Leroy Macqueen (The Gooch Palms) Announces Melbourne Residency and Teases New Music

May 8, 2023

It’s been more than three years since Leroy Macqueen and Kat Friend announced the end of their garage rock’n’roll project The Gooch Palms. The Newcastle band had a bunch of farewell shows booked from March to May 2020, but Covid derailed their tour plans.

Since the split, Macqueen, the band’s front person and primary songwriter, has embarked on an alt-country solo project. Macqueen released their debut single, ‘On the Run’, in April 2021, and unveiled their debut EP, The Only One, the following month. Their next single, ‘Stepping Out’, will be available on Thursday, 25th May, and they’ve announced a four-date Melbourne residency to celebrate.

Leroy Macqueen – ‘On the Run’

Macqueen is set to play Collingwood venue The Gem every Sunday afternoon from 21st May through 11th June. They’ll be accompanied by Dan Brodie on keys, while K.Walsh, Liam Wright, Patrick Wilson and HOGWASH will split support duties.

The residency kicks off on the two-year anniversary of The Only One, a four-track EP that included the aforementioned ‘On the Run’. In the EP’s promo material, Macqueen was described as an “Aussie-cowfolk-diva and ballad daddy crooner extraordinaire.”

Meanwhile, Macqueen and Friend haven’t completely abandoned The Gooch Palms just yet. The pair appeared at Grain’s Birthday Weekender in Brisbane in October 2022. They’re on the lineup for the Cambridge Hotel’s Farewell Festival this June. They’ll be performing on the final night of the festival ahead of headliners Grinspoon.