Damien Rice

Sydney — Tuesday 14 February 2023

Legendary Irish troubadour Damien Rice will return to Australia to make his highly-anticipated Sydney Opera House debut in the Concert Hall on Thursday 11 May, for a night of classic songs, wry banter and emotional power.

The folk rock legend will offer fans a rare first glimpse of new music, alongside the emotionally-wrought verses that defined a generation of 21st-century heartache such as enduring favourites “The Blower’s Daughter”, “Volcano”, “Cannonball”, and the global smash “9 Crimes.”

“Both tragic and triumphant, Damien Rice’s brand of raw, yearning acoustic songwriting has left an indelible mark on popular culture over the past two decades. Remarkably this is the fiercely independent folk artist’s Sydney Opera House debut, and the Concert Hall is the perfect sonic cathedral for his atmospheric and tenderly romantic songs that continue to touch the hearts of his countless fans around the world. Come get goosebumps at this rare appearance from a singular artist in the perfect setting,” said Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall.

The Dublin-born multi-instrumentalist rocketed to stardom in 2002 on the strength of his debut album O. He collected the Shortlist Music Prize and quickly earned a reputation for his powerful live shows featuring masterful dynamics and raw melodrama, often underlined by his unconventional tendency to walk onstage with no setlist. Rice’s self-imposed absence following his 2014 album My Favourite Faded Fantasy – his most recent album to date – only adds to the anticipation among eager fans.