Soul Asylum will return to Australia for the first time since the mid-1990s. Photo: Supplied.
Nineties rock heavyweights Soul Asylum and Ugly Kid Joe are joining forces for an Australian co-headline tour, with Brisbane scoring the final show.
The two US bands will bring their Double Thrill tour to The Tivoli on March 21, 2027, following shows in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney.
The tour marks a particularly long-awaited Australian return for Soul Asylum, who haven’t performed here since the mid-1990s.
Formed in Minneapolis in the early 1980s, the band broke into the mainstream with their double-platinum 1992 album Grave Dancers Union and its enduring hit Runaway Train, which won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song.
The album also produced fan favourites Somebody to Shove and Black Gold, while the band’s catalogue later found its way onto the soundtracks of Kevin Smith films Chasing Amy and Clerks.
Soul Asylum released their latest album, Slowly But Shirley, in 2024.
Ugly Kid Joe will join Soul Asylum for a five-date Australian co-headline tour in March 2027. Photo: Supplied.
California rockers Ugly Kid Joe will make their own return to Australia after last touring here in 2017 for the 25th anniversary of America’s Least Wanted.
The band became one of the unlikely rock success stories of the early ’90s after their debut EP As Ugly As They Wanna Be became the first EP to be certified multi-platinum by the RIAA.
Their 1992 album America’s Least Wanted followed, spawning Everything About You, which appeared in Wayne’s World, and their hugely successful cover of Harry Chapin’s Cat’s in the Cradle.
Ugly Kid Joe reunited in 2010 after disbanding in 1997 and released their fifth studio album, Rad Wings of Destiny, in 2022. The band is also working on its next album, with guitarist and producer Dave Fortman indicating the new material will return to a heavier metal sound.
Soul Asylum and Ugly Kid Joe’s 2027 Australian tour poster.
Soul Asylum + Ugly Kid Joe Australian tour 2027
March 15: Astor Theatre, Perth
March 17: Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
March 18: Forum, Melbourne
March 20: Roundhouse, Sydney
March 21: The Tivoli, Brisbane
