Shihad Australia Tour 2027

Shihad will not tour Australia or New Zealand in 2027. The Wellington rock band announced on 13 November 2024 that they were calling it a day after 37 years, and their farewell tour, Loud Forever 1988–2025, ran through New Zealand and Australia from December 2024 to March 2025. As of 9 October 2026 there is no reunion, no one-off show and no new date of any kind for 2027.

Formed in Wellington in 1988 by Jon Toogood, Tom Larkin and Phil Knight, and joined by bassist Karl Kippenberger in 1991, Shihad became one of New Zealand's biggest rock bands. Six of their studio albums reached No. 1 in New Zealand, a record for a New Zealand artist, and songs such as 'Home Again', 'Pacifier' and 'Bitter' are in the APRA list of the top 100 New Zealand songs of all time.

They were also, for many years, a band of both countries. Shihad moved their base to Melbourne by 1998, signed with Warner Music Australasia and toured Australia constantly, from the Big Day Out to pub stages in Townsville and Ipswich. This page looks back at their concerts in Australia and New Zealand, the farewell tour and the last shows in Wellington, and explains what to watch for if any of the members return to the stage in 2027.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: what is announced so far

There is no Shihad tour in 2027 and none is expected. When the band ended, they said that the growing gaps between albums and the members' commitments outside the band meant they could no longer give Shihad the time and focus it needed. They chose to finish with a full farewell tour rather than fade away.

Loud Forever opened at the TSB Bowl of Brooklands in New Plymouth on 29 December 2024, played Robrosa Station at Cardrona on 4 January 2025, the Black Barn Amphitheatre in Hastings, the Trafalgar Centre in Nelson, Joes Farm in Whangamata and Queen Elizabeth II Park in Christchurch, then crossed to Australia in February and March 2025: The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel in Adelaide, the Roundhouse in Sydney, the Astor Theatre and the Rosemount Hotel in Perth, Crowbar and The Tivoli in Brisbane, and the Corner Hotel and the Forum Theatre in Melbourne, the last Australian show, on Friday 7 March 2025.

The final week was in New Zealand: the Powerstation in Auckland on 12 March, Spark Arena in Auckland on Friday 14 March, a set on the Wellington Waterfront on Saturday 15 March, and a last show at Meow Nui in Wellington on Sunday 16 March 2025, where they played their 1993 debut album Churn from start to finish. That is the last Shihad concert in the archive.

If former members announce solo or side-project shows in 2027, those are separate acts and not Shihad concerts. Any listing that sells 2027 'Shihad' tickets should be treated with suspicion until it is confirmed by the venue or a recognised promoter.

Before the Shihad Australia Tour 2027: Australia/NZ concert history

Shihad's live story began in Wellington pubs in the late 1980s, when the band were under age and played Metallica and Motörhead covers. In 1990 they supported the Angels in New Zealand, and in 1991 Kippenberger's second gig with the band was a support slot for AC/DC at Athletic Park in Wellington, in front of 20,000 people. After Churn (1993) they toured New Zealand and Australia, and in February 1994 they played the first Big Day Out held in Auckland.

By the late 1990s Australia was home. The band moved to Melbourne by 1998 and toured both countries for every album. Wikipedia mentions a show at The Playroom in Brisbane in March 2000 with Magic Dirt and Pretty Violet Stain, and a Pacifier-era co-headline tour with Superheist, the Kings of Rock Tour, which reached Le Rox in Adelaide. In February and March 2008 the One Will Hear the Other Tour played 30 shows along Australia's east coast, and later that year the Beautiful Machine Tour reached medium-sized New Zealand halls such as the Wellington Town Hall. In January and February 2010 they supported AC/DC on the New Zealand leg of the Black Ice World Tour.

The setlist archive used for this page starts in 2012. That year they played Bar Medusa and the Wellington Waterfront in February, then The Meanest tour in February and April 2012, which covered Invercargill, Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium, Hamilton, Tauranga, the Coroglen Tavern, the Powerstation in Auckland, Greymouth, Nelson, The Bedford in Christchurch and the Station Village Complex in Lower Hutt. Over the 2012 to 2013 summer they toured New Zealand beach towns as The Heavyweight Kings of Rock: Lower Hutt, Gisborne, Tauranga, Coromandel, Riwaka on New Year's Eve, New Plymouth and Mangawhai.

