It’s been more than five years since Courtney Barnett last toured New Zealand, and given that her last run here sold out completely, the news that she’s returning this November is going to make a lot of people very happy indeed. Four dates, four incredible venues — Hamilton’s BNZ Theatre on November 18, Auckland Town Hall on November 20, Christchurch’s Isaac Theatre Royal on November 21 and Wellington’s Michael Fowler Centre on November 22.
The tour comes in support of Creature of Habit, her fourth studio album, out now on Fiction Records, and by all accounts her most emotionally raw and compelling work to date. Written in the wake of a major life upheaval — a relocation from Australia to Los Angeles and the closure of her beloved long-running label Milk! Records — the record finds Barnett grappling with uncertainty and change and doing what she does best: turning confusion and vulnerability into something that feels deeply human and completely alive. Singles ‘Stay in Your Lane’ and ‘Site Unseen’ featuring Waxahatchee have already set the tone. The reviews have been glowing — Paste called it “a fierce reminder of why Barnett remains one of the most vital voices in modern guitar rock”, Uncut gave it four stars, and Pop Matters described it as “no frills, no fuss; just rock.”
She launched the album at Manchester’s BBC Radio 6 Music Festival last month and has been touring extensively across the UK and North America since. New Zealand gets her in November, and if you’ve ever seen Courtney Barnett live you’ll already know what’s coming — part intimate storytelling, part full-tilt indie rock, with those moody guitars and witty, laconic talk-singing that make her one of the most distinctive live performers around. If you haven’t seen her before, this is the time to fix that.
Presale opens Thursday April 16 at 11am, with general sale following Friday April 17 at 12pm. The Auckland show is presented in partnership with 95bFM.
Full dates and tickets at livenation.co.nz.