The Whitlams are touring their favourite theatres and pubs for the 25th anniversary of Love This City
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19.06.2024

The Whitlams are touring their favourite theatres and pubs for the 25th anniversary of Love This City

The Whitlams
Words by Staff Writer

The Whitlams' Love This City 25 Years Tour goes on sale this Thursday 20 June at 10am.

Visiting their favourite theatres and pubs around Australia over 12 dates, the band will tour with one of the country’s best brass sections to punch out the interwoven melodies that so defined the lushly orchestrated long player.

Love This City (1999) was The Whitlams’ fourth album, a much anticipated big-budget follow-up to the award-winning Eternal Nightcap which had led them to Best Group and Best Song at the ARIA Awards the previous year.

The Whitlams tour

  • Friday 4th October – Corner Hotel – Richmond, VIC
  • Saturday 5th October – Corner Hotel – Richmond, VIC
  • Friday 11th October – City Recital Hall – Sydney, NSW
  • Thursday 17th October – Canberra Theatre Centre – Canberra, ACT
  • Friday 18th October – Odeon Theatre – Hobart, TAS
  • Saturday 19th October – Craigie Knowe Vineyard – Cranbrook, TAS
  • Saturday 2nd November – Princess Theatre – Woolloongabba, QLD
  • Friday 8th November – Anita’s Theatre – Thirroul, NSW
  • Saturday 9th November – Newcastle Civic Theatre – Newcastle, NSW
  • Thursday 14th November – Astor Theatre – Perth, WA
  • Friday 15th November – Shelter Brewing Co – Busselton, WA
  • Saturday 7th December – The Gov – Hindmarsh, SA

Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

Since 2022, a reinvigorated Tim Freedman has led The Whitlams in a resurgence, touring heavily and releasing two new albums – Sancho (2022) and Kookaburra (2024), the latter an Americana-shaded album which still sits at #3 on the ARIA Australian Country Albums chart three months after its release.

With one eye thus firmly in the present, Freedman will take the time in October and November to look back fondly to an album that, at the time, seemed like it would make or break him. The initial critical reception was rapturous, but the surprising choice of first single Chunky Chunky Air Guitar proved to be a stumble, considered as a puzzling novelty song unrepresentative of the band.

The second and third singles corrected the ship, when Blow Up the Pokies and Thank You (for loving me at my worst) were successful at radio and drove the album to double platinum status. Love This City has retained its solid reputation and was placed along with its predecessor in Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Albums of All-time, with Eternal Nightcap at #36, and Love This City at #101.

Tim Freedman will be joined by long term cohort’s guitarist Jak Housden and drummer Terepai Richmond, who were both part of the sessions back in 1999, with new member multi-instrumentalist Ian Peres.

It will be an evening of memories, melody and humour as the band delivers its usual rambunctious performance, complete with the power of brass.

Find tickets here.