Here We Go Again; Mass Tour Rescheduling & Postponements As COVID Crisis Continues

As the industry cries out for more financial support alongside tens of thousands of gigs falling by the wayside, COVID-19 Groundhog Day continues with a slew of upcoming tours and live events across the country postponed, rescheduled and/or cancelled.

While many artists are holding out hope to postpone shows until later in the year, some acts have had to make the difficult decision to look to 2022 to get back onstage, with Kasey Chambers and Busby Marou today announcing the postponement of the majority of their originally-planned September and October Behind The Barricades Tour pushing back until May and June next year. 

Both the West Set Music Festival and the Apia Good Times Tour have also been impacted by the ever-evolving COVID restrictions on the cast coast.

For the remaining Apia Good Times final events, all shows in Melbourne, Geelong, Sydney, Thirroul, Newcastle and Canberra have been pushed back to late November and early December, with the line-up of Brian Cadd, Deborah Conway, Joe Camilleri, John Paul Young, Kate Ceberano, Leo Sayer, Vika & Linda and Wendy Matthews staying on for the new dates.

Meanwhile, due to the recent announcement of Victoria's extended lockdown, the Maribyrnong City Council has today made the heart-breaking decision to cancel this year's West Set Festival that was due to take place after an initial reschedule from this Thursday 19 August to Sunday 29 August. 

With artists including Angie McMahon, Maple Glider and Hayley Mary lined up for the now defunct 2021 edition, the festival has announced that in lieu of the late cancellation and previous postponement in June, all artist payments will be honoured, and the festival (with permission from the artists) will connect acts with the host venues to independently reschedule performances when it's finally safe to do so. 

Teaming with the theme of basic survival as we all collectively try to make sense of the world, Melbourne rockers Tiny Little Houses have today unveiled a new tune alongside news of their rescheduled tour dates to celebrate their upcoming album Misericorde due out Friday 19 November. 

Offering a fitting soundtrack for their rescheduled shows, I'm Doing Just The Best That I Can is equal parts relatable and maudlin, offering an ode to monotonous limbo as many bands like Tiny Little Houses wait to get the show literally back on the road.

"The song itself is explanatory, I wasn't exactly deeply depressed when I wrote it but I wasn't where I wanted to be," said frontman Caleb Karvountzis of the new tune amid news of the band's rescheduled shows. 

"This was obviously far before months of forced COVID isolation, postponed shows, and a life caught in a continuous holding pattern. Now it seems this song becomes more relevant for us as each day passes.  Life hopefully will go back to normal soon, but for the moment we are doing just the best that we can."

The quartet's original tour dates set to take place in Sydney and Melbourne in June would mark Tiny Little Houses' first headline shows in three years; but a tiny silver lining for this latest rescheduling means that the group have also added a Brisbane show to the mix, planning to take on the Brightside on Saturday 16 October.

And while not immediately linked to the COVID-19 restrictions, yet another Aussie tour has today made the difficult announcement to pull the pin on their tour, with Victorian rockers Slowly Slowly putting out a statement today that the remaining dates for their The Race Car Blues Tour would be cancelled due to current health challenges for frontman Ben Stewart.

Facing a potential sixth reschedule due to the COVID parameters and the new health hurdle for Stewart, the band will refund tickets for all remaining shows.

"After many attempts at shifting dates and shuffling venue capacities to make these shows happen, we hope you know that we gave it everything we had," the official statement read today.

"While we’re all hopeful for Ben’s full recovery, it’s important that he takes some time to place his full focus on his health. With this in mind, plans for Slowly Slowly need to be put on hold for the time being."

With the ever-changing restrictions and lockdown rules relating to COVID-19 across Australia, current shows and tours are likely to continue to change with short notice. Head to theGuide for details on current tours and shows in your area, and hang on to your tickets if you can.