The Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour will see Spiderbait head around the country between August and October for a ten date tour.
20 years ago a ’55 chevy zoomed through suburban streets becoming synonymous with the thumping drum beats of Kram and reviving the African-American work song ‘Black Betty’. Spiderbait made the song their own, as a massive hit from their seminal studio album Tonight Alright.
To celebrate the longevity of the song and the bands mammoth career, Spiderbait have announced a national headline tour, The Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour, taking to ten cities around Australia from August through to October.
The tour will start in Brisbane on Tuesday 13 August, making its way through Adelaide, Hobart, Newcastle, Wollongong, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney, Gold Coast and finishing in out capital city, Canberra on Friday 25 October.
Spiderbait – The Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour Dates
- TUESDAY 13 AUGUST – The Fortitude Music Hall | Brisbane, QLD (Lic. All Ages) with Polish Club
- FRIDAY 16 AUGUST – Hindley Street Music Hall | Adelaide, SA (18+) with Polish Club
- SATURDAY 17 AUGUST – Odeon Theatre | Hobart, TAS (Lic. All Ages) with Polish Club
- FRIDAY 30 AUGUST – Bar On The Hill | Newcastle, NSW (Lic. All Ages) with Polish Club
- SATURDAY 31 AUGUST – Waves | Wollongong, NSW (18+) with Polish Club
- SATURDAY 14 SEPTEMBER – The Astor Theatre | Perth, WA (Lic. All Ages) with Abbe May
- FRIDAY 20 SEPTEMBER – Forum | Melbourne, VIC (18+) with Private Function
- SATURDAY 21 SEPTEMBER – Enmore Theatre | Sydney, NSW (Lic. All Ages) with Polish Club
- SUNDAY 20 OCTOBER – Miami Marketta Laneway | Gold Coast, QLD (Lic. All Ages) with Adalita
- FRIDAY 25 OCTOBER – UC Refectory | Canberra, ACT (Lic. All Ages) with Adalita
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Recorded in California, Tonight Alright (2004) leant into the hard rock sound of the early-2000’s, stealing the scene and cementing the band as Australian rock icons. The album debuted at No.14 on the ARIA Album Chart that year and featured the band’s most popular song to date, ‘Black Betty’ alongside ‘Fucken Awesome’ and ‘Alright’. Defying age and genre, ‘Black Betty’ arrived fifteen years into Spiderbait’s storied career after tracks like ‘Buy Me a Pony’, ‘Calypso’, and ‘Shazam!’ had built the bands name on a global scale. The song continued to climb the charts after release, reaching the top of the ARIA Singles Chart two months after its debut and hitting the US Top 40 Rock Chart.
To celebrate the massive milestone for Tonight Alright, Spiderbait will issue the album on vinyl for the first time. The 20th Anniversary edition – released on 26 July– arrives on limited edition red vinyl, with alternative artwork, imagery and an alternate version of the single, ‘Tonite’. Preorder the vinyl HERE.
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In continued celebrations, the Black Betty 20th Anniversary Tour will see special guests of Australian rock royalty join Spiderbait for specific dates on the leg. ‘Clarity’ and ‘Breakapart’ builders Polish Club will join the tour for the Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart, Newcastle, Wollongong and Sydney shows, Abbe May will jump up in Perth, Private Function make an appearance in Melbourne and good friend of the band and collaborator, Adalita will step into the Gold Coast and Canberra shows.
Presale will be run through promoters Frontier, with members presale going live Monday 20 May from 10am local time, with tickets going live for general public on Wednesday 22 May from 10am local time. Further ticketing information can be found here.
