Grab your boots, because Montana roots musician Sterling Drake is heading to Australia for his first tour down under.
Presented by Love Police, Sterling Drake will wind his way down the east coast throughout October, playing 10 dates from Brisbane to Castlemaine along with a slot at Groundwater Country Music Festival on the Gold Coast.
The Montana native pulls from a deep well of American roots traditions, weaving cowboy and western tunes together with honky-tonk, Appalachian balladry and Celtic influences. A working rancher and horseman, he writes from lived experience, and a fair chunk of his songwriting makes room for conversations about isolation, substance abuse and mental health across rural and working communities.
Sterling Drake
- 15 October – Junk Bar, Brisbane, QLD (with William Alexander)
- 16 – 18 October – Groundwater Country Music Festival, Gold Coast, QLD
- 21 October – Eltham Hotel, Eltham, NSW (with The Bures Band)
- 22 October – The Stag & Hunter, Newcastle, NSW (with William Alexander)
- 23 October – Factory Floor, Sydney, NSW (with William Alexander)
- 24 October – Bar Yuki, Milton, NSW (with Misty Harlowe)
- 25 October – Smith’s Alternative, Canberra, ACT (with Misty Harlowe)
- 28 October – Tanswell’s Hotel, Beechworth, VIC (with Misty Harlowe)
- 29 October – Brunswick Artists’ Bar, Melbourne, VIC (with The High Street Drifters)
- 30 October – Archies Creek Hotel, Archies Creek, VIC (with The High Street Drifters)
- 31 October – The Bridge Hotel, Castlemaine, VIC (with The High Street Drifters), matinee
Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.
He won’t be travelling solo. Icelandic multi-instrumentalist Thorleifur Davidsson, a Grammy winner who produced Sterling Drake’s debut album The Shape I’m In, comes along for the ride, having previously worked with Sierra Ferrell, KALEO and Marcus King. Local players will also join the fold for select dates.
The supporting cast rotates as the run unfolds. William Alexander takes the stage for the Brisbane, Newcastle and Sydney shows, The Bures Band handles Eltham, and Misty Harlowe covers Milton, Canberra and Beechworth. The High Street Drifters see out the three Victorian dates.
The tour brings together two musical cultures separated by an ocean but linked by a shared love of storytelling and folk tradition. Audiences can expect songs shaped by wide-open country, dusty honky-tonks and the quieter corners of rural life.
Closer to home, there’s plenty for Victorian listeners, with Sterling Drake calling in at Beechworth’s Tanswell’s Hotel, Brunswick Artists’ Bar, Archies Creek and a matinee at Castlemaine’s The Bridge Hotel to wrap the tour. His latest record The Shape I’m In is streaming now for anyone keen to get familiar before the lights go down.
For more information, head here.
