Paul Kelly announces biggest Australian tour yet
Paul Kelly has announced his biggest tour of Australia and New Zealand to date. The acclaimed singer-songwriter will kick off the tour at Perth’s RAC Arena on Tuesday, August 26 before performing at arenas in Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, Adelaide, Melbourne, Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
The tour news comes in the lead-up to Kelly’s forthcoming studio album, Fever Longing Still, which is out on Friday, November 1 and is available to 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, Paul Kelly is one of Australia’s most cherished and celebrated songwriters. His discography boasts some of the country’s most recognised songs, such as To Her Door, How To Make Gravy, Dumb Things, Before Too Long and more.
In Australia, Paul Kelly will be joined by special guest Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. 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—was written while he was an actor on Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon and won Best Americana Album at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards.
Opening proceedings in Australia is 2 x ARIA and 9 x CMAA Golden Guitar winner Fanny Lumsden, who has gone from growing up on a sheep farm in western NSW to playing Glastonbury. Her latest album, Hey Dawn, debuted at #1 on the ARIA Australian Album charts and was the fourth-highest selling country album of last year.
Paul Kelly’s new album Fever Longing Still is out on Friday, November 1, 2024. Paul Kelly plays RAC Arena on Tuesday, August 26, 2025. Tickets are on sale Wednesday, October 30 from frontiertouring.com
