Everything You Need To Know About Luke Combs’ Upcoming Australian Tour

It’s almost time: Luke Combs is returning to Australia in under a month for a massive run of shows. Demand has been so high that he’s added second dates along the East Coast. The upcoming tour is just the latest milestone in a monumental career for Combs, whose acclaimed new album, Growin’ Up, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart in June. 

His upcoming Australian tour is just the latest highlight in an already monumental career for Combs, whose recent albums, Growin’ Up and Getting’ Old, both peaked at #2 on the Australian ARIA Albums Chart.

Concerts – especially the big ones – have only gotten more stressful as multiple ticketing agencies and traffic take over our cities whenever the shows roll into town. To help with the overwhelming practice of seeing your favourite acts, The Music has rounded up the dates and venues you need to know, how to get to venues – public transport or driving included, reviews and setlists for the real dedicated fans, the support acts, and what albums acts are promoting.

Below, we’ve gathered up everything you need to know about Luke Combs’ upcoming Australian tour.

DATES & VENUES

The US country music hitmaker will play back-to-back Brisbane Entertainment Centre concerts on Friday, 11 and Saturday, 12 August, before heading to Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on Wednesday, 16 and Thursday, 17 August and Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Saturday, 19 and Sunday 20 August, making debut stops at Adelaide’s AEC Arena on Wednesday 23 August and Perth’s RAC Arena on Saturday 26 August.

TICKETING INFO

Tickets to all of Luke Combs’ Australian dates are exhausted. However, fans can try their luck on the official Ticketek Fan To Fan Resale site closer to the shows. We’ll update this article if last-minute tickets are released next month.

SUPPORT ACTS

US country star Cody Johnson and Australian singer-songwriter Lane Pittman will join Combs on all Australian and New Zealand dates.

WHAT HE’S PROMOTING

Luke Combs is promoting his new album, Growin’ Up, which debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart in June. 

Growin’ Up was produced by Combs, Chip Matthews and Jonathan Singleton and is his third studio album following 2019’s 3x Platinum What You See is What You Get and his 4x Platinum debut, This One’s For You.

The record also features the single, The Kind of Love We Make, which debuted at #17 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart—the highest chart debut since January 2020—and is currently top 5 and rising. It also peaked at #1 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Country Airplay Chart.

Combs’ current single, Fast Car – a cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 folk-rock ballad – recently peaked at #1 on the Countrytown Hot 50 Airplay Chart.

Rolling Stone commented that while Combs isn’t reinventing the wheel of country music, he has provided “a fresh coat of wax” and removed “the more ostentatious add-ons. But his detail-rich songs make Growin’ Up a big-time country album with a tip-jar-worthy intimacy.” You can read the complete album review here.

SETLIST

Look away now if you don’t like spoilers!

Here’s Combs’ latest setlist from the Bank Of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC, USA, on Saturday (15 July) via Setlist.fm:

Lovin' on You

1, 2 Many

Cold as You

One Number Away

Houston, We Got a Problem

Love You Anyway

Going, Going, Gone

Must've Never Met You

Growin' Up and Gettin' Old

Does to Me (with Riley Green)

Forever After All

Dust on the Bottle / Meet in the Middle / I Was Your Man

Beautiful Crazy

Don't Tempt Me

Where the Wild Things Are

Fast Car (Tracy Chapman cover)

5 Leaf Clover

She Got the Best of Me

Hurricane

When It Rains, It Pours

Beer Never Broke My Heart

Encore:

Better Together

The Kind of Love We Make

INTERVIEW

We caught up with Luke Combs in June 2022. “Some days, I'm just completely uninterested,” he told Countrytown about reviews and editorials surrounding him. “There are others, though, where I'm curious what people think – especially when you've got new music out.

“You've just gotta be careful when it comes to the creative process. I really don't think you can base any musical decisions off what you're reading. You start on this path where you're only doing things because you think it's what people want to hear, and they'll only enjoy it if you do it this exact way. That's just not the way to do it – for me, I've always tried to write songs that I enjoy singing and playing, first and foremost.”

