Overview
One of Australia's most beloved indie-rock exports is about to pop up at gigs all over the country. The Jungle Giants have added a fresh run of regional Australian dates to their Experiencing Feelings of Joy tour, taking the Brisbane four-piece through regional New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland from Friday, 24 July.
The expanded run follows a national theatre tour through capital cities including Melbourne's Forum, Sydney's Enmore Theatre and Brisbane's Fortitude Music Hall, plus New Zealand dates in Wellington, Auckland and Christchurch. It also lands off the back of some serious chart heat — Experiencing Feelings of Joy, the band's fifth studio album, debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart and number three on the overall Albums Chart following its release in May.
The new dates kick off at Bar On The Hill in Newcastle on Friday, 24 July, before moving through Terrigal, Cairns, Townsville, Airlie Beach, Frankston, Barwon Heads, Brunswick Heads, Coffs Harbour, Coolum, Toowoomba, Wollongong and Jindabyne, wrapping up on Saturday, 29 August. The Tullamarines and Tear Drive are along for support duties across the run.
It's the band's biggest national run yet, and comes at a moment frontman Sam Hales has described as a genuine creative turnaround. "I'd overextended and kind of cooked it, but I really found myself," he said of the album's genesis. "That's where the joy comes from, having this unwavering hope even after experiencing adversity. This record is the culmination of everything for me, because I'm so in love with it and I'm so addicted to music again."
Formed in Brisbane in 2011 while the band were still at high school together, The Jungle Giants — Hales, Cesira Aitken, Andrew Dooris and Keelan Bijker — have spent more than a decade building a reputation as one of Australia's most consistently good-time dance-rock exports, from 2017's AIR Award-winning Quiet Ferocity through to 2021's chart-topping Love Signs.
Tickets for the regional shows are on sale now, with the Newcastle date kicking things off this Friday. Head to The Jungle Giants' website for the full run of dates and ticket links.
Images: supplied