Kurt Vile || Long awaited return of Philadelphia’s laid-back psych-pop master

Sydney — Wednesday 30 November 2022

Beloved Philadelphia psych rocker Kurt Vile will make his highly anticipated return to the Sydney Opera House after seven years with his band The Violators, playing fan favourites and music from his recent album, (watch my moves), for one special night in the Concert Hall on Friday 31 March.

"So stoked for our return to the iconic Opera House for the second time ever (first time was in 2016!) in gorgeous Sydney where all the fans call me “Kurty” (ok they say that in all of Oz, thank god!)," said Kurt Vile. 

“Kurt Vile is a master craftsman of the quietly brilliant tune. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome him and the Violators back to a renewed Concert Hall, allowing his laconic, unhurried songwriting to shine brighter than ever with the refurbished acoustics. Get ready to kick back and vibe out, as we are treated to a stroll inside the mind of one of the most idiosyncratic indie voices of our time,” said Sydney Opera House Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall.

The former lead guitarist of mid-2000s cult faves The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile is a singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist who has carved out one of the most admired careers in indie rock, drawing on the rich, fried guitar-pop tradition of artists like Neil Young, Dinosaur Jr., the Meat Puppets and Pavement. His 2013 breakthrough, Wakin on a Pretty Daze, brought his brand of cosmic stoner rock to a wider audience, before 2015’s b’lieve i’m going down yielded his biggest hit, the existential but goofy “Pretty Pimpin”. He’s since collaborated with Australian garage star Courtney Barnett on 2017’s misfit duet collection Lotta Sea Lice, and one of his key influences, the late John Prine on 2020’s bittersweet EP Speed, Sound, Lonely KV.

Propelled by Vile's easy-going charm – he cheekily dubbed himself “Philly’s Constant Hitmaker” – 2022’s irresistibly vibrant and meditative (watch my moves) features a collaboration with Cate Le Bon and a memorable cover of Bruce Springsteen’s eerie “Wages of Sin”, and was praised by NME as “spacey and sprawling dream-pop adventure.”

EVENT DETAILS
WHAT:    Kurt Vile
WHEN:   8:30pm, Friday 31 March, 2023
WHERE:   Concert Hall
TICKETS:  From $49 + booking fee // sydneyoperahouse.com // +61 2 9250 7777
Insiders pre-Sale: 9am, Wednesday 30 November
What’s On pre-Sale: 12pm, Wednesday 30 November
On sale: 9am, Friday 2 December