One of Australia's favourite Canadian exports, The Tea Party return next year for their national Elements tour, presenting two very different types of shows.
The Elements tour sees The Tea Party undertake a five-show run split in two. The Fire shows in Brisbane, Wollongong and Adelaide will be performed in the band's traditional trio rock format. Then in Melbourne and Sydney, the Wind shows will feature The Tea Party accompanied by Orchestra Victoria and the Metropolitan Orchestra, respectively.
According to frontman and primary songwriter of The Tea Party Jeff Martin, the idea for the two-part rock/ orchestral format came from Live Nation after the band's previous Australian tour in June 2024.
"To see The Tea Party play as a trio just as we are, it sounds like an orchestra already. There's a lot going on," Jeff says.
"We have done very successful orchestral things in the past in Canada and here in Australia, but Live Nation had the idea that, 'The Tea Party is Australia's favourite Canadian export'," he chuckles, "'let's put them in the [Sydney] Opera House'."
A proud permanent resident of Australia since 2008, now residing comfortably on Sunshine Coast, Jeff marks the Elements tour as a significant achievement for him and the band.
"It's going to be a milestone in the band's career because I believe we're the first Canadian rock band to play the Opera House, especially with the Sydney symphony. It's going to be something extraordinary, so I'm really looking forward to it," he says.
Over the past 30-plus years, The Tea Party has continually shaped and reshaped expectations of modern music, incorporating a dizzying blend of instrumentation and genre. Given The Tea Party's already has an orchestral quality, Jeff says scoring it for the real thing was a "match made in heaven".
"The gentleman that did the scores for us, I mean I helped a little bit but just directing him in the vision I had for the actual orchestral scores, but what we have just complements the music so very well. It's a different piece because we have to tame the band slightly," he laughs.
"You know if you go see a Tea Party show, like the full-on rock show, it's as loud as anything else, but with an orchestra you have to be a bit more subdued, still get that intensity across, but there's tricks and ways around it to still get the band front and centre but really, we put the focus on the orchestra.
"Every time we do something like this, people walk out of any venue with an orchestra and The Tea Party and there's tears coming down your eyes. It's that emotional."
The Elements tour also coincides with the 35th anniversary of The Tea Party, but for Jeff and his bandmates, it's been a lifetime of working and playing together. "First of all, I'm just so blessed that I get to go up onstage in that band and the other two people that I play with are my best friends," Jeff says.
"Well, they're my brothers; I've known Jeff Burrows since I was 5 years old; I've known Stuart since I was 12 or 13. So, if you think about it and do the math, we've almost been together as long as like The Rolling Stones," he laughs.
The Tea Party 2026 Tour Dates
Fri 6 Feb - Hamer Hall (Melbourne)* with Orchestra VictoriaWed 11 Feb - Sydney Opera House* with The Metropolitan Orchestra
Thu 12 Feb - Anita's Theatre (Wollongong)
Fri 13 Feb - The Fortitude Music Hall (Brisbane)
Sun 15 Feb - Hindley Street Music Hall (Adelaide)
