Fleet Foxes return to Australia over New Years 2017-18, with national performances at the Falls Festival and a sideshow at Palais Theatre in Melbourne where they’ll be joined by Gordi.
The visit follows their appearance as part of VividLIVE in May 2017. At VividLIVE, the band returned from a five-year hiatus for a series of performances at the Sydney Opera House.
Fleet Foxes released their third album – Crack-Up – in June. The album comes six years after the 2011 release of Helplessness Blues and nearly a decade since the band’s 2008 self-titled debut. All eleven of the songs on Crack-Up were written by Robin Pecknold. Pecknold co-produced the record with Skyler Skjelset, his longtime bandmate, collaborator, and childhood friend.
Fleet Foxes’ self-titled debut made a profound impact on the international musical landscape. It earned them Uncut’s first ever Music Award Prize, and topped numerous “Best of” lists. Among these was Rolling Stone’s 100 Best Albums of the 2000s. Fleet Foxes went Gold in North America, and Platinum in the UK and Australia. The follow-up album Helplessness Blues garnered the similar critical praise. The album debuted at #4 on the US Billboard Top 200, went Gold in the UK, and earned the band a Grammy nomination.
Gordi is the project of Sophie Payten who will feature tracks from her debut album Reservoir. The album was written and recorded by 24 year old Payten in Wisconsin, Reykjavik, Los Angeles, New York and Sydney. Payten produced two of the tracks herself (“Heaven I Know” & “I’m Done”), and co-produced the rest alongside Tim Anderson (Solange), Ben McCarthy, Ali Chant (PJ Harvey) and Alex Somers (Sigur Ros).
Dates and venues for Fleet Foxes tour are:
Falls Festivals – Lorne: 30 December 2017 (sold out)
– Marion Bay: 31 December 2017
– Byron Bay: 1 January 2018 (sold out)
Palais Theatre, Melbourne (w. Gordi): 3 January 2018
Falls Festival, Fremantle: 6 January 2018
Tickets are now on sale at fallsfestival.com and handsometours.com
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Crack-Up by Fleet Foxes – music review
- Stella Donnelly on tour – music news
- New music round-up (for w/e 17 December 2021)
David Edwards is the editor of The Blurb and a contributor on film and television