Tim Levinson aka Urthboy has spoken from the heart and directly to his legion about the immediate financial pressures affecting the viability of his current – and possibly – farewell tour.
A national 18-date tour that commenced last month with two FNQ shows before heading south to play Adelaide, Ballarat and Melbourne before venturing west to Perth, Margaret River and Fremantle at the weekend, Urthboy shared some frank admissions about tour life for an indie artist in 2023."This tour has been rewarding in lots of ways. . . Music! Banter! Selfies for days. . . But while some gigs have been big and unforgettable, others have been strangely quiet and I'm looking at a hefty financial loss.
"I can't make sense of why it's so hot and cold. Normally I've had 400-600 at each gig I've done in Margaret River. On Sat we had 50 (and I appreciated every single person!). But it was 50 people and you can imagine the loss we make as a touring party over the other side of the country.
"Melbourne was really busy, Ballarat was super quiet. I don't mind losing cash – you win some you lose some – but the amount we're staring at is 10s of 1000s and it's not even close to viable."
An original OG of Australian hip hop with a slew of hits ('We Get Around', 'Long Loud Hours', 'The Arrow'), Urthboy is pragmatic that the vast majority of people are doing it tough currently – "interest rates, petrol costs, electricity bills, rent etc. We're experiencing all this in our personal lives" – but is seriously contemplating cancelling some of the remaining shows on the tour.
"Later this week I'll be making tough decisions on whether we cancel shows. Wollongong, Canberra, Sunny Coast, Gold Coast, Hobart and Forth are the ones that are struggling.
"The thought of cancelling shows makes me feel ill – I've never done it in my career – so this is not something I'm taking lightly, especially for the legends who've bought tix. I just wanted to level with you and explain. We'll see how things go in the next 72 hours.
"To anyone who was thinking about buying 'em, **now is the time**. I need your help so I'd love you to get involved."
Despite his current predicament, Tim remains realistic. "It's just one chapter in a long story that I'm immensely proud of. I consider myself unbelievably fortunate."
Urthboy 2023 Tour Dates
Thu 13 Apr - UOW UniBar (Wollongong)Fri 14 Apr - Kambri ANU (Canberra)
Sat 15 Apr - The Great Club (Sydney)
Thu 20 Apr - Solbar (Sunshine Coast)
Fri 21 Apr - The Zoo (Brisbane)
Sat 22 Apr - BBQ Bazaar (Gold Coast)
Fri 5 May - Cambridge Hotel (Newcastle)
Sat 6 May - Blue Mountains Theatre
Fri 12 May - Altar (Hobart)
Sat 13 May - Forth Pub (Aberdeen, TAS)
