The Necks to Play 14-Date Australian Tour

May 1, 2023

Preeminent instrumental trio The Necks released their 19th studio album, Travel, in February 2023. The Australian improvisationalists will head out on an extensive national tour this month, playing a total of 14 shows on a trek that winds up in early July.

Travel has been hailed as a triumph by critics around the world, but don’t expect to hear any of its four tracks on the forthcoming tour. Band members Chris Abrahams, Tony Buck and Lloyd Swanton are committed to long-form improvisation and the trio typically takes the stage with nothing prepared in advance.

The Necks: Travel

That said, the four recordings on Travel – each of which clocks in at around the 20-minute mark – are an apt example of the minimalist experimentation that characterises The Necks’ famed live shows. The album received doting reviews from Uncut UK and The New Yorker, and the band appeared on the cover of the March edition of The Wire.

“No group in creative music is quite like the Australian trio,” said The Wire‘s Daniel Spicer. “[The Necks’] modal and minimalist performances extend a single idea to infinity.”

The forthcoming Australian tour includes a couple of shows at the Sydney Opera House for Vivid LIVE, three shows at Melbourne’s Brunswick Ballroom and a couple of shows at Boola Bardip Museum in Perth. The tour begins at Sandgate Town Hall in Brisbane on Saturday, 6th May. Find all tour dates below and get your hands on Travel here.