Foy Vance will return to Australia in January and February 2027 with The Paper Kites, while preparing the first instalment of his three-part album IF.
by Paul Cashmere
Foy Vance will return to Australia in January 2027 for a series of shows with The Paper Kites, marking his first Australian tour since 2023. The Northern Irish singer-songwriter will perform at Brisbane’s Tivoli on 30 January and Melbourne’s Forum on 2 February, followed by a special appearance at Perth Festival on 7 February. A Sydney date is yet to be announced. The tour coincides with the release of IF: WE, the first of three EPs forming Vance’s eighth studio album, IF.
The Australian dates are part of Vance’s 2027 World Tour: Celebrating ‘The Wake’ And The Songs Of ‘If’, presented by Chugg Entertainment and Frontier Touring. The Paper Kites will join him for the Australian headline shows, bringing together two acts whose catalogues have developed through songwriting-led approaches to folk, roots and contemporary acoustic music.
The tour also provides the first Australian live context for Vance’s new recording project. IF is being released in three stages, with IF: WE scheduled for 30 October 2026, followed by IF: YOU and IF: I in 2027. Rather than presenting the project as a conventional single album release, Vance has divided it into three EPs that reflect different stages of his life and relationships.
The first song from the project, Feel The Cold, was written decades ago while Vance was living on the Spanish island of Lanzarote in his twenties. Its subject is the decision to leave an extended period of escape and return home, a theme that has acquired additional meaning as the song becomes the opening statement of IF: WE.
Vance describes the word “if” as central to the album’s concept, connecting regret, possibility and the decisions that shape a life. The three-part structure moves through the ideas of “we”, “you” and “I”, beginning with family and collective identity before moving towards personal relationships and, ultimately, individual identity.
IF: WE contains five tracks: Feel The Cold, Don’t Move, Stoke My Fire, Know By Now and Concubine. All five songs were produced and recorded by Anderson East at Sanctuary Blonde Studio in Nashville. Know By Now was co-written by Vance and Nashville songwriter Lori McKenna.
The material originated from a substantial songwriting archive. Vance brought more than 100 songs into the project, including collaborations with McKenna, Natalie Hemby, Gabe Simon and Ross Copperman. East subsequently worked with Vance to reshape selected songs, some of which had remained unheard for many years.
For Vance, the process represents a meeting between songs written at different points in his life and the person he has become since they were first created. IF examines devotion, grief, longing, forgiveness and the consequences of decisions, with the three EPs providing a framework for those themes.
Vance’s Australian return follows a career that has taken him from the Belfast music scene to an international audience through a body of work spanning folk, soul, blues and Americana influences. His songwriting has also extended beyond his own recordings, while his work as a performer has established him as an artist whose live shows are closely connected to the songs themselves.
The Paper Kites bring their own substantial Australian history to the tour. The Melbourne band emerged in the early 2010s and developed an international following through releases including States, Twelvefour and On The Train Ride Home. Their 2021 album Roses expanded their catalogue further, while At The Roadhouse continued their exploration of intimate, atmospheric songwriting. The band last undertook a significant run of Australian home-soil shows in 2024.
The pairing gives the Australian dates a dual focus, with Vance presenting material from IF alongside songs from his established catalogue and The Paper Kites drawing from their own repertoire. Both artists have built audiences around recorded songwriting rather than relying on a single defining hit, making the shows an opportunity to hear two distinct approaches to contemporary roots-oriented music.
Vance last toured Australia in 2023. His 2027 visit will therefore introduce Australian audiences to the next phase of his catalogue while also bringing new life to songs that predate some of his best-known recordings.
Tour Dates
30 January 2027, Brisbane, The Tivoli
2 February 2027, Melbourne, Forum
7 February 2027, Perth, Perth Festival
Ticket Details
Tickets on sale Tuesday 1 September 2026.
Frontier Touring: frontiertouring.com/fvtpk
Tracklisting
Feel The Cold (Foy Vance)
Don’t Move (Vance)
Stoke My Fire (Vance)
Know By Now (Vance, Lori McKenna)
Concubine (Vance)
All songs produced and recorded by Anderson East at Sanctuary Blonde Studio, Nashville.
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