Eight years is a long time between visits, but Detroit post-punk four-piece Protomartyr are returning to Australia this June.
Presented by David Roy Williams and Principal Entertainment, the Protomartyr tour takes in four cities across four consecutive days, spanning headline club shows and festival appearances. The band, comprising vocalist Joe Casey, guitarist Greg Ahee, drummer Alex Leonard and bassist Scott Davidson, have released six studio albums since forming in Detroit in 2010. Their sound channels the economic and social conditions of their Motor City origins through dense, atmospheric post-punk, anchored by Casey’s sharp observational writing. The group signed to Domino Records in 2017.
Protomartyr’s most recent album, 2023’s Formal Growth in the Desert, was produced by Jake Aron at Sonic Ranch in Tornillo, Texas. The 12-track record explores themes of grief, perseverance and the stubborn act of carrying on, shaped by a period of profound personal change for Casey. It was the band’s third release through Domino, following 2017’s Relatives in Descent and 2020’s Ultimate Success Today.
Protomartyr Australia 2026
18 June: Mary’s Underground, Sydney (with Antenna and Bennetts Grove)
19 June: The Night Cat, Melbourne (with Npcede, Twine and Craning)
20 June: Against the Grain festival, Brisbane
21 June: Dark Mofo, Hobart
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The run opens at Sydney’s Mary’s Underground with garage powerpop group Antenna, which features members of Royal Headache and Neighbours, and post-punk act Bennetts Grove on support. Melbourne’s show lands at Fitzroy’s The Night Cat, one of the city’s longest-running live music venues, with a loaded local bill.
Npcede, the Naarm industrial trio of brothers Victor and Roy Moore and childhood friend Zac Hellyer, have quickly become one of Melbourne’s most arresting live propositions since forming in late 2022. The group blend dark industrial textures with electronic, noise and punk elements, and released their debut EP through Chapter Music. They’ve shared stages with the likes of CLAMM, Shady Nasty and Fabulous Diamonds. Adelaide noise outfit Twine and Brisbane’s Craning complete the Melbourne support lineup.
The tour wraps with festival appearances at Brisbane’s Against the Grain, a one-day block party festival taking over the Clarence Corner precinct in Woolloongabba, and Hobart’s Dark Mofo, which runs from 11 to 22 June. Tickets for headline shows go on sale 16 April.
For more information, head here.
