Ben Wright Smith Releases New Single, Announces Huge AF National Tour

12 July 2016 | 11:36 pm | Alex Sievers
Originally Appeared In

Melbourne's Ben Wright Smith has released a brand new song and has taken the idea of an Australian tour to its literal meaning with a HUGE host of tour dates announced.

Melbourne's Ben Wright Smith has released a brand new song and has taken the idea of an Australian tour to its literal meaning with a HUGE host of tour dates announced.

As I said, the indie singer has a new single out, and it ain't half bad either. The new track is called 'Sand Grabber' (which was released via The AU Review) and is a very 80's composition, filled with snappy drums and chilled-out waves of synth and vocal layers. Of the new song, Smith said the following:

“”Sand Grabber” came from a jam I was having with my buddy Nic. We were playing around with some synthesisers and some 80’s drum machines when I started playing the weird chords in the bridge of the song. I don’t think I’ve ever written something so illogical or in such a backwards way but it sounded cool, so I went with it.”

Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter

Now, when I say that this is an 'Australian tour', I really do mean that this really is a national tour, and not just an East Coast Tour with maybe Perth and Adelaide included. Seriously, just look at all of these dates that the dude will be playing over the next few months!

July 22nd - Brisbane Hotel, HOBART*

July 23rd - The Royal Oak, LAUNCESTON*

July 24th - The Butter Factory, BURNIE*

July 25th - Gasometer, MELBOURNE*

July 26th - Golden Vine Hotel, BENDIGO*

July 27th - Bridge Hotel, CASTLEMAINE*

July 28th - The Loft, WARRNAMBOOL*

July 29th - Shadows Nightclub, MT GAMBIER*

July 30th - The Exeter, ADELAIDE*

July 31st - Spencer Hotel, WHYALLA*

August 3rd - The Desert Cave, COOBER PEDY*

August 4th | Monte’s Lounge, ALICE SPRINGS*

August 5th - Jackson’s Bar, TENNANT CREEK*

August 6th - The Heritage Hotel, GROVE HILL*

August 7th - The Railway Club, DARWIN

August 12th - Inferno Front Room, TRARALGON

August 13th - Caledonian, WONTHAGGI

August 18th - Golden Vine Hotel, BENDIGO

August 19th - Pelican Bar, FRANKSTON

August 20th - Workers Club, GEELONG

August 21st - Bridge Hotel, CASTLEMAINE

August 24th - Transit Bar, CANBERRA

August 25th - Rad Bar, WOLLONGONG

August 26th - Family Hotel, KATOOMBA

August 27th - Oxford Circus, SYDNEY

August 31st - Hamilton Hotel, NEWCASTLE

September 3rd - The Pier on Clarence, PORT MACQUARIE

September 8th - Rosemount Hotel, PERTH

September 9th - The Gov, ADELAIDE

September 10th - The Gov, ADELAIDE

September 15th - Golden Vine Hote, BENDIGO

September 16th - American Hotel, ECHUCA

September 17th - Cider Tree, MILDURA

September 18th - Sand Bar, MILDURA

October 7th - Gasometer, MELBOURNE

Goddamn, that is a lot of shows! If you're heading out to one of these shows, which you very weel may be as he's playing basically everywhere, you can grab tickets through the singer's website. Oh, and speaking of tours, earlier this month, the Melbourne singer-songwriter released a tour diary of sorts for his most recent run and you can find that below.

Inline image 5

"I took this arty photo at Melbourne airport watching the airplanes on the tarmac. My flight got delayed so I sat at the window eating a bacon and eggs burger. Its just getting cold in Melbourne so I was pretty stoked to be heading up north."

Inline image 4

"This was taken in Newcastle right near Fort Scratchly. Last time I was there I saw a bunch of seals so I wanted to check out the beach again. This other dude here is Miles Decarteret who's been hitting the road with me for this run of shows. This was the one photo we posed for on our trip and as you can see we may have missed the cue slightly."

Inline image 2
"This shot was taken right before my show in Sydney. We got there just in time to play because we were trying to find a park but when I arrived I heard Peter Bibby playing and he was awesome. Really cool songs and almost had this Drones vibe.. maybe its a WA thing. After the show we were a little homeless but managed to find ourselves this seedy little hotel right at the edge of town."

Inline image 1

 

"After our show in Rye we hit the beackbrach for a little party. I love the caves and the clips back there. During our gig it was this guys birthday and his friends had all made masks for him. It was like playing back to a scene from Being John Malkovich. We pinched a few of the masks and wore them down to the beach. It was a beautiful full moon as you can see and we didn't need lights or anything."

Well, while the music is solid and has a fittingly chill vibe, maybe don't quit the gigging for photography, Ben and just stick to the tunes. Although that shot of the rain was kinda cool, in a Tumblr background post kind of way.

Photo credit: Ian Laidlaw