Melbourne progressive instrumental artist I Built The Sky will return to the stage for a one-off hometown performance in October, playing both the new album Promise Me You’ll Thrive and the 2019 release The Zenith Rise in full.
by Paul Cashmere
I Built The Sky, the long running instrumental progressive project led by Melbourne guitarist, songwriter and producer Rohan Stevenson, has announced a single Melbourne headline performance for 31 October at Howler. The concert will mark the first opportunity for local audiences to hear Stevenson’s latest album Promise Me You’ll Thrive performed live in its entirety, alongside a complete performance of 2019’s The Zenith Rise.
For Stevenson, the show represents more than another date on the touring calendar. It is a chance to showcase an album that has become a significant milestone in the evolution of a project he began independently more than a decade ago. Since launching I Built The Sky in 2012, Stevenson has built an international audience without the support of a major label, combining technical progressive metal, melodic songwriting and instrumental compositions that have attracted listeners well beyond Australia’s progressive music scene.
Released earlier this year, Promise Me You’ll Thrive debuted at number four on the ARIA Australian Albums Chart and reached number three on the AIR Albums Chart. The record also topped Bandcamp’s Instrumental, Djent and Instrumental Metal charts, adding to a career that has increasingly found an audience through streaming platforms, YouTube and international touring.
Stevenson said performing the new material live has been a priority since completing the album.
“I’m excited to finally hit the stage to showcase what I believe is my greatest creative achievement in Promise Me You’ll Thrive,” he said.
“It’s an album I made for anyone who needs a soundtrack to keep moving forward. Featuring David Parkes on drums, Toby Peterson-Stewart on bass and Rohan Sharma on keys and synths, it’s the strongest band I’ve ever had behind these songs.”
The performance will also revisit The Zenith Rise, the album that established I Built The Sky as one of Australia’s leading instrumental progressive acts. Released in 2019, the record charted across Bandcamp, the Australian Independent Record Labels Association charts and digital platforms, helping Stevenson transition the project from an internet success into an internationally touring live band.
Although I Built The Sky began as a solo recording project, Stevenson has steadily expanded it into a touring outfit that has shared stages with many of progressive music’s best known names. Over the years the band has appeared alongside artists including Periphery, Monuments, Polyphia, Plini, Intervals, Haken, Between The Buried And Me, Chon, Twelve Foot Ninja and The Dillinger Escape Plan.
International touring has become a major part of the project’s development. Stevenson has completed headline tours through Australia, Europe, the United Kingdom and India while also appearing at events including Radar Festival in the UK, Brutal Assault in the Czech Republic and NH7 Weekender in India.
The project’s catalogue has also broadened considerably since its early releases. After the debut self-titled album in 2012 and the Intortus EP, Stevenson released The Sky Is Not The Limit in 2016 before following with The Zenith Rise, the collaborative EP Coalesce with Jake Howsam Lowe in 2021 and the predominantly acoustic album The Quiet Place Away in 2022. That release featured string arrangements recorded by producer Forrester Savell and demonstrated Stevenson’s willingness to move beyond the heavier foundations of progressive metal.
Away from recording and touring, Stevenson has also been recognised for his musicianship through educational work, presenting a songwriting masterclass at California’s Cal Poly Pomona University, while also becoming part of the touring and recording lineup for reunited Australian alternative metal band Sunk Loto.
The October Melbourne performance will open with Adelaide progressive artist Keyan.
With more than 70 million streams accumulated across digital platforms, I Built The Sky has become one of Australia’s most successful independent instrumental acts. The upcoming hometown show offers audiences an opportunity to hear both Stevenson’s newest work and one of his defining earlier releases presented in full during the same performance.
Tour Date
Saturday, 31 October, Melbourne, Howler
Ticket Details
General public tickets go on sale Wednesday, 23 July at 9.00am AEST.
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