The FVEY album of 2014 brought the FVEY Live dates: Horncastle Arena in Christchurch in September 2014, then another summer run through Lower Hutt, Coroglen, New Plymouth, Riwaka, Cathedral Square in Christchurch on New Year's Eve, Mount Maunganui and Matakana. In 2015 they played two nights on the Wellington Waterfront in March, Killjoy in full at the Powerstation in May, stadium dates at Westpac Stadium in Wellington and Western Springs in Auckland in December, and New Year's Eve at Robrosa Station, Cardrona, for Rhythm and Alps.

In Australia the archive shows The Factory Theatre in Sydney and the Croxton Park Hotel in Melbourne in July 2016, Roma Street Parklands in Brisbane in October 2016 and AC/DC Lane in Melbourne in May 2017. The Shihad 30 anniversary tour of 2018 played The Bedford in Christchurch, Shed 6 in Wellington, The Mayfair in New Plymouth, The Factory in Hamilton, the Auckland Town Hall and Mount Park in Mount Maunganui in October, then the Rosemount Hotel in Perth, Metropolis Fremantle, Fowlers Live in Adelaide, The Triffid in Brisbane, the Metro Theatre in Sydney on 24 November and 170 Russell in Melbourne on 30 November 2018, before the Kirwan Tavern in Townsville and Queensland summer dates in 2019.

Old Gods came out in October 2021, and in 2022 the band played La La La's in Wollongong, the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney and Eatons Hill near Brisbane in April, then This Is the Sound of an Empire Falling in New Zealand: the Glenroy Auditorium in Dunedin, Spark Arena in Auckland on 30 September, the Hunter Lounge in Wellington and the James Hay Theatre in Christchurch in early October 2022. They played Hagley Park in Christchurch in December 2022, the Wellington Waterfront in March 2023, Coolangatta and the Sandstone Point Hotel in June 2023, the Auckland Town Hall in December 2023, and Crowbar in Sydney, Gosford and Mystery Creek near Hamilton in February 2024, before the farewell tour.

The table below lists 113 documented Australia/NZ concerts by Shihad between 2012 and 2025, with the most shows in Auckland (13), Wellington (12), Melbourne (11), Christchurch (10), Sydney (6), Brisbane (5). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.

Concert data: setlist.fm

Shihad Australia Tour 2027 setlist: the songs played most often in Australia and New Zealand

Across the 15 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (7 February 2025 to 16 March 2025), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.

1. The General Electric — played at 15 of 15 shows
2. My Mind's Sedate — played at 14 of 15 shows
3. Pacifier — played at 14 of 15 shows
4. Run — played at 14 of 15 shows
5. Beautiful Machine — played at 13 of 15 shows
6. Feel the Fire — played at 13 of 15 shows
7. Home Again — played at 13 of 15 shows
8. Intro — played at 13 of 15 shows
9. Sleepeater — played at 13 of 15 shows
10. Tear Down Those Names — played at 12 of 15 shows
11. You Again — played at 12 of 15 shows
12. Comfort Me — played at 11 of 15 shows
13. Everything — played at 11 of 15 shows
14. Think You're So Free — played at 11 of 15 shows

