Palace
Palace | Credit: Ian Laidlaw

UK Band Palace on their Relationship with Australia: “It’s a Dream Come True for Us”

Palace just wrapped up their second Australian tour in the space of nine months. The London indie band debuted on these shores in December 2022, a trip they describe as “one of the best tours [they’ve] ever been on.”

The band’s most recent visit consisted of just two shows, the first being a Friday night slot at Splendour in the Grass. The band’s latest release is the four-song EP, Part I – When Everything Was Lost, out now via Fiction Records. While in town, Palace told us how special it is to connect with audiences so far from home.

Palace – ‘All We’ve Ever Wanted’

Palace: It’s 5am in Auckland airport, the morning after our first ever shows here in New Zealand. The jet lag/hangover combination is proving to be a fruitful partnership. We’re crusty but buzzing. At this point we’re fuelled by residual adrenalin from the shows and the excitement and anticipation of coming back to Australia to play the legendary Splendour In The Grass. Three-hour flight to the Gold Coast and we’re there. 

It’s the “Glastonbury of Australia” we’ve heard people say, which certainly gets the blood pumping. Our hopes are high as hell, plus there are rumours of free massages backstage – that may be a mythical breeze. We’ll soon find out. 

It’s a real honour to be asked to play SITG. In fact, any festival/show in Australia is a dream come true for us. We honestly never dreamt we’d get here – as cliché as that sounds, it’s the truth. And here we are: four pasty English boys playing a Friday evening slot. It’s a pinch ourselves moment for sure. 

This will be the second time for us playing in Aus. The first was one of the best tours we’ve ever been on. The audiences here may well be the best we’ve played to – fiercely passionate and singing so loud it makes your bones rattle. There will forever be a huge space in our hearts for Aus and its fans. The connection is getting deeper by the day and we want to come over as much as is humanly possible. The only downside is my legs are long AF and the flight(s) with no legroom can be brutal. But to be fair, I’d be happy to go in the undercarriage just to come back here. 

Life is a strange and beautifully unpredictable thing. It was never even a consideration that we’d get to see the world through our music. We never imagined we’d have people who connected so deeply with the music we make.

We started Palace for ourselves – it came from an honest place of just wanting to make music, drink and hang out. To see where it’s gone is wild. It’s profoundly humbling, and however long we get to do this for, just to get this far is beyond our wildest dreams. 

Palace at Splendour in the Grass 2023 | Ian Laidlaw

Further Reading

Listen to Molly Payton’s New EP ‘Compromise’

Love Letter to a Record: Ivey on Palace’s ‘So Long Forever’

100 gecs Cancel European Tour, Citing Physical and Mental Exhaustion

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