The demand for The Drones leads to Australian headline tour

After a decade-long hiatus, The Drones are back.

In 2026, Australia will once again bear witness to one of its most revered underground bands, as Gareth Liddiard and Fiona Kitschin lead a rare, one-off national tour.

The Drones rocking run will start up north at Darwin Festival on Saturday 8 August, before heading to Thornbury Theatre on Friday 14 August, Crowbar Brisbane, Marrickville, Adelaide, Perth, and then back to Victoria for a stop into Theatre Royal Castlemaine on 11 September, concluding at Archie’s Creek Hotel on Saturday 12 September.

The Drones Australian Tour

Saturday, 8 Aug Darwin Festival Darwin NT

Friday, 14 Aug Thornbury Theatre Thornbury VIC

Friday, 28 Aug Crowbar Brisbane QLD

Saturday, 29 Aug Factory Theatre Marrickville NSW

Friday, 4 Sept The Gov Adelaide SA

Saturday, 5 Sept Rechabite Perth WA

Friday, 11 Sept Theatre Royal Castlemaine VIC

Saturday, 12 Sept Archie’s Creek Hotel Archies Creek VIC

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The return was first teased in June 2025 with two intimate fundraiser shows at Melbourne’s Croxton Bandroom. Tickets vanished in twenty minutes—an emphatic reminder that a full-scale tour was overdue. Now, fans across the country will finally experience the band live, with a setlist spanning their seven acclaimed studio albums.

For Liddiard and Kitschin, this marks a brief pause from their other project, Tropical F Storm, which over the past ten years has traversed the globe, releasing ARIA Award-winning albums and cementing itself as a formidable force in contemporary Australian music.

The Drones have always thrived in the liminal space between chaos and control. Their live performances are legendary: confrontational, cathartic, and thrilling in equal measure. At the helm, Liddiard—whose other collaborations include Springtime, Spencer P. Jones and the Nothing Butts, and Bond Odyssey—is a songwriter of rare intensity, combining poetic density, spitting vocal delivery, and an uncompromising vision. His work is equally lauded by critics, peers, and fans for its fusion of political sharpness, dark humour, vivid storytelling, and uncompromising musical force.

Across seven studio albums, The Drones have transformed their outsider status into a badge of honour, delivering classics such as Taman Shud, Shark Fin Blues, I See Seaweed, and River of Tears. Their 2005 LP, Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By, won the inaugural Australian Music Prize, while tours alongside Neil Young, Patti Smith, and The Dirty Three cemented their place in the pantheon of modern Australian music.

The Drones’ 2016 return to The Tote, with five consecutive sold-out nights, reminded everyone why they remain a vital, uncompromising force. Now, with this 2026 national tour, the band invites a new generation—and old devotees alike—to witness them at their exhilarating best. This is not just a reunion: it is an event not to be missed.

Tickets for the Theatre Royal show can be collected here.