Clutch return to Australia in January 2027 for a short, sharp run of four headline shows. The Clutch Australian Tour 2027 opens at Metropolis in Fremantle on Saturday 23 January, moves to the Eatons Hill Hotel north of Brisbane on Monday 25 January, plays the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday 27 January and finishes at the Forum in Melbourne on Friday 29 January. Corrosion of Conformity are the support act on the tour.
The timing is not an accident of the calendar. Clutch's fourteenth studio album, Wasted Lands, is due on 22 January 2027, the day before the Fremantle show, which makes these Australian nights among the very first concerts of the new record's life. The band released "The Drifter Returns" on 28 August 2026, their first new music since 2022, and followed it with the title track "Wasted Lands" on 25 September 2026.
For Australian fans this is the first Clutch headline tour in the setlist.fm record since March 2016, when the band played the Triffid, the Metro Theatre, the Forum and the Corner Hotel. The four-piece from Germantown, Maryland have now visited the country across five decades of the calendar, from pub rooms such as the Annandale Hotel in 2006 to Soundwave main-stage crowds in 2010 and 2014. Tickets have been on sale since Thursday 23 July 2026.
The 2027 itinerary is compact: four cities in seven days, all of them on the Australian mainland and all of them in rooms that suit a band built on volume and groove rather than spectacle. Western Australia comes first, with Metropolis Fremantle on South Terrace on Saturday 23 January. The band then cross the country to Queensland for a Monday night at the Eatons Hill Hotel on Monday 25 January.
Sydney follows on Wednesday 27 January at the Enmore Theatre in Newtown, the inner-west theatre where many of the country's heavier international tours stop. The run closes on Friday 29 January at the Forum on Flinders Street in Melbourne, a venue Clutch already know: they played it on 5 March 2016, when the building appeared in the set list record as the Forum Theatre.
Corrosion of Conformity open every show. No Adelaide, Hobart, Canberra or New Zealand date had been announced as of 9 October 2026, so fans in South Australia, Tasmania and across the Tasman will need to travel to one of the four cities on the list. On past visits Clutch played Adelaide (in 2010 and 2014) and Auckland (in 2010), but neither city is part of this tour.
Because the album arrives on 22 January 2027, these concerts give Australian audiences an early chance to hear Wasted Lands songs on stage. The band have not published a set list for the tour, and no-one outside the band knows how much of the new record they will play, but both singles released in 2026 are obvious candidates.
Metropolis Fremantle occupies the former King's Theatre at 58 South Terrace, opened on 27 September 1904 and designed by Frederick William Burwell. Relaunched as a concert club in 1991 and reopened after renovation in 2002, it holds about 1,200 people.
The Eatons Hill Hotel and Function Centre is in Brendale, in the City of Moreton Bay, about 23 km north of the Brisbane CBD. Besides concerts it regularly stages professional boxing title fights.
The Enmore Theatre on Enmore Road in Newtown, in Sydney's inner west, opened in 1912 and was remodelled in Art Deco style in 1937. It holds about 1,700 seated or 2,500 standing and is the longest-running live theatre in Sydney.
The Forum, on the corner of Flinders and Russell streets, opened in 1929 as the State Theatre, an atmospheric theatre designed by John Eberson with a Moorish exterior and a starry ceiling. Heritage-listed, it has operated as a live music venue since 1995 and holds about 2,000 standing.
Saturday 23 January 2027 — Metropolis, Fremantle. The tour starts here.
Monday 25 January 2027 — Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane. Their most recent documented Brisbane show was at The Triffid on 2 March 2016.
Wednesday 27 January 2027 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney. In Sydney, the last documented Clutch concert was at Metro Theatre (4 March 2016).
Friday 29 January 2027 — Forum Melbourne, Melbourne. In Melbourne, the last documented Clutch concert was at Corner Hotel (6 March 2016). The run finishes here.
The setlist.fm archive first places Clutch in Australia in March 2006. They opened with two nights at the Annandale Hotel in Sydney on 15 and 16 March, played the Corner Hotel in Richmond, Melbourne, on 17 March, appeared at the Brisbane Showgrounds on 18 March and returned to the Corner Hotel on 19 March. The Corner set on 17 March ran to 18 songs, mixing "Pure Rock Fury", "Mice and Gods", "The Mob Goes Wild" and "Gravel Road" with older material.
The From Beale Street to Oblivion era brought two Australian visits in 2007. In late May and early June the band played the Coolangatta Hotel on the Gold Coast (30 May), the Zoo in Brisbane (31 May), the Metro Theatre in Sydney (1 June) and two nights at the Hi-Fi in Melbourne (2 and 3 June). They came back in December for the Hi-Fi on 13 December, the Meredith Music Festival on 14 December and the Metro Theatre on 15 December. The Metro set that night was a marathon of 29 songs, including a drum solo, "White's Ferry", "Slow Hole to China" and "Sink 'Em Low".
