time) – see website for full details.
With his incredible live band by his side – including members Peter Luscombe (drums), Bill McDonald (bass), Dan Kelly (guitar), Cameron Bruce (keys), Jess Hitchcock (vocals), and Ash Naylor (guitar) – Paul Kelly live is not to be missed. Tickets on sale next week!
PAUL KELLY
with special guests Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit (AU shows)
+ Fanny Lumsden (AU) & Reb Fountain (NZ)
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TOUR
AUGUST & SEPTEMBER 2025
Presented by Frontier Touring, Triple M (AU) and Stuff (NZ)
ALL SHOWS LICENSED ALL AGES
Tuesday 26 August - RAC Arena, Perth, WA
ticketek.com.au
Friday 29 August - Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane, QLD
ticketek.com.au
Saturday 30 August - Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney, NSW
ticketek.com.au
Tuesday 2 September - MyState Bank Arena, Hobart, TAS
ticketek.com.au
Thursday 4 September - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide, SA
ticketek.com.au
Saturday 6 September - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne, VIC
ticketek.com.au
Tuesday 9 September - Christchurch Town Hall, Christchurch, NZ
ticketmaster.co.nz
Wednesday 10 September - Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington, NZ
ticketmaster.co.nz
Friday 12 September - Auckland Town Hall, Auckland, NZ
ticketmaster.co.nz
FRONTIER MEMBER PRESALE
via frontiertouring.com/paulkelly
Runs 24 hours from: Monday 28 October (3pm local time)
or until presale allocation exhausted
TICKETS ON SALE
Begins: Wednesday 30 October (3pm local time)
Highly Suspect have today announced their support acts for all three New Zealand shows, starting on November 27th in Christchurch before hitting Wellington and Auckland.
Fresh off an exhaustive North American tour, sensational thrash metal band Alien Weaponry will return home in superb form next March to deliver their colossal adrenaline-charged performance to their loyal fans on a 6-date NZ tour with phenomenal Tāmaki Makaurau Polynesian metal band Shepherds Reign.
The HED P.E. tour is about to get a whole lot more hectic with some incredible bands set to join the band on stage.
Pixies have announced a 2025 New Zealand tour which will see the alt-rock legends perform two consecutive nights in both Auckland and Wellington.
Following the release of her new album, CRASH, Kehlani announces the highly anticipated Crash World Tour featuring special guest JESSB.
One of the leaders of rap's new underground Denzel Curry announces his return to Australia and New Zealand with the Mischievous South 2025 World Tour, touching down in February 2025.
Frontier Touring is pleased to announce 12 x time GRAMMY winner Jack White has extended his upcoming December 2024 tour, with five new cities added today across Australia and New Zealand.
New Zealand’s top electronic exports, Chaos In The CBD, today announce their return to Auckland for a special hometown show playing at Auckland’s Town Hall on Friday January 17.
New Zealand’s rising pop sensation PRINS returns home to Kiwi stages in 2025 with her much-anticipated Heaven or Hell tour, a show promising to be her most daring and captivating yet.
Live Nation and Jubilee Street Management today announce an impressive lineup for the 2025 Australian and New Zealand comedy festival seasons including outstanding comics touring stand-alone headline shows.
Bow to battle doom lords CONAN, as they’re taking over our lands once again.
Amble, the three-piece folk group hailing from Ireland that have taken the world by storm, today announced their debut shows in Australia & New Zealand for March 2025.
Celebrating the 25th anniversary of his breakthrough solo debut album Heartbreaker, multi-Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Ryan Adams is set to embark on his Heartbreaker ’25 World Tour, bringing the iconic album and more to audiences across New Zealand in October 2025.
Today following an enthusiastic response to previous announcements A Streetcar Named Desire and SIX The Musical, the 2025 Te Ahurei Toi o Tāmaki Auckland Arts Festival programme has been revealed.
To celebrate thirty-six years of memories and milestones, the band announces Loud Forever - The Final Tour.
Greenstone Entertainment presents the Summer Concert Tour in January featuring an all-star line-up. Now, Greenstone Entertainment is stoked to announce local support artists for 2025.
GRAMMY® Award winning duo Twenty One Pilots are set to bring The Clancy World Tour to New Zealand and Australia this month starting in Auckland at Spark Arena on November 17 followed by Australian dates in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney. The band has confirmed New Zealand groove-pop duo Balu Brigada as special guests for the tour.
The incomparable Chelsea Wolfe has announced her return to New Zealand in May 2025.
In the summer of January 2025, MG Live, Frontier Touring and Arena Touring present 90’S Mania - Live In Concert, the return of Europe’s #1 party act Vengaboys tour of Australia and New Zealand.
TEG Dainty and The Entertainment Lab is thrilled to announce An Evening with Bob
Geldof: Songs and Stories from an Extraordinary Life, on the 40th anniversary of the
legendary Live Aid concert.
Yours and Owls are delighted to welcome celebrated Australian singer and songwriter Brad Cox to the 2025 lineup. The ARIA-nominated, Golden Guitar-winning sensation from Jindabyne will grace you all with his booming voice and chart-toping country anthem presence.
As Good Things come to those who wait, we're thrilled to announce the headline sideshows from some of the artists on the huge Good Things Festival line up. Set your alarm clocks as these tickets won't last.
Today, Crowded House is delighted to announce 2 very special guests for their upcoming and highly anticipated national tour, across New Zealand and Australia in November.
Metallica has confirmed that its record-breaking M72 World Tour will be coming to New Zealand in November of 2025.
Tyler, The Creator announces a 2025 world tour in support of his forthcoming album CHROMAKOPIA, which is set for release this coming Monday, October 28th.
Yours and Owls release their first lineup today, featuring a lineup of exceptional talent to Wollongong City in 2025!
Paul Kelly today announces his biggest shows in Australia and New Zealand to date, and his only live shows for 2025: nine huge arenas in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in August/September 2025… proudly presented by Frontier Touring, Triple M (AU) and Stuff (NZ).
Multi-platinum selling artist Cody Johnson today announces anticipated Australian and New Zealand headline tour dates, set to hit arenas down under in March 2025.
We warmed you up last weekend with our epic 10th Birthday Pre-Party; now it’s time to reveal the main event. Yours and Owls Festival will return to Wollongong City, Dharawal Country in 2025, on March 1st and 2nd.
Valhalla Touring presents the first ever New Zealand tour of one of modern metal's hottest and most exciting bands around today: Jinjer (Napalm Records).