Review: Greg Phillips. Photos: David Harris Photography
In late August, Paul Kelly commenced his largest-ever Australian headline tour, with significant support acts in tow — including American alt-country rock legend Lucinda Williams and our own high-spirited country star Fanny Lumsden with her band.
Fanny’s set was short and sweet: just five songs in a twenty-minute bracket, but enough to convince Melbourne concert-goers that she’s the real deal. Lumsden opened with a spirited When I Die, followed by the evocative Land of Gold. As always, the vivacious Lumsden injected heart and soul into her performance, quickly winning the crowd over. An uplifting Dig left smiles on faces and heightened anticipation for what was to come. For those wanting more, Fanny has just announced a national tour for February 2026.
The effects of the stroke Lucinda Williams suffered in 2020 were apparent as the fragile-looking country-rock icon was helped to the microphone. But once her band launched into the feisty Rock ’n’ Roll Heart, Lucinda’s gritty, emotive voice cut through immediately. She seemed to relish her time on stage before a huge crowd, supporting the Australian artist who had blown her away many years ago at a show in LA. The audience responded warmly to Drunken Angel, her classic tribute to the late Blaze Foley from 1998’s Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. A fiery take on Memphis Minnie’s You Can’t Rule Me was dedicated to the current American president’s attempts at “systematically trying to step on our democracy,” drawing loud cheers.
Ahead of Out of Touch, Williams introduced her touring band: David Sutton on bass (of Buick 6 fame), Brady Blade on drums, and the dual guitar attack of Doug Pettibone and Mark Ford, who compensated for Williams’ inability to play guitar. A standout moment came with While My Guitar Gently Weeps from her Sings the Beatles from Abbey Road album, showcasing the band’s rock muscle. Closing with Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, Williams left the stage pumping her fist in the air — statement made, audience conquered.
Paul Kelly strode to the stage like a man on a mission, making a beeline for the piano to play the bouncing opening notes of Houndstooth Dress from last year’s Fever Longing Still album. He segued straight into Firewood and Candles, kickstarting the purring motor that is his outstanding band. Over his distinguished four-decade career, Kelly has played almost every venue in Melbourne — from inner-city dives to packed festival stages — but until now had never headlined two sold-out Rod Laver Arena shows. Although raised in Adelaide, Melburnians embraced this event as a homecoming of epic proportions, just metres from the MCG and the heritage-listed Nylex clock that so vividly symbolises Paul Kelly’s music.
These concerts weren’t just about hearing the radio hits we grew up with; they were a chance to immerse ourselves in a sentimental journey through Australian life. Kelly’s songs are like a collection of musical antiquities, and he is both curator and custodian of the keys. For the next couple of hours, we joined him in the back seat of his metaphorical station wagon: crossing state borders, playing cricket on the beach, fishing northern rivers, experiencing Christmas dinners and family dilemmas — all reminders of what it means to be Australian. Kelly also acknowledged our First Nations people and their struggles, while celebrating hope and resilience. Throughout the night, he paid tribute to fallen collaborators Steve Connolly and Spencer P. Jones, as well as industry legends Michael Gudinski, Warren Costello and Pierre Baroni. It was a heartfelt Melbourne music history lesson.
Kelly recalled hearing his first single on the radio while driving up the Hume Highway with his band, stopping at a roadhouse to celebrate. That story segued into a joyous rendition of Before Too Long, and the Rod Laver Arena party was well and truly underway.
Ever the master of concert dynamics, Kelly blended new material with classics in perfectly timed increments. Rising Moon (2017) was followed by Careless, enriched by the extraordinary vocals of singer-percussionist Jess Hitchcock.
More than any other Australian songwriter, Kelly has created characters as iconic as his melodies. He’s our Dylan, our Springsteen. Everyone knows How to Make Gravy and its protagonist Joe, imagining his wife Rita dancing too close to his brother Dan at Christmas. With help from his nephew, multi-instrumentalist Dan Kelly, Paul has now written the sequel, Rita Wrote a Letter, confirming Joe’s worst fears.
Introducing drummer Peter Luscombe and bassist Bill McDonald as the “best rhythm section in the world” — a duo playing together since 1978 — the band launched into Love Never Runs on Time, their first recording with Kelly.
When I First Met Your Ma, Kelly’s bittersweet tale of meeting his first wife at Richmond’s Kingston Hotel, was another highlight. The country-flavoured Harpoon to the Heart from Fever Longing Still featured intricate dual guitars from Ashley Naylor and Dan Kelly, while Every Day My Mother’s Voice was lifted by Hitchcock’s haunting vocal.
Sonnet 18 reflected Kelly’s love of Shakespeare, accompanied by a colourful Monty Python-esque animation and delicate mandolin from Dan Kelly.
Of course, no show would be complete without From St Kilda to Kings Cross. Kelly insisted that Steve Connolly’s original guitar parts are “set in stone” and “not to be fucked with,” as the crowd sang along eagerly. To Her Door sent the audience volume even higher, Ashley Naylor nailing the iconic guitar lines.
Well into the second hour, the momentum never faltered. A reflection on childhood swimming lessons with his father introduced a tender Deeper Water, swelling as the band joined in. God Told Me To unleashed the full power of the ensemble. Let’s acknowledge these saints: Peter Luscombe (drums), Bill McDonald (bass), Ashley Naylor (guitar), Dan Kelly (guitar, mandolin, ukulele), Cameron Bruce (keyboards), and Jess Hitchcock (vocals, percussion). Dumb Things brought the crowd to its feet, How to Make Gravy had the entire arena singing in unison, and Kev Carmody’s From Little Things Big Things Grow was delivered with passion, voice and spirit shared by all.
After leaving the stage briefly, the band returned for Going to the River with Dad from Fever Longing Still. Unsurprisingly, the loudest singalong of the night came with those immortal lines from Leaps and Bounds:
“High on the hill
Looking over the bridge
To the M.C.G.
And way up on high
The clock on the silo
Says eleven degrees”
We remembered. We remembered everything, thanks to Paul Kelly’s poignant life observations and meaningful lyrics. Finally, huddling together for a stunning A cappella Meet Me in the Middle of the Air, Kelly left us warmed, moved, and grateful — feelings that will linger for a long time.
Paul Kelly New Zealand dates
Tuesday 9 September
Christchurch Town Hall | Christchurch, NZ
ticketmaster.co.nz
Wednesday 10 September
Michael Fowler Centre | Wellington, NZ
ticketmaster.co.nz
Friday 12 September
SOLD OUT
Auckland Town Hall | Auckland, NZ
Set List. September 6
Houndstooth Dress
Firewood and Candles
Before Too Long
Rising Moon
Careless
Rita Wrote a Letter
Double Business Bound
Love Never Runs on Time
When I First Met Your Ma
Harpoon to the Heart
Every Day My Mother’s Voice
Sonnet 18
If I Could Start Today Again
They Thought I Was Asleep
From St Kilda to Kings Cross
All Those Smiling Faces
To Her Door
Northern Rivers
Deeper Water
God Told Me To
Dumb Things
How to Make Gravy
From Little Things Big Things Grow
Encore:
Going to the River With Dad
Leaps and Bounds
Meet Me in the Middle of the Air
