American metalcore band Shai Hulud have cancelled their upcoming Australian tour dates, citing slow ticket sales and increased costs of travelling to and playing shows Down Under.

The shows were set to take place in January 2026 and included an appearance at the Perth edition of next year’s Froth & Fury Festival.

With dates also scheduled for Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart, and Melbourne, the tour would have marked the band’s first appearances in Australia in 13 years – since performing at Soundwave 2013 – and their first headlining tour Down Under since 2010.

Australian fans would have seen the band reunited with lead vocalist Geert van der Velde, who rejoined Shai Hulud last year, nearly 20 years after originally departing the group in 2005.

In a statement posted on social media, Shai Hulud announced that the tour was cancelled as ticket sales in “some locations just didn’t come together” in a way that would have been feasible for the band.

“We’re really sorry to share this. After putting a lot of work into these shows, and despite members taking time off work and our agency running additional ads, ticket sales in some locations just didn’t come together in a way that made the risk manageable for us,” the band shared.

They continued, “With heavy hearts, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the Shai Hulud dates scheduled for January 2026. We’re genuinely sorry to everyone who bought tickets and was excited to be there with us. We were so looking forward to it.”

Adding that all tickets will be fully refunded, Shai Hulud outlined the importance of punters purchasing pre-sale tickets. “One thing we want to share openly: for bands doing international tours, pre-sales matter a lot. If you love a band and plan to go, buying early truly helps make these tours possible.

“We have seen success by taking the risk and going out there, trusting that our fans show up on the day that we play. And, they do, sometimes to our surprise. But, with international flights being extremely costly and all of those costs coming up front it became a very difficult risk to manage for ourselves and our families. 

“Thank you for supporting live music, it means more than you know, and even more now.”

Tour promoters Southern Extremeties Productions described the current touring climate as “complex and challenging” and admitted that the Shai Hulud tour has been affected by uncertainty.

“In 20+ years of running shows and tours, SEP has only ever cancelled ONE (which was out of our hands), and we will usually push forward in just about any situation, win or lose. The reality is, to keep doing what we are doing, we have to make hard choices at times, and here we are,” they said.

The promoters continued, “Apologies to anyone who was keen for these shows, apologies to the bands who were excited to support this killer act, we are just as disappointed, that's for sure.

“All ticket holders will be refunded. Please keep supporting live music, it's a magical thing, and something we really need in the world atm.”

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