These Are The Waves, celebrating Conway Savage, will bring a one-night Sydney performance and two Melbourne shows this July, uniting key collaborators and artists from across his career.
by Paul Cashmere
A concert tribute honouring the late Conway Savage will tour to Australia this July, with These Are The Waves confirmed for performances in Sydney and Melbourne. The shows follow a run of sold-out dates in Ireland and will feature original bandmates, collaborators and guest vocalists performing songs from Savage’s catalogue.
The event centres on the enduring legacy of Conway Savage, the former keyboard player for Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, who died in 2018. The Sydney performance is locked in for July 10 at the Camelot Lounge in Marrickville, followed by Melbourne dates on July 17 at the Brunswick Ballroom and July 18 at Memo Music Hall in St Kilda.
The significance of These Are The Waves extends beyond a retrospective concert. It coincides with the release of a new anthology, Too Dark To See, which compiles 24 tracks from across Savage’s career, including rare recordings. The release underscores renewed interest in Savage’s solo work and songwriting contributions, placing his catalogue into a broader historical and cultural context within Australian music.
The live shows will feature a line-up of long-time collaborators including Mick Harvey, Martyn P. Casey, Charlie Owen, Bruce Kane and Robert Tickner, alongside Irish musicians Mark Corcoran, Roisin Ward Morrow and Sharon McArdle. Guest vocalists include Cash Savage, Suzie Higgie, Peter Milton Walsh, Penny Ikinger, Amanda Acevedo and Dave Graney, each bringing their own interpretation to Savage’s body of work.
Savage’s role within The Bad Seeds began in 1990 when he was recruited by Mick Harvey. His keyboard work became a defining element of the band’s sound through the 1990s and beyond, contributing to albums that shaped the group’s international reputation. Outside of The Bad Seeds, Savage maintained a parallel solo career, beginning with his self-titled EP in 1992. His later releases, including Nothing Broken in 2001 and Pussy’s Bow in 2010, demonstrated a songwriting style grounded in melodic economy and lyrical introspection.
In a statement following Savage’s death, Nick Cave described him as “much loved by everyone, band members and fans alike,” noting his “gift of a golden voice, high and sweet and drenched in soul.” That assessment has informed the curatorial approach of both the live shows and the anthology, which aims to present Savage as more than a sideman, positioning him as a central creative figure in his own right.
The anthology Too Dark To See, released through Impressed Recordings on July 17, is presented as a narrative collection rather than a standard compilation. Pressed on double lilac vinyl with a limited run of 200 numbered copies, it is targeted at collectors and long-time followers of The Bad Seeds and the broader Melbourne music scene.
Savage’s career also intersected with key Australian artists including Spencer P. Jones and Robert Forster, and his collaborations with Suzie Higgie on Soon Will Be Tomorrow in 1998 remain a notable entry in his discography. These connections highlight his influence across multiple strands of Australian independent music, particularly through the 1980s and 1990s Melbourne scene.
There is little dispute about Savage’s standing among his peers, although his relatively low public profile compared to other Bad Seeds members has meant his solo work has often been underexamined. Projects like These Are The Waves address that gap, offering both a live reinterpretation and a reintroduction of his catalogue to newer audiences.
With renewed attention through both performance and archival release, Savage’s work is being reframed within the broader narrative of Australian music history. For audiences, the July shows provide a rare opportunity to experience that legacy interpreted by those who worked alongside him.
Tour Dates
Friday 10 July, Sydney, Camelot Lounge Marrickville
Friday 17 July, Melbourne, Brunswick Ballroom
Saturday 18 July, Melbourne, Memo Music Hall St Kilda
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