Damien Rice Announces 2023 Australian Tour

Irish troubadour Damien Rice is returning to Australia this May for the first time since 2019.

Rice will make his Sydney Opera House debut on Friday, 12 May, before heading to Melbourne’s Hamer Hall, Geelong’s Costa Hall, Hobart’s Odeon Theatre, QPAC Concert Hall in Brisbane, and winds up at HOTA Theatre on the Gold Coast. 

Frontier Members can access pre-sale tickets this Thursday, 16 February, at 1 pm local time. Tickets sold to the general public will go on sale on Friday, 17 February, at 2 pm local time. Buy tickets here.

The Music attended Rice's first gig back in Australia in over a decade in February 2019, with local singer-songwriter Gordi blowing audiences away as the support act. 

There was an unmistakable feeling in the venue of welcoming a loved one back into the fold when Damien Rice took to the stage with little fanfare – potentially because of the numerous Irish ex-pats in the crowd, but probably more due to Rice’s ability to perform as if he knows his crowd intimately. 

The night was filled with storytelling, like all good nights with old friends should be. More often than not, Rice would preface a song with a short (or sometimes long) tale about its origin, whether it be about misconstrued advances between friends (Amie), raining days in Ireland drinking wine with strangers (Cheers Darlin’), or dodgy construction in Dublin (Older Chests). Occasionally he would let the song speak for itself, like opener Delicate, which he sang unplugged in the dark, or the sorrowful 9 Crimes, with lyrics bitterly muttered as Rice hunched over a piano in the corner of the stage. 

The Music concluded: There’s no doubt that Damien Rice is a master musician and a well-versed performer, but it’s perhaps his Irish wit and talent for conversation that made this night one to remember.

Rice's debut album, O, turned 20 last year and skyrocketed the singer to stardom.

DAMIEN RICE

2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR

FRIDAY 12 MAY - Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney NSW (Lic. All Ages) sydneyoperahouse.com 

TUESDAY 16 MAY - Hamer Hall, Melbourne VIC (Lic. All Ages) artscentremelbourne.com.au 

THURSDAY 18 MAY - Costa Hall, Geelong VIC (Lic. All Ages) geelongartscentre.org.au 

SATURDAY 20 MAY - Odeon Theatre, Hobart TAS (18+) oztix.com.au 

MONDAY 22 MAY - Concert Hall QPAC,  Brisbane QLD (Lic. All Ages) qpac.com.au 

WEDNESDAY 24 MAY - HOTA Theatre, Gold Coast QLD (Lic. All Ages) hota.com.au