For the first time in nine years, Americana duo Gillian Welch and David Rawlings will return to Australia for a tour.
They’ll be playing five shows across Sydney and Melbourne in January 2025, in support of their critically acclaimed album, Woodland.
Sydney Opera House will see two nights with the pair, on January 24 and 25. Welch and Rawlings will then head to Melbourne for a three night stint at Hamer Hall, on January 28, 29, and 30.
The second presale for the performances opens at 9am AEST tomorrow, on September 11, while the Sydney Opera House Insiders presale is open now (September 10). General sale opens 24 hours after the second presale, at 9am AEST on September 12, via Love Police.
These performances come off the back for a 40+ date tour across the United States.
Woodland marks the Grammy Award-winning duo’s first album together in 13 years. The record itself was shaped by a catastrophic tornado that hit Nashville in 2020. In an interview with The New Yorker, Welch and Rawlings revealed that they were at their Woodland studio when the tornado hit.
Detailing their ordeal of trying to save their tapes and instruments as the ceiling of the studio fell around them, Welch said, “It was very chaotic and very scary…We didn’t know how much of the building had been compromised, because we couldn’t see. It was the middle of the night, and we knew that water was starting to come through, and so we kept moving stuff to a place we thought was safe. And when I say stuff, I mean so much stuff. All of our master tapes, all of our guitars. Everything. Our entire musical life.”
Managing to save the majority of their essentials, the duo went on to name their new album Woodland, after the studio.
GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS 2025 AUSTRALIAN TOUR
24 JANUARY – SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, SYDNEY, NSW
25 JANUARY - SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE, SYDNEY, NSW
28 JANUARY – HAMER HALL, ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE, VIC
29 JANUARY – HAMER HALL, ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE, VIC
30 JANUARY – HAMER HALL, ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE, VIC
Find tickets and more information at Love Police.