February 2010 was the biggest Australasian trip so far. It started in New Zealand at the Kings Arms in Auckland on 17 February, an 18-song club show that included "Electric Worry", "Abraham Lincoln" and "Algo ha cambiado". In Australia the band combined Soundwave festival sets in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth with their own club nights: the Zoo in Brisbane on 19 February, the Factory Theatre in Marrickville on 24 February, the Prince Bandroom in St Kilda on 25 February and the Amplifier in Perth on 2 March.
The same pattern returned in 2014 during the Earth Rocker cycle. Clutch opened at the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 20 February with a 19-song set that included "Mr. Freedom", "Sea of Destruction" and "Animal Farm", played the Zoo in Brisbane on 21 February and the Prince Bandroom in Melbourne on 27 February, and filled the gaps with Soundwave in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth between 22 February and 3 March.
The most recent visit in the archive is the Psychic Warfare tour of March 2016, which was a run of headline shows without a festival attached: the Triffid in Brisbane on 2 March, the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 4 March, the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on 5 March and a second Melbourne show at the Corner Hotel on 6 March. The Corner set opened with "You Can't Stop Progress" and found room for rarer songs such as "The Soapmakers", "Doom Saloon" and "Cypress Grove".
Across those 35 recorded Australian and New Zealand shows, the songs that come up most often are "The Mob Goes Wild", "One Eye Dollar" and "Electric Worry", followed by "Cypress Grove", "Crucial Velocity", "Burning Beard", "Earth Rocker", "D.C. Sound Attack!" and "Struck Down". Melbourne and Sydney account for the largest number of nights, with the Metro Theatre in Sydney visited four times and the Prince Bandroom, the Corner Hotel and the Hi-Fi all hosting the band more than once.
The table below lists 35 documented Australia/NZ concerts by Clutch between 2006 and 2016, with the most shows in Melbourne (11), Sydney (9), Brisbane (7), Perth (3), Adelaide (2), Auckland (1). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.
| Date | City | Venue | Tour / event |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 March 2016 | Melbourne | Corner Hotel | Psychic Warfare |
| 5 March 2016 | Melbourne | Forum Theatre | Psychic Warfare |
| 4 March 2016 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | Psychic Warfare |
| 2 March 2016 | Brisbane | The Triffid | Psychic Warfare |
| 3 March 2014 | Perth | Stage 5B | Earth Rocker |
| 1 March 2014 | Adelaide | Stage 5B | Earth Rocker |
| 28 February 2014 | Melbourne | Stage 5B | Earth Rocker |
| 27 February 2014 | Melbourne | Prince Bandroom | Earth Rocker |
| 23 February 2014 | Sydney | Stage 5B | Earth Rocker |
| 22 February 2014 | Brisbane | Stage 5 B | Earth Rocker |
| 21 February 2014 | Brisbane | The Zoo | Earth Rocker |
| 20 February 2014 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | Earth Rocker |
| 2 March 2010 | Perth | Amplifier | |
| 1 March 2010 | Perth | Stage 4 | |
| 27 February 2010 | Adelaide | Stage 4 | |
| 26 February 2010 | Melbourne | Stage 4 | |
| 25 February 2010 | Melbourne | Prince Bandroom | |
| 24 February 2010 | Sydney | The Factory Theatre | |
| 21 February 2010 | Sydney | Stage 4 | |
| 20 February 2010 | Brisbane | Stage 4 | |
| 19 February 2010 | Brisbane | The Zoo | |
| 17 February 2010 | Auckland | Kings Arms | |
| 15 December 2007 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 14 December 2007 | Meredith | Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 13 December 2007 | Melbourne | The Hi-Fi | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 3 June 2007 | Melbourne | The Hi-Fi | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 2 June 2007 | Melbourne | The Hi-Fi | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 1 June 2007 | Sydney | Metro Theatre | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 31 May 2007 | Brisbane | The Zoo | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 30 May 2007 | Gold Coast | The Coolangatta Hotel | From Beale Street to Oblivion |
| 19 March 2006 | Melbourne | Corner Hotel | |
| 18 March 2006 | Brisbane | Brisbane Showgrounds | |
| 17 March 2006 | Melbourne | Corner Hotel | |
| 16 March 2006 | Sydney | Annandale Hotel | |
| 15 March 2006 | Sydney | Annandale Hotel |
Concert data: setlist.fm
Across the 15 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (26 February 2010 to 6 March 2016), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.
