Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates have booked 25 shows for 2027, and one of them is on an island.
The island in question is Dangar Island in the Hawkesbury River, where the bowling club hosts Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates on 14 March, the third night of their Revival tour. Things kick off at Warners Bay Theatre on 12 March and finish at Portland Arts Centre on 30 May, working through New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, the ACT and Victoria in between.
Sydney’s The Vanguard is the only room booked twice, on 9 and 10 April, while Adelaide gets a single night in the Aurora Spiegeltent at The Garden of Unearthly Delights on 20 March.
Mahalia Barnes + The Soul Mates: Revival tour 2027
- 12 March: Warners Bay Theatre, Warners Bay NSW
- 13 March: Avoca Beach Theatre, Avoca Beach NSW
- 14 March: Dangar Island Bowling Club, Dangar Island NSW
- 20 March: Aurora Spiegeltent, The Garden of Unearthly Delights, Adelaide SA
- 3 April: The Wedge, Sale VIC
- 4 April: Archies Creek Hotel, Archies Creek VIC
- 9 April: The Vanguard, Sydney NSW
- 10 April: The Vanguard, Sydney NSW
- 15 April: Brunswick Picture House, Brunswick Heads NSW
- 16 April: Lefty’s Music Hall, Brisbane QLD
- 17 April: The Playhouse at The Events Centre, Caloundra QLD
- 18 April: Imperial Hotel, Eumundi QLD
- 23 April: Blue Mountains Theatre, Blue Mountains NSW
- 30 April: Milton Theatre, Milton NSW
- 1 May: Belco Arts Centre, Canberra ACT
- 2 May: The Victoria, Bathurst NSW
- 6 May: The Shed Theatre, The Pig & Whistle, Main Ridge VIC
- 7 May: Theatre Royal, Castlemaine VIC
- 8 May: Brunswick Ballroom, Melbourne VIC
- 15 May: Tamworth Town Hall, Tamworth NSW
- 16 May: The Civic Theatre, Gunnedah NSW
- 27 May: Frankston Arts Centre, Frankston VIC
- 28 May: Memo Music Hall, St Kilda VIC
- 29 May: Queenscliff Town Hall, Queenscliff VIC
- 30 May: Portland Arts Centre, Portland VIC
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
Victoria scores nine dates, second only to New South Wales with 11. Closer to town, Brunswick Ballroom has them on 8 May, Frankston Arts Centre on 27 May and Memo Music Hall in St Kilda on 28 May. Further out, they’re at The Wedge in Sale on 3 April and the Archies Creek Hotel the next day, before coming back in May for The Shed Theatre at The Pig & Whistle in Main Ridge and Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal. Queenscliff Town Hall and Portland Arts Centre take the last two nights of the whole run. Before any of that, the band warms up at Brighter Days Festival in Bright on 7 March, with tickets already on sale through Eventbrite.
Barnes grew up on soul records by Ray Charles, Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder, plus a fair whack of Cold Chisel, her dad Jimmy’s band. She and the Soul Mates have since opened for Bruce Springsteen, Mavis Staples, The Roots and Tom Jones, and have spent more than 20 years headlining their own shows here and overseas.
Members get first dibs, with a presale opening at 11am AEDT on 27 October and running until 10am on 28 October. General public tickets go on sale an hour after that, at 11am AEDT on 28 October, through the Mahalia Barnes website.
Who turns up on any given night depends on the gig. The Soul Mates lineup floats, with Clayton Doley, Franco Raggatt and Benjamin Rodgers among the players who rotate through, and it can shrink to an acoustic duo or swell into a 14-piece.
For more information, head here.
