Australian hip hop OGs, The Herd celebrate the 20th anniversary of their era-defining longplayer 'The Sun Never Sets' with a seven-date national tour in 2026.
Next February, the Sydney crew will headline concerts in Wollongong, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Hobart – a run of shows diehard fans had long since given up hope would ever happen.
All but inactive since 2013 – aside from 2024's protest song 'Soul Of My Soul' against the Israel-Palestine war as well as playing Elefant Traks (the indie label run by The Herd band members for 26 years) farewell concert series last year – this will be a unique opportunity to hear such underground hip hop gems like 'Unpredictable', 'We Can't Hear You' and 'Under Pressure' (which featured Jane Tyrell, who joined the band full-time after the release of 'The Sun Never Sets') as well as the instant sing-along, their Like A Version cover of Redgum's 'I Was Only 19'.
A group who always wore their activism (anti-racism, decolonisation, anti-war and environmentalism themes) colours proudly, 20 years later, the songwriting and topics 'The Sun Never Sets' focuses on remain (sadly) as relevant today as they did in 2005.
"It was the first time we broke through to festivals, which wasn't easy for a hip hop band on an independent label back then," The Herd member and founder of Elefant Traks, Kenny Sabir aka Traksewt says.
"It came out in the shadow of the Cronulla riots, when flag-draped racism was on the rise, and we were pushing back with tracks like 'National Holiday'. We were still deep in experimentation mode too, making the MCs rap in odd time signatures and seeing how far we could stretch things. Judging by the awkward crowd dancing, we definitely found the limit.
"We were lucky to be part of one of the first Like A Version sessions with 'I Was Only 19'. That song always hit me as a kid, and reimagining it gave the album an extra life.
"We're so excited to be celebrating this record on the special 20th anniversary tour and blast the jumpable crowd with faves like 'Unpredictable', 'Under Pressure' and 'We Can't Hear You', alongside some deeper album cuts." Speaking of deep dives, can we request 'Can't Breathe' and 'No Disclaimers' to the set list?
Tickets on sale from 10am (local time) on 7 November.
The Herd 2026 Tour Dates
Thu 5 Feb - Anita's Theatre (Wollongong)Fri 6 Feb - Factory Theatre (Sydney)
Sat 7 Feb - The Triffid (Brisbane)
Fri 13 Feb - Magnet House (Perth)
Sat 14 Feb - The Gov (Adelaide)
Fri 20 Feb - 170 Russell (Melbourne)
Sat 21 Feb - Altar (Hobart)
