The Wild God Tour returns Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds to Australian stages for the first time since 2017, opening with a sold out Fremantle Park performance that drew deeply from the band’s new album Wild God while surveying four decades of music history.
by Paul Cashmere
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have opened their 2026 Australian run with a sold out outdoor performance at Fremantle Park in Western Australia, marking the band’s first local shows in nine years. The concert launched the Australian leg of The Wild God Tour, a global run that has already taken in the UK, Europe and North America across 2024 and 2025, reaffirming the band’s status as one of the most enduring and compelling live acts of their generation.
The Fremantle performance unfolded over an expansive two and a half hours, balancing scale with intimacy, a hallmark of recent Bad Seeds tours. Although staged outdoors, the show retained a closeness between band and audience that has become central to Nick Cave’s live presence, built on direct address, emotional intensity and a repertoire that continues to evolve well into the band’s fifth decade.
Central to the night was material from the 2024 album Wild God, with songs including Frogs, Wild God and Song Of The Lake forming key emotional pillars of the set. These newer works sat naturally alongside career defining songs that trace the band’s development from their early Melbourne and Berlin years through to their present incarnation. Tracks such as From Her To Eternity and Tupelo recalled the raw, gothic urgency of the 1980s, while Red Right Hand and The Mercy Seat underscored the band’s lasting cultural impact through the 1990s and beyond.
Nick Cave’s songwriting catalogue has long been defined by its ability to shift between the mythic and the deeply personal, and the Fremantle set reflected that breadth. Later era compositions such as Jubilee Street, Bright Horses and Skeleton Tree carried the weight of the band’s more recent work, shaped by reflection, loss and renewal. The inclusion of Carnage and White Elephant from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis’ collaborative album Carnage further highlighted how Cave’s creative universe has expanded without losing cohesion, with Ellis continuing his pivotal role within The Bad Seeds’ live lineup.
The show was supported by New Zealand born singer songwriter Aldous Harding, whose art folk approach and distinctive vocal delivery set a complementary tone ahead of the main performance. Harding’s presence reinforced the trans Tasman connections that have long underpinned The Bad Seeds’ audience, a link that will be extended later in the tour with two exclusive New Zealand performances in Wellington in association with the Aotearoa New Zealand Festival Of The Arts 2026.
The Wild God album, released in 2024, was widely celebrated for its sense of renewal and spiritual urgency, themes that have translated powerfully to the stage. In December, the band released Live God, documenting performances from The Wild God Tour and capturing the scale and intensity of the current show. Together, the studio and live releases represent a new chapter for Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, one that builds on the band’s long history while continuing to push forward artistically.
Formed in the early 1980s following the dissolution of The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have remained a singular presence in Australian and international music. Across more than 40 years, the band has moved through post punk, blues, gospel, experimental rock and orchestral forms, without settling into nostalgia. The Fremantle performance reinforced that ongoing momentum, presenting a body of work that remains alive and responsive rather than archival.
Following the Western Australian opener, the tour continues to Adelaide before moving through Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, with several dates already sold out. The Australian shows will conclude before the band crosses to New Zealand for their Wellington performances in February.
Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Fremantle setlist 2026
Frogs (from Wild God, 2024)
Wild God (from Wild God, 2024)
Song of the Lake (from Wild God, 2024)
O Children (from Abattoir Blues/The Lyre of Orpheus, 2004)
Jubilee Street (from Push The Sky Away, 2013)
From Her to Eternity (from From Her To Eternity, 1984)
Long Dark Night (from Wild God, 2024)
Cinnamon Horses (from Wild God, 2024)
Tupelo (from The Firstborn Is Dead, 1985)
Conversion (from Wild God, 2024)
Bright Horses (from Ghosteen, 2019)
Joy (from Wild God, 2024)
I Need You (from Skeleton Tree, 2016)
Carnage (from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Carnage, 2021)
Final Rescue Attempt (from Wild God, 2024)
Red Right Hand (from Let Love In, 1994)
The Mercy Seat (from Tender Prey, 1988)
White Elephant (from Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, Carnage, 2021)
Encore:
Wide Lovely Eyes (from Push The Sky Away, 2013)
Papa Won’t Leave You, Henry (from Henry’s Dream, 1992)
The Weeping Song (from The Good Son, 1990)
Skeleton Tree (from Skeleton Tree, 2016)
Into My Arms (from The Boatman’s Call, 1997)
Tour Dates And Ticketing Information
Saturday 17 January, Fremantle Park, Perth WA, Sold Out
Tuesday 20 January, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide SA
Friday 23 January, The Domain Sydney, Sydney NSW
Saturday 24 January, The Domain Sydney, Sydney NSW
Tuesday 27 January, RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane QLD
Friday 30 January, Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne VIC, Sold Out
Saturday 31 January, Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne VIC, Sold Out
Sunday 01 February, Alexandra Gardens, Melbourne VIC
Thursday 05 February, TSB Arena, Wellington Aotearoa New Zealand
Friday 06 February, TSB Arena, Wellington Aotearoa New Zealand, Sold Out
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