London musician Nabihah Iqbal will play her first Australian live shows in January 2024. Iqbal is touring in support of her second album, Dreamer, released on Ninja Tune in April 2023. Iqbal has been to Australia a few times in the past for DJ gigs, including in June 2023 when she headlined Nature’s Calling for Vivid Sydney.
The British-Pakistani musician will perform in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney in early January, and take a trip across the Tasman for shows in Wellington and Auckland. The Sydney gig is part of Sydney Festival 2024 – Iqbal will play at pop-up festival venue The Thirsty Mile, situated within the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct. Details below.
Nabihah Iqbal – ‘Sunflower’
Iqbal and her band have toured across the US, UK and Europe since Dreamer came out in April. The new record follows Iqbal’s debut LP, Weighing of the Heart, from 2017. Prior to Weighing of the Heart, Iqbal worked under the name Throwing Shade, releasing the EPs 19 Jewels (2014), Fate Xclusive (2015) and House of Silk (2016).
Iqbal spoke to Music Feeds earlier in 2023 about the circumstances that preceded the recording of Dreamer. Her studio was burgled pre-Covid and the thieves absconded with hard drives full of music. She was visiting a sick grandparent in Pakistan when the pandemic broke out, forcing her to stay much longer than planned – a blessing in disguise.
“I had really bad burnout, actually, at the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020,” Iqbal said. “No one knew what was wrong with me but it was just from too much touring and everything. And being out in Pakistan just fixed me, because all I needed was proper rest and sun and good food and being healthy. That was amazing.”
Nabihah Iqbal 2024 Australia/NZ Tour
- Thursday, 4th January – Stranded, Brisbane QLD
- Friday, 5th January – The Night Cat, Melbourne VIC
- Saturday, 13th January – Sydney Festival @ The Thirsty Mile, Sydney NSW
- Tuesday, 16th January – Meow, Wellington NZ
- Wednesday, 17th January – Neck Of The Woods, Auckland NZ
Tickets via Astral People
Further Reading
Nabihah Iqbal: “I’m Confident in Myself Because I Know People Appreciate What I Do”
Sydney Festival 2024: The Teskey Brothers, Courtney Barnett, Anoushka Shankar + More