Before the Shihad Australia Tour 2027: past Australia/NZ tours at a glance

• LOUD FOREVER (2024–2025): 18 Australia/NZ shows — New Plymouth, Cardrona, Hastings, Nelson, Whangamata, Adelaide, Sydney, Perth, Brisbane, Christchurch, Melbourne, Auckland….
• This Is The Sound Of An Empire Falling (2022): 4 Australia/NZ shows — Dunedin, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch.
• Shihad 30 (2018–2019): 14 Australia/NZ shows — Christchurch, Wellington, New Plymouth, Hamilton, Auckland, Mount Maunganui, Perth, Fremantle, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne….
• The Rock 1500 Countdown Party (2017): 1 Australia/NZ show — Auckland.
• FVEY LIVE (2014–2015): 8 Australia/NZ shows — Christchurch, Lower Hutt, Coromandel, New Plymouth, Riwaka, Mount Maunganui, Matakana.
• The Heavyweight Kings Of Rock (2012–2013): 8 Australia/NZ shows — Lower Hutt, Gisborne, Tauranga, Coromandel, Riwaka, New Plymouth, Mangawhai.
• The Meanest (2012): 10 Australia/NZ shows — Invercargill, Dunedin, Hamilton, Tauranga, Coromandel, Auckland, Greymouth, Nelson, Christchurch, Lower Hutt.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027 and Australia/NZ festivals

Festivals were a big part of Shihad's life in both countries. Wikipedia records the first Auckland Big Day Out in February 1994 and the 1996 Big Day Out tour, during which their manager Gerald Dwyer died after the Auckland show; the band missed the Gold Coast date for his funeral and rejoined the tour in Sydney. At the 2002 Big Day Out in Auckland they sold T-shirts announcing a new name, and in July 2005 they played the main stage at Splendour in the Grass in Byron Bay in front of 20,000 people.

On New Year's Eve 2015 they co-headlined Rhythm and Alps at Cardrona Valley near Wānaka with Carl Cox, and the archive shows them back at Robrosa Station, the Rhythm and Alps site, for New Year's Eve 2020 and on the farewell tour on 4 January 2025. Their very last full-band festival set was on the Wellington Waterfront on 15 March 2025, the day before the final concert.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: career and records

Jon Toogood and Tom Larkin met at Wellington High School and formed Exit in 1985, renamed Shihad in 1988 when Phil Knight joined. The name was a misspelling of 'jihad' as used in Frank Herbert's Dune. Their first EP, Devolve (1990), was a thrash-metal record, and Churn (1993), produced by Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke, added an industrial edge and the single 'I Only Said'.

Killjoy (1995) won Album of the Year at the 1996 New Zealand Music Awards, and the band toured Europe with Faith No More. After the self-titled album of 1996, The General Electric (1999), recorded in Vancouver with Garth Richardson, became their first New Zealand No. 1 and reached No. 23 in Australia, with 'My Mind's Sedate' and 'Pacifier'.

After 11 September 2001 the band renamed themselves Pacifier for the US market. The album Pacifier (2002) reached No. 8 in Australia, their best result there, but the name change upset fans and they went back to Shihad in 2004. Love Is the New Hate (2005) and Beautiful Machine (2008) both reached No. 11 in Australia; Ignite (2010) was their fourth New Zealand No. 1. In 2010 they were inducted into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame.

Coleman returned to produce FVEY (2014), recorded live in the studio, which reached No. 9 in Australia and No. 1 in New Zealand. Old Gods (2021), produced by Adam Spark of Birds of Tokyo, gave them a record sixth New Zealand No. 1. Outside the band, Larkin runs a Melbourne studio and has produced many Australian acts, Toogood formed the Adults and performs solo, and Knight hosts a podcast about anxiety and recovery.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: the farewell tour, city by city

Loud Forever was built so that fans could hear almost the whole catalogue. In most cities the band played a main show of about 26 songs, opening with 'Tear Down Those Names', 'Feel the Fire' and 'Think You're So Free' and covering every era. In several cities they added a second, smaller show devoted to one album in full.

In Perth the Rosemount Hotel and in Melbourne the Corner Hotel heard The General Electric from 'My Mind's Sedate' onwards; Crowbar in Brisbane heard Pacifier; the Powerstation in Auckland heard Killjoy; and the last night at Meow Nui in Wellington went back to Churn. The main shows were at The Governor Hindmarsh Hotel, the Roundhouse, the Astor Theatre, The Tivoli, the Forum Theatre and Spark Arena.

