Violent Soho end hiatus on their own terms
Australian rock heavyweights Violent Soho have officially ended their four-year live hiatus, confirming a tightly curated run of east coast headline shows this September.
The announcement marks a full-circle moment for a band long regarded as one of Australia’s most defining modern rock exports.
Arriving alongside renewed focus on the 10-year anniversary of WACO, a record now being celebrated with a limited-edition vinyl reissue.
It also follows a recent onstage moment at the Sydney Opera House. James Tidswell and Luke Boerdam joined Mark Hoppus, a surprise appearance that quietly fuelled speculation of a return in the first place.
Presented by triple j, the band will return to the stage at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on 11 September.
Then heading to Melbourne’s Forum on 18 September and closing out at Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on 25 September.
Joining them across all dates are Brisbane’s Beddy Rays, with Teenage Joans and Secret World respectively supporting Sydney and Melbourne.
In characteristically unvarnished fashion, the band framed the announcement simply: “Some dudes play golf, we play in a band. We missed making noise together… When we took a break, we said ‘Until Next Time’ and now feels like that time.”
Alongside the return to stage, Violent Soho are revisiting WACO, the 2016 album that cemented their cultural footprint.
The anniversary edition arrives as a limited vinyl pressing across standard and deluxe 2LP formats. The latter expanding the record with unreleased B-sides, live recordings from Splendour in the Grass (2016 and 2022), their Mansfield Tavern Christmas shows, and their Like A Version cover of Silversun Pickups’ ‘Lazy Eye’.
Across nearly two decades, the Brisbane-formed band carved out a singular place in Australian rock, balancing slacker-grunge attitude with arena-level choruses and a fiercely loyal grassroots following.
Four years on, Violent Soho return with that same ethos intact. Leaner, rarer, and arguably more potent for the time away.
If nothing else, their comeback tour signals a reaffirmation: a reminder of what happens when a band built for volume decides to turn it back up.
