Ed Kuepper and Jim White Announce First U.S. Shows With Mick Harvey

Ed Kuepper, twice inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame as a founding member of both The Saints and Laughing Clowns, will finally bring his acclaimed collaboration with Dirty Three drummer Jim White to the United States for the first time this November. The pair will perform in Los Angeles on November 4 and New York on November 17, with support from none other than Mick Harvey of The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds.

The U.S. dates follow the March 2025 release of After the Flood, the duo’s debut album on 12XU, the boutique label founded by Matador Records’ Gerard Cosloy. The record revisits key songs from Kuepper’s vast catalogue — from The Saints to Laughing Clowns to his solo work — reimagined through the unique rhythmic and atmospheric approach of White’s drumming. The pair’s Australian shows earlier this year were met with glowing reviews, setting the stage for this long-awaited international debut.

Kuepper’s place in Australian music is etched in stone. In 1973 he co-founded The Saints with Chris Bailey and Ivor Hay in Brisbane. The Saints’ 1976 debut single I’m Stranded was a seismic moment. Recorded independently and shipped to the UK, it became a cult hit with the British press. Sounds magazine famously declared it “Single of the Week” and NME called it “the definitive punk record.” This was six months before the Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the U.K. or The Clash’s first releases.

For many, I’m Stranded proved that punk wasn’t exclusively a London phenomenon — it could emerge from suburban Brisbane with just as much fury and authenticity. The Saints’ debut album of the same name, released in 1977, was a primal blast of energy. Their follow-ups, Eternally Yours (1978) and Prehistoric Sounds (1978), showed the band stretching beyond punk into horn-driven experimentation and soul influences.

When The Saints fractured, Kuepper pushed further into new territory. In 1979 he formed Laughing Clowns, a group that fused free jazz, punk, and avant-garde experimentation. Albums such as Mr Uddich-Schmuddich Goes to Town (1982) and Law of Nature (1984) were uncompromising, ambitious works that found a loyal cult audience. Though never mainstream, Laughing Clowns influenced generations of Australian musicians who saw the possibility of tearing down genre walls.

Kuepper’s solo career began in 1985 with Electrical Storm. Across more than 15 solo albums, he has constantly reinvented himself. His 1991 record Honey Steel’s Gold became his breakthrough, reaching the ARIA Top 30 and winning two ARIA Awards. His catalogue since then has traversed stripped-back acoustic work, experimental noise, and richly textured songcraft. For Kuepper, stasis has never been an option.

While Kuepper was pioneering punk, Jim White was coming of age in Melbourne’s underground scene. He first emerged with the brutal Venom P. Stinger in the 1980s, a band defined by jagged rhythms and confrontational energy.

But White’s true breakthrough came with the formation of Dirty Three in 1992, alongside Warren Ellis (later of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds) and guitarist Mick Turner. Dirty Three stripped rock down to violin, guitar, and drums, creating stormy instrumental soundscapes. Albums such as Horse Stories (1996), Ocean Songs (1998), and Whatever You Love, You Are (2000) earned them international acclaim. Nick Cave himself called them “the best rock band in the world.”

White’s drumming style is distinctive — loose yet precise, seemingly chaotic yet deeply controlled. He often “dances” around the beat rather than driving it straight, adding tension and atmosphere. His reputation as a “drummer’s drummer” has seen him in demand across the world.

He has recorded and toured with Cat Power, Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Bill Callahan, Marianne Faithfull, and PJ Harvey, among many others. His ongoing duo with Cretan lute player George Xylouris, Xylouris White, has drawn praise for fusing Mediterranean folk with avant-rock. White’s own solo releases — All Hits: Memories (2021) and the upcoming Inner Day (out October 24 on Drag City) — showcase his unique sense of rhythm and space.

After the Flood is not just a retrospective but a reinvention. The record sees Kuepper and White revisit material stretching back five decades — including The Saints’ Swing for the Crime, Laughing Clowns’ The Crying Dance, and solo-era highlights like The Ruins from 2015’s Lost Cities.

Gerard Cosloy of 12XU has called it “a powerful album,” while The Wire’s Byron Coley praised it as “a brilliant roll of invention.” Backseat Mafia described it as “a superbly magnificent collection of gems,” highlighting the way White brings new light to Kuepper’s songs.

These reinterpretations highlight not only the durability of Kuepper’s writing but the ways in which White’s drumming can turn familiar material into something startlingly new.
Mick Harvey Joins the Bill

Support for both U.S. shows will come from Mick Harvey, a towering figure in Australian music. As a co-founder of The Birthday Party and The Bad Seeds, Harvey was Nick Cave’s right-hand man for decades, shaping some of the darkest and most influential records of the 1980s and 90s.

Beyond that, Harvey has released 13 solo albums, including his acclaimed translations of Serge Gainsbourg. He has also worked extensively with PJ Harvey, Rowland S. Howard, and Crime & the City Solution. With Kuepper, he is part of the reinvigorated Saints ’73–’78 project. Remarkably, these U.S. shows will mark Harvey’s first-ever solo appearances in America.

To understand the significance of these shows, it’s worth recognising the global impact of the musicians involved.

The Saints are widely credited with helping kickstart punk rock internationally. I’m Stranded showed that Australia — a country often overlooked by the UK and U.S. music press — could produce music as ferocious and vital as anything from London or New York. They are routinely cited alongside The Ramones, The Sex Pistols, and The Clash as one of punk’s founding forces.

Dirty Three, meanwhile, carved their own space in the 1990s. Their instrumental approach was radically different from the grunge and Britpop dominating the era. Instead, their swirling, emotional compositions anticipated what would later be called post-rock, influencing acts like Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, and Sigur Rós. They toured internationally with Sonic Youth and Pavement, and their reputation continues to grow among younger musicians seeking something beyond conventional rock.

Both Kuepper and White represent the restless, uncompromising side of Australian music — artists who never settled, who pushed boundaries, and who continue to influence generations globally. Their collaboration is, in a sense, a convergence of two different but equally radical traditions.

Ed Kuepper & Jim White Live Dates

Australia
Thu 2 Oct – Adelaide, The Gov + Alana Jagt
Fri 3 Oct – Melbourne, Recital Centre + Mess Esque
Thu 9 Oct – Brisbane, Princess Theatre + Andrew Tuttle
Sat 11 Oct – Sydney, City Recital Hall + Special Guests Bleak Squad

United States
Mon 4 Nov – Los Angeles, CA, 2220 Arts & Archives + Mick Harvey
Sun 17 Nov – Ridgewood, NY, TV Eye + Mick Harvey

Tickets are available now via feelpresents.com and through the venues.

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Tagged as: 90s, alternative, Australia, Ed Kuepper, indie, Jim White, The Dirty Three, The Saints