Rufus Wainwright Announces 2025 Australian Tour

Canadian American singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright has announced his return to Australia, revealing his first tour dates down under since 2019.

Set to play “stripped-back shows,” Wainwright’s tour dates will take place in January 2025 at the Fremantle Arts Centre on Saturday, 4 January, Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, 8 January (as part of Sydney Festival), Melbourne Recital Centre on Friday, 10 January, Hobart’s Odeon Theatre on Sunday, 12 January, and a full-seated show at The Tivoli in Brisbane on Tuesday, 14 January.

The three-time Grammy nominee said of the forthcoming tour: “I have always loved playing Australia. I love the country, the culture, nature and the people.

“There is an appreciation and enthusiasm for music which is hard to find anywhere in the world. Australia has some of the most beautiful venues. I love how warmly I am being welcomed in this amazing continent. I am sorry I cannot be there more often, so hopefully, this time around, we can really have a wonderful time together.”

Since his last tour of Australia, Wainwright has released the albums Unfollow The Rules (2020) and Folkocracy (2023), the latter of which saw the singer-songwriter collaborate with the likes of John Legend, David Byrne, Chaka Khan, Andrew Bird, Brandi Carlile, Sheryl Crow, and more.

Frontier Members can access pre-sale tickets to the tour (excluding the Sydney and Fremantle dates) from 1 pm AEST on Thursday, 12 September, before the general tickets go on sale at 1 pm local time on Monday, 16 September. You can find more ticketing information on the Frontier Touring and Sydney Festival websites.

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