Clutch have a real festival history in Australia. They played the Meredith Music Festival at the Supernatural Amphitheatre in rural Victoria on 14 December 2007, and they were on the Soundwave bill in both 2010 and 2014, playing the travelling festival in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth each time. The 2010 Soundwave sets were short, seven to nine songs built around "50,000 Unstoppable Watts", "Struck Down", "Power Player" and "Cypress Grove"; in 2014 "Crucial Velocity", "Earth Rocker", "D.C. Sound Attack!" and "The Face" carried the set.
The 2027 tour is different: it is four headline shows in the band's own name, with Corrosion of Conformity in support, and no festival appearances were part of the announcement as of 9 October 2026.
Clutch formed in 1991 in Germantown, Maryland. Bassist Dan Maines, drummer Jean-Paul Gaster and guitarist Tim Sult started the band with singer Roger Smalls, who soon left and was replaced by Neil Fallon, a schoolmate from Seneca Valley High School. That line-up has stayed together ever since, which is rare for a rock band more than three decades old. The name was chosen partly because of the members' interest in cars and partly because they wanted a single-syllable name.
The debut album Transnational Speedway League came out on EastWest in 1993, followed by the self-titled Clutch in 1995. After being dropped when their A&R representative was fired, the band moved to Columbia for The Elephant Riders (1998), released the groove-based Jam Room themselves in 1999 and went to Atlantic for Pure Rock Fury (2001), which gave them a surprise radio hit with "Careful with That Mic". Blast Tyrant (2004) and its single "The Mob Goes Wild" kept the momentum going; keyboard player Mick Schauer joined for Robot Hive/Exodus (2005) and From Beale Street to Oblivion (2007).
In 2008 Clutch set up their own label, Weathermaker Music, and have released their records through it since. Strange Cousins from the West (2009) was followed by Earth Rocker in 2013, which entered the Billboard 200 at No. 15, their highest US chart position, and was named album of the year by the British magazine Metal Hammer. Psychic Warfare (2015), influenced by the writer Philip K. Dick, Book of Bad Decisions (2018) and Sunrise on Slaughter Beach (2022) completed a run of thirteen studio albums.
Clutch are often counted among the pioneers of stoner rock and have been described as hard rockers who blend funk, Led Zeppelin and metal. The members also play together as the instrumental Bakerton Group. After years of writing and a 2025 tour that ran from North America into further dates from November to December, the band announced Wasted Lands, their fourteenth album, for 22 January 2027, and released "The Drifter Returns" on 28 August 2026 and the title track on 25 September 2026.
| Album | Year | AUS chart peak |
|---|---|---|
| Transnational Speedway League | 1993 | — |
| Clutch | 1995 | — |
| The Elephant Riders | 1998 | — |
| Jam Room | 1999 | — |
| Pure Rock Fury | 2001 | — |
| Blast Tyrant | 2004 | — |
| Robot Hive/Exodus | 2005 | — |
| From Beale Street to Oblivion | 2007 | — |
| Strange Cousins from the West | 2009 | — |
| Earth Rocker | 2013 | — |
| Psychic Warfare | 2015 | — |
| Book of Bad Decisions | 2018 | — |
| Sunrise on Slaughter Beach | 2022 | — |
| Wasted Lands | 2027 | — |
Very few touring bands land in a country with a record that is barely a day old. Wasted Lands is scheduled for Friday 22 January 2027 and the Fremantle show is on Saturday 23 January, so the Australian tour sits right at the start of the album's release cycle rather than months later, as was the case in 2014 and 2016.
The two singles released in 2026, "The Drifter Returns" and "Wasted Lands", are the first new Clutch songs since Sunrise on Slaughter Beach in 2022. Fans who want to know the words before the gig have had both since September 2026; the rest of the record will be brand new to most of the audience on the night.
Clutch have form for testing material live: Wikipedia notes that songs from Strange Cousins from the West were played on tour before that album was recorded. How much of Wasted Lands makes the 2027 Australian set, though, is something only the band can answer.
Perth fans usually wait at the end of an Australian run. In 2010 and 2014 the band reached Western Australia last, closing with Soundwave Perth on 1 March 2010 (plus the Amplifier the next night) and on 3 March 2014. In 2027 the order is reversed and Metropolis in Fremantle opens the tour on Saturday 23 January.
Metropolis is a historic building on South Terrace, opened in 1904 as the King's Theatre and relaunched as a concert venue in the 1990s. It holds about 1,200 people, a good size for a band whose shows depend on the crowd being close to the stage.
