It’s official: Powderfinger are back.
The Australian rock juggernauts will reunite in 2027 for a run of concerts, their first in almost two decades.
The announcement was made Friday morning, Oct. 9, with a video featuring the five artists looking like the best of mates on a couch: Bernard Fanning (vocals), Ian Haug (guitars), Darren Middleton (guitars), John “JC” Collins (bass) and Jon Coghill (drums).
“Hello everyone, we’re Powderfinger. And we’ve got a little announcement to make to you today,” Fanning says at the top. “We always said that if we were going to get back together to do some shows, that you guys would be the first to know. And so, now you’re the first to know. We’re going to do some shows all around Australia from September next year.”
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Middleton adds, “we’re going to build something pretty special just for you guys.”
Further details on the tour will be announced early Monday, Oct. 12, local time.
A potential reunion has been buzzing with Powderfinger fans in recent days, thanks to a cryptic teaser campaign which has pointed to “something extraordinary.” The worst case would’ve been a 30th anniversary reissue of 1996’s Double Allergic. The best case, a tour proper.
Today’s announcement is the best-case scenario.
Hailing from Brisbane, the 2032 Olympic City, the ‘Finger, as they’re affectionately known in these parts, was one of the elite bands of their era, earning the distinction of 18 total ARIA Awards, and closing out their career with five successive No. 1 albums, a run that started with 1998’s Internationalist.
The last of those chart leaders was 2009’s Golden Rule, the band’s seventh and final studio album. The following year, in 2010, Powderfinger called it a day and waved goodbye with a final, national Sunsets tour, shifting more than 200,000 tickets.
The bandmates never fell out, which meant hopes never faded to get the old band back together. Indeed, they briefly reunited in 2020 for “One Night Lonely,” a special virtual concert which raised more than A$500,000 for music industry charity Support Act and mental wellbeing support service Beyond Blue. For that special, the musicians recorded their spots independently, due to the social distancing rules of the time.
In August 2023, the lads gathered in their hometown for a fan-event and Q&A celebrating the 20th anniversary of their fifth album Vulture Street, and again the next year for Support Act’s Music in the House fundraiser in Sydney, where Powderfinger were saluted with the excellence in community award. No instruments were strummed or struck on the night.
The timing of the tour suggests the group might be shaking off the rust for their long-overdue ARIA Hall of Fame induction, an event typically presented in November at the annual ARIA Awards. Whether international dates, or even new music, will come from this special event, all of it will be revealed.
“You’ve been with us for a long time. Through the big nights, the quiet years, and everything in between, you kept the songs going,” reads a statement from the band, issued Friday morning. “So when we had something to say, we knew who needed to hear it first. We sat down together and recorded a little message just for you guys. Thank you for being here!”
