Naarm super-natural-group Bleak Squad are here to stay. The new four-piece comprised of true Australian art-rock royalty: Adalita (Magic Dirt), Mick Harvey (Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, PJ Harvey, The Birthday Party), Mick Turner (Dirty Three, Mess Esque) and Marty Brown (Art of Fighting) have announced a run of shows in February and March 2026.
Adding to their already announced festival appearances at Perth International Festival, Golden Plains and Riverboats, will be their first headline shows in Brisbane, Sydney and Canberra, as well as regional centres the Blue Mountains, Ballarat, Castlemaine, Eumundi and Murwillumbah.
Says Brown: “We looked at our calendars for next year and there were only a few weeks we were all in the country and available, so we’ve jam-packed as many shows into them as we could because god knows when the next opportunity to play live together will happen again”.
Their debut album Strange Love has been a roaring, out-of-left-field success in 2025. Topping the AIR Chart, making a top 40 ARIA Chart debut, PBS and Triple R Albums of the Week, and was shortlisted for The Australian Music Prize. Plus their first live shows that have left audiences mesmerised, including two shows at the Melbourne Recital Centre and a show in Sydney’s City Recital Hall with Ed Kuepper and Jim White.
Bleak Squad stopped by Junkyard for an intimate Studio 5 Live session. Listen back to this special performance and interview with Michael Mulholland here.
Studio 5 Live is made possible by Carlton Audio Visual and is supported by the Australian Government through Music Australia and Creative Australia, its arts funding and advisory body.
