Australian psychedelic dream pop legends The Church celebrate 45 years with a career-spanning North American tour
by Paul Cashmere
Australian music institution The Church are set to return to North America this summer, with their five-week “The Singles / 1980 – 2025 Tour” now featuring additional dates across the continent. Originally postponed in 2025, the tour kicks off on June 5 in Seattle and concludes on July 11 in Denver, promising fans a journey through the band’s 45-year catalogue of shimmering post-punk, dreampop, and neo-psychedelia.
Formed in Sydney in 1980, The Church quickly became known for their ethereal soundscapes and expansive, cinematic songwriting. Their early hits, including “The Unguarded Moment” from Of Skins and Heart (1980) and the haunting anthem “Under the Milky Way” from their international breakthrough album Starfish (1988), established the band as a force on the global stage. Tracks such as “Tantalized” (Heyday, 1986), “Ripple” (Priest=Aura, 1992), “C’est La Vie” (The Hypnogogue, 1992), and “Metropolis” (Gold Afternoon Fix, 1990) further cemented their reputation as innovators of atmospheric rock.
Today, The Church continue to evolve, combining decades of experience with a forward-looking creativity. Their most recent releases, the conceptual album The Hypnogogue (2023) and its companion Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars (2024), explore a loose dystopian narrative about an aging rockstar reclaiming his faded glory through a dream extractor. The albums, paired with the new single “Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” from November 2025, have reinvigorated the band’s profile and drawn some of the strongest reviews of their career.
Bassist, vocalist, and founding member Steve Kilbey described “Sacred Echoes (Part Two)” as “Bleak and yet beautiful, unlike any previous Church song, with its almost orchestral climaxes and sombre mood. The music is by turns delicate and sparse, turning into a churning monstrous racket. Intense, forlorn and exultant.”
The current line-up sees Kilbey joined by drummer and longtime collaborator Tim Powles, guitarist Ian Haug (formerly of Powderfinger), multi-instrumentalist Jeffrey Cain (Remy Zero), and acclaimed guitarist Ashley Naylor, known for his work with Paul Kelly’s touring band and a host of Australian rock acts. Together, they promise a live experience combining The Church’s classic hits with the textured, exploratory soundscapes of their recent work.
Fans attending the North American tour can expect a setlist spanning the band’s 45-year career, from early indie rock staples to the latest post-punk explorations. The tour underscores The Church’s rare ability to remain both prolific and relevant in the contemporary music landscape while retaining the ethereal and cinematic qualities that have defined their music since the 1980s.
Tour Dates:
Jun. 5, Seattle, WA, The Showbox
Jun. 6, Vancouver, BC, Vogue Theatre
Jun. 7, Portland, OR, McMenamins Crystal Ballroom
Jun. 9, San Francisco, CA, August Hall
Jun. 10, Los Angeles, CA, The Fonda Theatre
Jun. 12, Solana Beach, CA, Belly Up *LOW TICKET ALERT
Jun. 13, Phoenix, AZ, Musical Instrument Museum *SOLD OUT
Jun. 14, Phoenix, AZ, Musical Instrument Museum *SOLD OUT
Jun. 16, Dallas, TX, Granada Theater
Jun. 17, Austin, TX, Paramount Theatre
Jun. 19, Atlanta, GA, Center Stage
Jun. 20, Pelham, TN, The Caverns
Jun. 21, Graham, NC, Haw River Ballroom *LOW TICKET ALERT
Jun. 23, New York, NY, Sony Hall
Jun. 24, Somerville, MA, Somerville Theatre
Jun. 26, Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
Jun. 27, Phoenixville, PA, The Colonial Theatre
Jun. 28, Asbury Park, NJ, The Stone Pony
Jun. 30, Norwalk, CT, District Music Hall
Jul. 1, Woodstock, NY, Bearsville Theater
Jul. 2, Cleveland, OH, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame
Jul. 3, Homer, NY, Center for the Arts of Homer
Jul. 4, Toronto, ON, The Concert Hall
Jul. 7, Chicago, IL, Park West
Jul. 8, St Paul, MN, The Fitzgerald Theater
Jul. 10, Kansas City, MO, Knuckleheads
Jul. 11, Denver, CO, Summit Music Hall
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