The Wallflowers Announce First Australian Tour, Playing 'Bringing Down the Horse' in Full
The Wallflowers will play Australia for the first time this December, with a five-date tour marking the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album Bringing Down the Horse. The band will perform the album in full at every show, according to Billboard.
Presented by promoter Love Police, the tour opens Dec. 4 at Palais Theatre in Melbourne, followed by Anita's Theatre in Thirroul on Dec. 5, Liberty Hall in Sydney on Dec. 6, Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane on Dec. 8, and Hindley Street Music Hall in Adelaide on Dec. 9. A promoter presale begins Wednesday, Aug. 26, with general tickets on sale Friday, Aug. 28.
Bringing Down the Horse arrived on May 21, 1996. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 — the US album chart — and was certified quadruple platinum in the US, meaning shipments of over four million units. In Australia, the album went gold and reached No. 9 on the ARIA chart.
The record's lead single, "One Headlight," topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock, Modern Rock and Triple-A airplay charts simultaneously — a rare triple crown across the three rock radio formats. The song went on to win two Grammy Awards in 1998: best rock song and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals.
Each Australian show will also feature a full performance of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' 1982 album Long After Dark. The band says the tribute reflects a formative influence on frontman Jakob Dylan, Petty's work having shaped the Wallflowers' own songwriting approach.
Love Police's BT announced the tour in a statement, praising both Bringing Down the Horse and the added Petty album performance as elements that set these shows apart.
For Australian audiences, the tour resolves a three-decade gap. The Wallflowers have toured widely across North America and Europe since the mid-1990s but had never scheduled dates in Australia. The December run covers five cities across four states, with venues ranging from the 2,800-capacity Palais Theatre to the 3,300-capacity Fortitude Music Hall — rooms suited to a band whose draw is measured in dedicated album-era fans rather than stadium-scale crowds.
The decision to perform Long After Dark in full adds a second complete album to each night. Petty's record, his fifth with the Heartbreakers, featured the singles "You Got Lucky" and "Change the Heart," and marked a turn toward a tighter, more synthesiser-driven sound for the band. Dylan has spoken repeatedly about Petty's influence on his writing, making the pairing less a novelty and more a stated artistic lineage.
Tickets go on sale Aug. 28 through Love Police and standard ticketing outlets.