You can read the full interview here.

REVIEWS

According to Taste Of Country, Luke Combs made putting on a show look easy at Nissan Stadium in Nashville in April.

Reviewer Billy Dukes acknowledged the 100,000 ticketholders and the diversity observed in the audience, writing in the review, “This night brought no frills, no gimmicks and no real surprises. Combs' goal was to provide the hits as fans know them, and he over-delivered with a live vocal performance as good as any male singer in country music (Nissan Stadium acoustics aside).”

Check out the rest of the review here.

TRANSPORT

At the time of writing (17 July), here’s what we know. But, as with many significant events and venues, things will likely change in the lead-up. We will update with show-specific transport info when it comes to hand.

BRISBANE ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE

DRIVING

You can access the car park from The Gateway Motorway & Bicentennial Rd (off Sandgate Road), with the venue advising punters to allow extra time if you’re driving. Parking costs $18. Accessible parking is also available.

TAXI/RIDESHARE

The taxi rank can be found on-site. The ride-share pickup/drop-off point is located in Carpark 5. You can find the drop-off/pick-up zone within the grounds, and charter buses and coaches can access parking free of charge.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Boondall Station on the Shorncliffe line is a 600m walk to the Centre.

QUDOS BANK ARENA

DRIVING

You can get to Qudos Bank Arena from the City – East, West, North and South routes, with over 10,000 parking spots available. You can book your parking here.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

While the ferry and the bus are options to get to Qudos Bank Arena, the train is likely your best mode of public transport. Sydney Trains run every 10 minutes between Lidcombe and Olympic Park stations. Olympic Park Station is a five-minute walk from the arena.

ROD LAVER ARENA

DRIVING

Punters can park at the Eastern Plaza Carpark via Entrance D (Olympic Boulevard). The venue strongly recommends pre-booking parking, with the following rates advertised:

• Event Day Parking (Pre-Booked): $20

• Event Day Parking (Drive Up): $30

• Non-Event Day Parking: $7.50

Accessible parking must be pre-booked. You can call Ticketek’s Accessible Booking Hotline at (03) 9286 1208.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Trams stop directly outside Rod Laver Arena, frequently running services on event nights. By far the easiest mode to get to the venue, the precinct is a 10-minute walk from the CBD via Birrarung Marr or the Tanderrum Bridge. 

Taxis, water cruises and taxis and cycling are also options for you, but if you’re a cyclist, you’ll need your own bicycle lock to secure your bike outside Rod Laver Arena and John Cain Arena along Olympic Boulevard.  

AEC ARENA

DRIVING

AEC Arena provides $18 event parking with more than 1,400 onsite car park spaces. Entry/exit is only via Mary Street, Manton Street or Adam Street. Accessible parking must be pre-booked by phoning (08) 8208 2222.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Trams, trains, buses, taxis and bikes are convenient methods to get to and from AEC Arena, with additional tram services provided on event nights.

RAC ARENA

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

RAC Arena recommends punters use public transport to arrive at the venue, and if you have a Transperth logo on your ticket, you can enjoy free public transport to and from RAC.

DRIVING

If you’re driving, you can enter the car park from Market St or Milligan St. The car park can be accessed 24 hours a day with an event rate of $30. 14 accessible bays are also available, with RAC Arena confirming: “The first set [of bays] are located near the Milligan St entrance, with the second set [of bays] located towards the back of the car park near the Suite Holders and Mobility Entry.”

LUKE COMBS

2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR

Friday 11 August – Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane, QLD

Saturday 12 August – Brisbane Entertainment Centre | Brisbane, QLD

Wednesday 16 August – ​Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney, NSW

Thursday 17 August – Qudos Bank Arena | Sydney, NSW

Saturday 19 August – Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC

Sunday 20 August – ​Rod Laver Arena | Melbourne, VIC

Wednesday 23 August – AEC Arena | Adelaide, SA

Saturday 26 August – RAC Arena | Perth, WA