Iconic singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has announced the biggest tour of his career across Australia and New Zealand.
The 17-time ARIA Award winner, 69, will hit the road in 2025 on his first headlining tour, kicking off in Perth on August 29.
From there, the Dumb Things hitmaker will head to Brisbane on August 29, Sydney on August 30, Hobart on September 2, Adelaide on September 4 and Melbourne on September 6.
He will then cross Tasmania to perform shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.
Joining Paul on the ambitious tour will be six-time Grammy winner Jason Isbell and his band The 400 Unit, as well as Australian singer-songwriter Fanny Lumsden.
The tour announcement comes just as Paul releases his 29th studio album, Forever Longing Still, which will be released on November 1.
While he is no stranger to the big stage, having supported Bob Dylan in 2001 and 2011, and Leonard Cohen in 2009 on their respective tours, this will be the first time Paul has led the charge.
talking to The AustralianPaul said it was more of a natural progression than a concerted effort on his part to move into playing scenarios.
Iconic singer-songwriter Paul Kelly has announced the biggest tour of his career across Australia and New Zealand.
“I like to keep trying different things,” he said.
‘It’s probably been a mark of what I’ve done over the years. It’s not like I wake up one morning and say, “I have to play stadiums!”‘
The To Her Door singer added that the prospect of dominating such large stages was “stressful”.
“It’s a team thing: Our agents and management say, ‘I think you should do this, let’s try it,’ and I say, ‘Yeah, okay, I haven’t done this before, let’s see how it works,'” he said.
“It’s a bit stressful, it’s an unpredictable time in music, so you just hope everything goes well.”
Tickets for all shows will go on sale Wednesday, October 30 at 3:00 p.m. local time through the Frontier Touring website.
Pre-sale begins Monday, October 28 for Frontier members.
The legendary singer recently visited Eastern Goldfields Regional Prison in Western Australia, located 600 kilometers from Perth, after learning that inmates had covered his sentimental prison ballad How To Make Gravy.
“It’s a bit stressful, it’s an unpredictable time in music, so you just hope everything goes well,” Paul told The Australian.
‘Music is a great way to be together. When you make music with someone, it’s something you can’t do alone,” Paul told Perth Now.
‘It really builds bridges. Go through walls, through the air and around the world.
‘Music is a universal language and a good example is the recording of the song. “There are a couple different languages there, but the feeling still comes through,” he continued.
The legendary song has been adapted into film form and will be Binge’s first feature film, arriving on the streamer on December 1.
Like the 1996 song, the film tells the story of prisoner Joe (Daniel Henshall), who writes to his brother Dan (Brenton Thwaites) to share his recipe for the perfect sauce for Christmas dinner.
Kelly has won multiple awards since launching her music career in 1974 and has a string of hits to her name, including 1987’s cult favorite To Her Door.