The Waterboys lean into Dennis Hopper and “Big Music” classics on their current AUS/NZ tour
Mike Scott and co split the set between fan favourites, a full concept suite, and a big, emotional finale
The The Waterboys are in the middle of a pretty special run across Australia and New Zealand right now – one that feels less like a greatest hits lap and more like a fully mapped-out narrative.
This tour is built around their latest concept record Life, Death and Dennis Hopper, and the live show reflects that ambition.
Recent dates (including Perth on May 11–12) show a three-part structure: a nostalgic opening run, a full Dennis Hopper suite, then a euphoric “Big Music” finish that leans hard into legacy.
It’s theatrical, a little sprawling, and exactly the kind of setlist that makes sense for a band that’s never really done things the simple way.
The Waterboys “Life, Death and Dennis Hopper” Tour Setlist
Me and Paul (Willie Nelson cover)
Glastonbury Song
How Long Will I Love You?
Medicine Bow
Be My Enemy or A Girl Called Johnny
Fisherman’s Blues
This Is the Sea
Kansas (featuring video intro/cameo by Steve Earle)
Live in the Moment, Baby
The Tourist
Blues for Terry Southern
Hopper’s on Top (Genius)
Transcendental Peruvian Blues
Michelle (Always Stay)
Ten Years Gone
I Don’t Know How I Made It
The Passing of Hopper
Don’t Bang the Drum
Spirit
The Pan Within
The Whole of the Moon (often mashed with Sly & The Family Stone’s “Everyday People”)
Purple Rain (Prince cover) or And a Bang on the Ear
The Waterboys Aussie Tour Dates (2026)
May 11–12 — Perth
May 14 — Adelaide
May 16 — Melbourne
May 17 — Sydney
May 19 — Brisbane
May 21 — Auckland
May 23 — Wellington
What changes next
This version of the show won’t stick around forever. By August/September 2026, the band pivot to a completely different format: the Fisherman’s Blues Revue tour across the UK and Europe.
That run is expected to swap out the conceptual arc for something more rootsy and archival, with Steve Earle and longtime collaborator Steve Wickham joining, and a heavier focus on Fisherman’s Blues material and the upcoming Atlantic Rain archive release.
So if you’re catching them in Australia right now, you’re getting a pretty specific moment in the band’s evolution, part retrospective, part concept theatre, and still very capable of blowing the roof off with ‘The Whole of the Moon’ when it counts.
Check out The Waterboys tour dates here.
