A loan from his dad and a home studio: that’s how Damien Rice made O, 25 years ago.
Now the album is turning 25 and Damien Rice is taking it on a world tour, with one city for every year since it came out. Melbourne is first on the list. The Irish singer-songwriter plays Hamer Hall on 9 February 2027, then heads to Sydney for two nights at Sydney Opera House Concert Hall on 11 and 12 February.
Before O, Rice had already walked away from a record deal. He spent a stint farming in Tuscany and busked his way around Europe, landing back in Ireland in 1999 with a pile of songs and not much else. The deal his father offered was simple: if Rice finished the record, the loan didn’t need to be paid back. His second cousin, the composer David Arnold, chipped in equipment and encouragement. Rice made the whole thing at home and put it out on his own label in February 2002. He figured at the time it would be the only album he ever made.
Damien Rice: O 25th Anniversary Tour
- Hamer Hall, Melbourne – 9 February 2027 (Lic. All Ages)
- Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney – 11 February 2027 (Lic. All Ages)
- Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney – 12 February 2027 (Lic. All Ages)
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
After Sydney, Rice heads north through Asia, with shows in Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong and Seoul before wrapping that leg at Taipei International Convention Center on 3 March. Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre has him on 21 and 22 March, and the European run winds through Lisbon, Madrid, Rome, Zurich, Berlin, Paris and Amsterdam. London gets two nights across two venues, the Lyceum Theatre and the London Palladium, on 19 and 20 April, before Manchester’s Opera House closes out the UK leg on 23 and 24 April.
The Americas come last. Sala São Paulo kicks that stretch off on 3 May, with Mexico City, Chicago, Toronto and Brooklyn in between, and the last confirmed date is the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on 25 May. Two more cities are still to be announced.
Tickets for the Australian shows are on sale now. Every local date is licensed and all ages, with Frontier Touring, Chugg Entertainment and Gaynor Crawford presenting. Stick to the authorised sellers listed on the Frontier website, because the promoters won’t stand behind tickets bought anywhere else.
For more information, head here.
