NO CIGAR are bringing their biggest Australian tour yet to the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and Brisbane. Photo: Tom Grunt.
Auckland indie band NO CIGAR say Australia now feels like a second home as they prepare to kick off their biggest Australian tour yet on the Sunshine Coast.
The New Zealand group will open their Australian run at Pulse Bar on September 10, with Brisbane band Tear Drive supporting, before heading to Miami Marketta on the Gold Coast and The Triffid in Brisbane.
Australia has become NO CIGAR’s biggest listening market after the band first took a punt on touring here in early 2023. The run is part of a 33-show international tour running from September to November.
Ahead of the first show, YELO caught up with the band about why Australia clicked, what they’ve been writing and how close they are to ditching the day jobs.
Q&A with NO CIGAR
YELO: This is your biggest Australian tour yet, and Australia is now NO CIGAR’s biggest listening market. When did you realise it had become a genuine second home for the band?
NO CIGAR: Ever since we took the punt and came over here at the start of 2023. At first we didn’t really know what to expect, but the Aussie crowds blew us away. They seemed to listen more than our NZ audiences. They were more attentive, and we knew very few people in the crowd. We’ve made great connections within the industry and with our fanbase, it really does just feel like an extension of us.
YELO: You’re kicking off the Australian tour at Pulse Bar with Tear Drive. What should someone seeing NO CIGAR for the first time expect when you hit the stage?
NO CIGAR: Expect nothing, but hope that it will be one of the great Thursday nights of your life. We’ll do our best to make it that way.
YELO: Under The Surface moves through rock, indie, funk and some much quieter moments. As you explore new sounds, what are you trying now that feels risky or unfamiliar?
NO CIGAR: We’re always trying something new. We’ve just come out of a songwriting phase that has been extremely fulfilling and fruitful. A lot of what we create is built around the vibe in the room and space. Escapism has always been a means of creating that connected energy. We follow what feels right at the time, which in the moment doesn’t feel unfamiliar or risky, though it may sound that way.
YELO: You’ve built NO CIGAR while balancing other jobs and sharing the management workload between you. Is there a point where the band has to become the day job, and how close are you to it?
NO CIGAR: Music has always been the dream. We started playing together for the love of it, and the relative success we’ve seen came as a byproduct of that. We still love it as much if not more than when we started. We have some big goals and aspirations as a collective, and day jobs aren’t exactly a part of that plan. We’re getting closer.
YELO: Someone once described NO CIGAR as “Kings of Leon for vegans.” Is that annoyingly accurate, and what would your own equally ridiculous description be?
NO CIGAR: We all had a good laugh when we saw that YouTube comment a few years back, so much so that we chucked it in our DSP bio for a while there. It’s a solid backhanded compliment. We’ll take it.
NO CIGAR’s 2026 Australian tour runs through September and October, including shows on the Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast and in Brisbane. Supplied.