Ending in Wellington, the city where the band formed, was deliberate. After the Waterfront set on 15 March, the final concert on 16 March 2025 ran to 33 songs.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: a New Zealand band in Australia

Few New Zealand bands have spent as much time on Australian stages as Shihad. They relocated to Melbourne in the late 1990s, recorded Beautiful Machine at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, and played 30 east-coast shows on a single tour in 2008.

The archive shows how wide that touring went in their later years: pubs and band rooms such as the Croxton Park Hotel, the Pier Bandroom, the Village Green Hotel, the Racehorse Hotel in Ipswich, the Kirwan Tavern in Townsville and the Long Jetty Hotel, as well as theatres such as the Metro, The Triffid and the Forum.

Their best Australian chart result was Pacifier, No. 8 in 2002, and several albums reached the top 15, so the Australian audience was never just expatriate New Zealanders.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: Wellington and the waterfront

Wellington appears again and again in the archive: Bar Medusa and the Waterfront in 2012, the Waterfront in 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2023, Shed 6 for Shihad 30 in October 2018, the Hunter Lounge at Union Hall in 2022, and Westpac Stadium in December 2015.

Wikipedia also notes that Shed 6 show on the 30th anniversary tour, which reviewers saw as proof that the band had grown from thrash metal into a band of anthems. The farewell weekend of March 2025 closed the circle in the same city.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: what remains for 2027

There is no Shihad for 2027. The members have other careers, and the band presented Loud Forever as their last tour.

Fans who want to hear the songs live should follow the members' own projects. If any of them announce Australian or New Zealand shows in 2027, they will be billed under their own names, not as Shihad. Sign up below and we will tell you if that changes.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: what to expect live

The farewell main set ran to 25 or 26 songs. A typical night opened with 'Tear Down Those Names', 'Feel the Fire' and 'Think You're So Free', moved through 'FVEY', 'Sleepeater', 'Ignite' and 'One Will Hear the Other', and covered the older hits, including 'My Mind's Sedate', 'The General Electric', 'Pacifier', 'Comfort Me' and 'Home Again'.

Earlier tours had their own shape. The Shihad 30 shows of 2018 ran in reverse chronological order, starting with 'Think You're So Free' and working back to 'Factory' from Churn. The Meanest tour of 2012 did the opposite, opening with 'It' and 'Down Dance' from the first EP. From 2022 their cover of Split Enz's 'I Got You', recorded for a tribute album, was often part of the set.

Album-in-full shows were a speciality: Killjoy and The General Electric in New Zealand in 2010, Killjoy at the Powerstation in 2015, and four different albums on the farewell tour.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027 tickets and presales

There are no Shihad tickets for 2027 because the band no longer exists. Any website selling Shihad concert tickets or 'presale codes' for 2027 is not official.

If former members announce their own shows, buy only through the official seller named by the venue, the venue box office or the artist's own mailing list. Many venues in Australia and New Zealand use name-locked mobile tickets, and resale above face value is restricted in several places.

Sign up below for the alert if you want to know about any related announcement for Australia or New Zealand in 2027.

Shihad Australia Tour 2027: questions and answers

Is Shihad touring Australia or New Zealand in 2027?

No. The band ended in March 2025 and nothing has been announced for 2027.

When was Shihad's last concert?

At Meow Nui in Wellington on 16 March 2025, where they played Churn in full.

When did Shihad last play Australia?

At the Forum Theatre in Melbourne on 7 March 2025, on the Loud Forever farewell tour.

Why did Shihad split?

Growing gaps between albums and the members' commitments outside the band meant they could no longer give Shihad the time it needed. They announced the end on 13 November 2024.

What was the Loud Forever tour?

The 1988–2025 farewell tour of New Zealand and Australia, from New Plymouth on 29 December 2024 to Wellington on 16 March 2025.

Did Shihad play Spark Arena on the farewell tour?

Yes, on 14 March 2025. They had also played there on 30 September 2022.

What is Shihad's best Australian chart album?

Pacifier (2002), which reached No. 8.

Were Shihad based in Australia?

Yes. The band moved their base to Melbourne by 1998 and toured Australia regularly for more than 25 years.

Is there a Shihad presale code?

No. There are no Shihad concerts to sell. Any code offered online is not genuine.