Dermot Kennedy has announced the special guests for his upcoming Australian and New Zealand tour, with Adelaide five-piece Any Young Mechanic joining him across Australia and New Zealand folk-rock outfit Mountain Boy opening the shows across the Tasman.

The Irish singer-songwriter kicks off his Australian run at Perth’s Kings Park and Botanic Garden on November 14, before heading to Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide. The tour then crosses to New Zealand for three shows in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland.

For Australian audiences, Any Young Mechanic are an interesting addition to the bill. The Tarntanya/Adelaide outfit blend classical training with indie folk and experimental influences, creating an expansive acoustic sound that has already earned them considerable attention. Remarkably, they became the first band to perform at the UK’s Reading & Leeds Festival without having released a single track.

Across the Tasman, Mountain Boy will handle support duties. Led by songwriter and producer Aaron Clarke, the New Zealand group have built a loyal following through their folk-rock sound and tightly connected live performances. Their recently released album The Nights follows a sold-out headline tour across Australia and New Zealand.

Kennedy arrives with his new album The Weight of the Woods, released through Interscope Records. The 14-track record features ‘Honest’, ‘Funeral’ and ‘Refuge’, and has made him the first Irish solo artist to reach number one on the UK albums chart with each of his first three studio releases.

Much of the album was written and recorded near Kennedy’s home in rural Ireland alongside producer Gabe Simon, whose credits include Noah Kahan and Lana Del Rey. Further sessions took place in Nashville, with Kennedy drawing heavily on his Irish roots throughout the record.

It’s been quite a journey for the former Dublin busker. With more than four billion streams, a string of platinum certifications and a growing international audience, Kennedy has gone from street performances to selling out arenas. His debut Without Fear became Ireland’s best-selling debut album of the millennium, while 2022 follow-up Sonder cemented his place among contemporary folk-pop’s biggest names.

The Australian and New Zealand dates follow an extensive international run that has included London’s O2 Arena, Colorado’s Red Rocks Amphitheatre and New York’s Forest Hills Stadium.

With The Weight of the Woods now out in the world, Kennedy returns to Australia with new material, two carefully chosen support acts and an increasingly impressive catalogue behind him.

For tickets and further information head to livenation.com.au and livenation.co.nz.

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