Seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with Finn Pearson

Fresh off opening for Aussie music legends William Crighton and Eskimo Joe, award-winning Western Australian singer-songwriter Finn Pearson has announced a run of live shows in support of his new single Tunnel Lights, out Friday, May 15. The tour kicks off in Albany this weekend and hits Bridgetown, Cowaramup, Northbridge and Bunbury before finishing up at Margaret River on Sunday, May 31—with tickets on sale now. NATASHA PAUL sat down with Finn Pearson to find out the story behind his new single, his journey so far, and what fans can expect when he hits the stage.

Congratulations on your new single, Tunnel Lights! How are you feeling about touring new music around your home state for the next month?

I’m really excited! I’ve always been a sucker for a good regional tour—it helps that my band are all some of my best and oldest friends, so it really is a lot of fun. I wish it was longer, but these things can be hard to make work financially with touring costs being what they are at the moment. At the end of the day, I’m just looking forward to taking the band on the road and getting in front of people. I’ve been working hard on the live show, and I’m keen to road-test it.

The tour comes in celebration of your new single, Tunnel Lights. Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the new track.

To be completely honest, Tunnel Lights is a bit of a deep cut. The sentiment originated from a difficult period a few years ago, following a breakup where I felt really untethered from myself and cut loose from what felt like all the sources of stability in my life. The song follows the process from the first realisation that things aren’t working through to the confusion and sadness following the eventual disintegration of the relationship.

Anyway, despite having a pretty bleak origin story, the song has since evolved to the point where I think it’s my strongest songwriting and production to date. It features all of my favourite things: moody storytelling, dreamscape-y slide guitar, big drums and harmonies. I guess that’s the good thing about writing your own songs. Oli, Max and Siobhan absolutely killed it on the performance and production, and it wouldn’t be possible without them. It’s going to feel good to finally have it out in the world.

You’ve performed at some of WA’s leading festivals, including Wave Rock Weekender, Blues at Bridgetown and Nannup Music Festival. What’s your favourite place to perform at in WA?

That’s a hard question to answer succinctly. Festival-wise, I think we’re so lucky to have the events you just listed, all of which have been some of my best musical memories. Nannup in particular has been a pretty integral part of my musical journey, having played almost every year it’s run since 2018 in one project or another. Wave Rock is honestly an experience like no other.

Venue-wise, I’ll always be deeply in love with Mojos. I’m a Freo kid born and raised, and that place has been there for me throughout everything. In recent times, Tony and the gang have done the impossible and somehow made it even better. Get down and check out the renos if you haven’t yet!

What other tracks can fans expect to hear performed live on tour? Are there any surprise songs or fan favourites on the setlist?

A mixture of both, I think. I’m currently in the process of rewriting the setlist so we can fit even more songs in. I absolutely hate cutting songs, even if they’re old, but sometimes it has to be done. The band and I recorded a live album a few months back—spoilers, sorry… more to come on that later—so it’ll be that whole set of older tunes, including songs from Sweat & Vermouth (2023), including a heavier rock version of Hard to Find, as well as all of my 2025 releases like Silver Tray. I’m also going to throw a brand-new tune into the set if everything goes to plan.

You recently supported William Crighton and Eskimo Joe on tour last month and have previously performed with Kingswood, Playlunch and The Southern River Band. How does it feel to perform onstage alongside other talented Aussie artists?

Honestly, I fucking love opening for other artists, particularly those I’ve looked up to for years like SRB and William Crighton. It’s really humbling and special. They’re such inspiring examples of maintaining their authenticity whilst still being out there on the road and doing it every day, which I massively respect.

There’s definitely a moment when I’m about to walk on stage where it’s nerve-racking. As the support act, you’re up in front of a crowd who often don’t know you at all, and I’m always aware that we’ve got to give it 110% to really win the room over. It’s also an interesting measure of our strange genre fluidity that we can entertain a Kingswood crowd or an SRB crowd or a Playlunch crowd or a William Crighton crowd—they’re very different audiences in a lot of ways. I do think our sound is malleable and versatile enough to pull it off… In my humble opinion, anyway.

What does the rest of 2026 look like for you? Is there more new music on the horizon?

So much is happening this year! I really decided to put the pedal to the metal in 2026, and I’ve got more in the pipeline than I’ve ever had before, which is exciting. It’s a little intimidating at times, trying to balance and timeline it all out. Tunnel Lights is coming out May 15th, of course, and I’ve just received the final masters for my next EP… still deciding on a title, which is due later in the year. We’ve also got this whole live album recorded that I mentioned earlier, along with live in-studio video footage of a few songs, so I’m keen to show everyone what we’ve been working on. I also have big secret touring plans. It’s going to be a good one!

Finn Pearson has announced a run of live shows in support of his new single Tunnel Lights, out Friday, May 15, 2026. For more info and to buy tickets, head to auxiliaryrecords.com