Brisbane-based punk-rock trio DZ Deathrays have announced that they will continue on their “unfeasible” regional tour of Australia, despite being advised to cancel due to poor ticket sales.

The band are set to play in Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal tomorrow night as part of their Weekend Warriors Regional Tour, but, posting to Instagram today, DZ Deathrays revealed that they have been warned to cancel the show - “and potentially others”.

“Unfortunately the post covid mentality of people walking up and buying tickets on the night means putting on shows has now become basically gambling for many promoters and artists such as ourselves. Hence the loss of many venues, festivals and acts pulling tours around the country,” the band wrote. “We’ve never cancelled a gig due to this before but unfortunately this is the situation we now face.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DZ DEATHRAYS (@dzdeathrays)

Thankfully for current ticketholders, DZ Deathrays are still planning to continue the tour, despite the warnings - though they warn that they may not be able to keep it up much longer.

“We’ve decided to run the risk of ruin and continue the show for those who have already bought tickets but it’s unfeasible to run this model much longer so if you are planning to come to our shows or any Aussie acts please buy the pre-sales (we make them cheaper for a reason!) or the trend of losing your favourite pubs, festivals and tours will continue.”

They closed out their post on a more positive note, writing, “Thanks to all those who have pre ordered! You don’t understand how much we appreciate it.”

DZ Deathrays are currently in the middle of their massive 24 stop tour of regional Australia, hitting towns like Wollongong, Mt Gambier, and Ipswich. They’ve been joined by a powerhouse of local talent aboard the journey: Drunk Mums, The Beefs, Semantics, Last Quokka, Mannequin Death Squad, Pretty Uglys, Trim Reaper, Private Wives, Goon Gremlins, Itchy & The Nits, Korderoy, and No Longer Kids.

With 17 shows to go on the tour, and an “unfeasible” model to keep up, DZ Deathrays are encouraging punters to buy their tickets ahead of time. You can find them here.

The band’s Instagram post has been met with a wave of support from Aussies in the music industry, including What So Not, King Stingray, Dune Rats, and Hockey Dad, who all applauded the Brisbanites’ honesty.

This criticism of current ticketing trends comes in the midst of a range of cancellations, including two Lookout Festival dates, and the whole of Souled Out Festival. In fact, in a recent interview with The Music, legendary Australian tour promoter Michael Chugg revealed that he believes a lot of Australian festivals have “run their course”.

DZ DEATHRAYS

WEEKEND WARRIORS REGIONAL AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Fri 28 Feb - Volta - Ballarat w/ Drunk Mums & Mannequin Death Squad (TIX)

Sat 1 Mar - Theatre Royal - Castlemaine w/ Drunk Mums & Mannequin Death Squad (TIX)

Thur 6 Mar - The Baso - Canberra w/ special guests & Private Wives (TIX)

Fri 7 Mar - Shark Bar - Manly w/ specials guests & Itchy and the Nits (TIX)

Sat 8 Mar - Wollongong Uni - Wollongong w/ special guests & Private Wives (TIX)

Sun 9 Mar - Beer & BBQ Fest - Mt Gambier w/ SLOWLY SLOWLY 

Thur 13 Mar - King Street Bandroom - Newcastle w/ special guests & Goon Gremlins (TIX)

Fri 14 Mar - Finnians - Port Macquarie w/ special guests & Korderoy (TIX)

Sat 15 Mar - Moonshiners - Tamworth (TIX)

Fri 21 Mar - The Northern - Byron Bay w/ special guests & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Sat 22 Mar - Miami Marketta - Gold Coast w/ special guests & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Thur 27 Mar - Sol Bar - Maroochydore w/ Semantics & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Fri 28 Mar - Racehorse Hotel - Ipswich w/ Semantics & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Sat 29 Mar - Koala Tavern - Capalaba w/ Semantics & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Sat 5 Apr - Club Bundaberg w/ Semantics & Trim Reaper (TIX)

Fri 11 Apr - Beer Deluxe - Albury w/ Drunk Mums (TIX)

Sat 12 Apr - Tanswells Hotel - Beechworth w/ Drunk Mums (TIX)

Tickets available at dzdeathrays.com