Joe Jackson will return to Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2027, his first tour of the region since 2008, bringing a career-spanning set and songs from his latest album Hope and Fury.
by Paul Cashmere
Joe Jackson is heading back to Australia and New Zealand for his first concerts in the region in almost 19 years. The Grammy-winning British singer, songwriter and pianist will perform seven dates across New Zealand and Australia in January and February 2027, presenting material from his newly released album Hope and Fury alongside songs drawn from a catalogue that stretches back to the late 1970s.
The tour marks another chapter in one of popular music’s most eclectic and enduring careers. Jackson emerged at the end of the 1970s with a string of new wave classics including ‘Is She Really Going Out with Him?’ and ‘It’s Different for Girls’, before broadening his musical ambitions through jazz, pop, classical composition and orchestral works. His ability to move between genres while retaining a distinct songwriting voice has given him one of the most varied catalogues of his generation.
Jackson’s latest album, Hope and Fury, was released worldwide in April 2026 through earMUSIC. The nine-track record reunites him with longtime collaborators Graham Maby on bass, Teddy Kumpel on guitar and Doug Yowell on drums, with percussion contributions from Paulo Stagnaro. Jackson has described the music as “Bicoastal LatinJazzFunkRock”, reflecting both his transatlantic lifestyle between New York and Portsmouth and his continuing appetite for stylistic experimentation.
A lyric from the album’s title track appears to address his longevity and creative persistence: “Hello cruel world / I’m not going away / So I might as well have my say.”
The current world tour began in North America in May and will extend into Australasia early next year. Jackson says the performances will centre on “playing the songs people love, alongside the ones that still surprise me”. The shows will feature his touring band comprising Maby, Kumpel, drummer Doug Yowell and percussionist Felipe Fournier.
Born David Ian Jackson in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, on 11 August 1954, Jackson spent much of his childhood in Portsmouth and began playing piano professionally in bars as a teenager. After winning a scholarship to study composition at London’s Royal Academy of Music, he developed his craft through club performances before signing with A&M Records in 1978.
His debut album, Look Sharp!, arrived in 1979 and quickly established him among Britain’s leading new wave artists. Later albums expanded his musical reach. Night and Day in 1982 became his biggest commercial success, producing international hits including ‘Steppin’ Out’ and ‘Breaking Us in Two’, while songs such as ‘Real Men’ demonstrated his willingness to tackle more complex social themes.
Throughout the following decades Jackson resisted being confined to any one style. He recorded swing and jump blues on Jumpin’ Jive, composed orchestral works including Symphony No. 1, which won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2001, and continued to release albums that crossed pop, jazz and classical boundaries.
His most recent releases have maintained that exploratory spirit. Following Fool in 2019 and the theatrical project What a Racket! in 2023, Hope and Fury marks his first new rock-oriented album in seven years.
The forthcoming Australian and New Zealand dates will be Jackson’s first local performances since 2008 and offer audiences the opportunity to revisit songs that have become staples of late twentieth-century pop while also introducing material from an artist who remains creatively active more than four decades after his breakthrough.
Joe Jackson & Band, Hope And Fury Tour 2027
Saturday 23 January, Christchurch, Christchurch Town Hall
Tuesday 26 January, Auckland, Auckland Town Hall
Thursday 28 January, Sydney, State Theatre
Monday 1 February, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
Wednesday 3 February, Melbourne, Hamer Hall
Saturday 6 February, Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre
Tuesday 9 February, Perth, Riverside Theatre
Tickets go on early bird presale from 10am local time on Thursday, 9 July.
General public tickets go on sale from 10am local time on Monday, 13 July via destroyalllines.com.
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