Gorillaz Announce 2022 Australian Tour
Gorillaz have announced a handful of Australian shows for next year, marking their first gigs in the country in more than a decade.
The virtual band’s two headline shows sit alongside their previously announced slot at the festival Splendour In The Grass, taking place in Byron Bay, New South Wales in July 2022. Tyler, The Creator, and The Strokes have also been confirmed as co-headliners.
The Australian tour follows the release of their latest album, Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez, which includes collaborations with Elton John, Robert Smith, St. Vincent, Peter Hook, Beck, and more artists.
The band followed it up with a three-track EP last month, Meanwhile, which celebrates Notting Hill Carnival. Gorillaz co-creator Damon Albarn had previously discussed working on “carnival-themed” music.
“We’re really going back to the spirit of the first record [their self-titled 2001 album],” he told NME in June.
“It’s really exciting and we’ve been really enjoying it. It’s a nice kind of counter-balance to ‘The Nearer The Fountain…’, really. I’ve definitely needed a dose of something else after I finished that record. Steel pan drums and Casio MT-40s were always going to be a good cure.”
Here are Gorillaz’s 2022 Australian tour dates:
Fri 22 July – Splendour in the Grass, Byron Bay
Sun 24 July – John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Tue 26 July – Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney
Recently, Damon Albarn has revealed that he has collaborated with Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny for a forthcoming Gorillaz project.
As reported by Remezcla, Albarn told Warp in an interview that he and Bad Bunny – real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio – linked up while the two were both in Jamaica.
“What I love about Gorillaz is that I can bring [in] anyone I want, you know?” he said. “I was in Jamaica recently and recorded a Gorillaz song with Bad Bunny, that’s something exciting for next year.”
Albarn also revealed that the collaboration will serve as the lead single to Gorillaz’ forthcoming project, which he says is inspired by Latin America.