The Queensland show is at the Eatons Hill Hotel on Monday 25 January 2027. The venue is in Brendale in the City of Moreton Bay, about 23 kilometres north of the Brisbane CBD, so this is not an inner-city gig like the Zoo, the Triffid or the Soundwave showground sets of the past. Fans coming from the city or the Gold Coast should plan transport home in advance.
Monday 25 January is the eve of Australia Day, which falls on Tuesday 26 January in 2027, so many fans will have the following day off. The band's earlier Brisbane history includes the Zoo in Fortitude Valley (2007, 2010 and 2014), the Triffid in 2016, the Brisbane Showgrounds in 2006 and two Soundwave appearances.
Sydney is the second most visited city in the archive, after Melbourne: two nights at the Annandale Hotel, four at the Metro Theatre, one at the Factory Theatre and two Soundwave sets. The Enmore Theatre on Wednesday 27 January 2027 is a step up in size from most of those rooms, with a capacity of about 2,500 standing.
Melbourne leads the count, with eleven recorded nights. The Corner Hotel (three times), the Hi-Fi (three), the Prince Bandroom (two), the Forum and two Soundwave sets make up the total. The Forum Melbourne show on Friday 29 January 2027 closes the tour on a Friday night in the heritage theatre on the corner of Flinders and Russell streets, where Clutch last played in March 2016.
A Clutch headline show in Australia has usually run to 17 to 20 songs, with the occasional marathon: 29 songs at the Metro Theatre on 15 December 2007 and 28 at the Hi-Fi two nights earlier. The band are known for changing the set from night to night, and the archive shows it. On the 2016 tour the Brisbane, Sydney and first Melbourne sets opened with "X-Ray Visions" and "Firebirds!", while the Corner Hotel show the next night started with "You Can't Stop Progress" and "Noble Savage".
Some songs are near-permanent fixtures. "The Mob Goes Wild" appears in more Australian and New Zealand set lists than anything else, and "Electric Worry" and "One Eye Dollar" have often closed the night together. The 2016 sets leaned on Psychic Warfare and Earth Rocker, with "Crucial Velocity", "Burning Beard", "A Quick Death in Texas", "Sucker for the Witch", "Our Lady of Electric Light" and "Behold the Colossus".
There is no stage production to speak of: Clutch are a four-piece who let the songs and Jean-Paul Gaster's drumming do the work. Expect the 2027 shows to follow that model, with new songs from Wasted Lands sitting alongside the older favourites. Corrosion of Conformity's opening set will make for an early start, so check the door and set times published by each venue.
Tickets for all four shows have been on sale since Thursday 23 July 2026, and the tour is listed as on sale. No presale details were part of the information available for this page, so if you are reading this now, the general sale is the way in. Buy through the authorised ticketing outlet named by each venue or at the venue's own box office.
The Eatons Hill Hotel, Metropolis, the Enmore and the Forum are all smaller than arenas, and the standing floor at theatre-sized venues can sell out well before the night. If a show is sold out, use only the official resale facility attached to the original ticket; mobile tickets are often linked to the buyer's account and name.
There is no public "Clutch presale code" to buy or swap. Codes offered on social media or in online marketplaces are not genuine. To hear about extra shows, released production holds or any New Zealand date if one is added, sign up below for the alert.
When does the Clutch Australian Tour 2027 start?
At Metropolis in Fremantle, Western Australia, on Saturday 23 January 2027.
Which cities are on the tour?
Fremantle (23 January), Brisbane (Eatons Hill Hotel, 25 January), Sydney (Enmore Theatre, 27 January) and Melbourne (Forum Melbourne, 29 January).
Who is supporting Clutch?
Corrosion of Conformity open all four shows.
Is Clutch playing Adelaide or New Zealand in 2027?
No Adelaide or New Zealand date had been announced as of 9 October 2026. Clutch last played Adelaide at Soundwave in March 2014 and Auckland at the Kings Arms on 17 February 2010.
Is the Brisbane show in the city?
No. The Eatons Hill Hotel is in Brendale, in the City of Moreton Bay, about 23 km north of the Brisbane CBD.
Will they play songs from the new album?
Wasted Lands is released on 22 January 2027, the day before the tour opens, and two songs from it were released as singles in 2026. The set list has not been published.
When did tickets go on sale?
On Thursday 23 July 2026.
When did Clutch last tour Australia?
In March 2016, with shows at the Triffid in Brisbane, the Metro Theatre in Sydney, the Forum Theatre and the Corner Hotel in Melbourne.
Have Clutch played Australian festivals?
Yes: the Meredith Music Festival in December 2007 and Soundwave in 2010 and 2014.
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