American singer-songwriter Cat Power has announced an Australian tour celebrating the 20th anniversary of her landmark 2006 album The Greatest, with a series of national performances culminating in a special appearance at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens as part of the Live at the Gardens concert series.
by Paul Cashmere
The tour, scheduled for November and December 2026, will see Cat Power, born Chan Marshall, perform The Greatest in its entirety alongside selections spanning more than three decades of recording. The Melbourne event, set for 3 December at the Royal Botanic Gardens, will feature support from American singer-songwriter Courtney Marie Andrews and Melbourne band Hedge Burners.
The anniversary performances arrive at a time when legacy albums are increasingly being revisited on stage, allowing audiences to experience influential records as complete works rather than collections of individual songs. For Cat Power, whose catalogue has consistently evolved across folk, blues, indie rock and soul influences, The Greatest remains a pivotal release that broadened her audience and established a new creative direction.
Recorded in Memphis with members of the celebrated Hi Rhythm Section, the album represented a significant shift in Marshall’s sound. Veteran Memphis musicians including Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, Leroy “Flick” Hodges and Steve Potts helped shape a record steeped in Southern soul while retaining the emotional intimacy that had characterised Cat Power’s earlier work.
Songs such as “Living Proof”, “Lived In Bars”, “Could We” and the title track showcased a warmer and more expansive production style than previous releases. The album’s understated arrangements and restrained performances earned widespread critical acclaim upon release and continue to resonate two decades later.
The impact of The Greatest extended beyond critical recognition. In 2007, Marshall became the first female recipient of the prestigious Shortlist Music Prize for the album. The award, determined by fellow musicians and industry peers, cemented the record’s reputation as one of the standout releases of its era.
Looking back, the album occupies a unique place in Cat Power’s extensive discography. Emerging after years of critically respected but often challenging releases including Moon Pix, The Covers Record and You Are Free, The Greatest offered a more polished and accessible sound without sacrificing artistic integrity.
Marshall’s career has consistently defied easy categorisation. Since emerging from Atlanta’s underground music scene in the early 1990s, she has moved between folk, blues, indie rock, soul and experimental music. Her body of work includes acclaimed albums such as Moon Pix, Sun, Wanderer and Covers, while her 2023 release Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert further demonstrated her ability to reinterpret influential works through her own distinctive lens.
The Australian dates also coincide with a renewed focus on The Greatest itself. A 20th anniversary edition of the album is scheduled for release on 10 July through Matador Records, featuring a reissue of the original pink foil artwork and a limited pink vinyl pressing.
For Melbourne audiences, the concert adds another major event to the growing Live at the Gardens series. Now entering its fifth season, the collaboration between MG Live and Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne has become a fixture of the city’s summer concert calendar. Previous editions have hosted artists including Franz Ferdinand, Groove Armada, Leftfield, The Living End, Cut Copy, Sarah Blasko, Vika & Linda and Chet Faker.
The outdoor setting provides a fitting backdrop for music as intimate and atmospheric as Cat Power’s. While the anniversary of The Greatest forms the centrepiece of the tour, the performances also offer an opportunity to revisit a catalogue that has influenced generations of songwriters and performers.
Twenty years after its release, The Greatest remains one of the defining albums of the 2000s indie era. The forthcoming Australian tour will give audiences the opportunity to hear the record performed in full by the artist who created it, while reflecting on a career that continues to evolve.
Cat Power – The Greatest On Tour
26 November, Auckland, Bruce Mason Centre
27 November, Wellington, The Opera House
30 November, Brisbane, The Tivoli
2 December, Geelong, Costa Hall
3 December, Melbourne, Royal Botanic Gardens
5 December, Adelaide, Hindley St. Music Hall
7 December, Sydney, Sydney Opera House
9 December, Canberra, Canberra Theatre Centre
11 December, Perth, Astor Theatre
Tickets
Presale begins Wednesday 17 June 2026 at 9.00am local time.
General public tickets go on sale Friday 19 June 2026 at 9.00am local time.
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