Kevin Devine's AU Return: To Tour Australia After a Decade

For the first time since 2014, New York singer-songwriter Kevin Devine is set to make his long-awaited return to Australia. This highly anticipated acoustic headline tour will see Devine performing in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. Proudly presented by Destroy All Lines, the tour promises to be an intimate experience for fans who have missed his poignant lyrics and heartfelt performances.

Devine's 20-year career is a testament to his dedication and artistry, encompassing 10 full-length records, 11 EPs, 12 Devinyl Splits, and three albums with his band Bad Books. His creative journey has also found a new home on Patreon with "Social Club," a wildly successful platform where he shares new original music, cover songs, livestream concerts, and archival recordings with his fans every month.

In an exclusive interview ahead of his Australian tour, Devine opened up about his career, his influences, and his perspective on the music industry. Reflecting on his journey, he shared, “It’s like on my headstone it could say, ‘Not famous, but beloved by those who knew.’ I authentically feel like I won the lottery that that’s the truth.” Despite his sense of fulfillment, Devine acknowledged the insecurities and competitive pressures that plague many working musicians. “That’s late-stage casino capitalism,” he remarked, highlighting the distorted influences that create challenges for artists.

Devine's music is deeply influenced by the aesthetics and ideologies of Kurt Cobain and Elliott Smith, two artists whose struggles with fame and the music industry left a lasting impact on him. He lamented how the capitalist dynamics of the music industry ultimately harmed both artists. “I kinda wish neither of those people were any more famous than playing 500-capacity clubs, cause I think it was bad for them,” he said, drawing a poignant analogy to Ferdinand the Bull, a character who longs to sit among the flowers rather than engage in bullfighting. Devine reads this story to his daughter, finding wisdom in Ferdinand’s choice to leave the arena. “I wanna figure out a way to just get as far away from the bullfight as possible,” he added.

Joining Devine on all dates of the tour is indigenous singer-songwriter Jimmy Kyle from the band Chasing Ghosts. Kyle will perform songs from his latest EP ‘Homelands Unplugged,’ as well as fan favorites from his career discography. This collaboration promises to add a rich, cultural dimension to the tour, offering audiences a unique blend of storytelling and acoustic brilliance. Some friends of ours LoveLoveLove and FVNERAL, also join Kevin in Sydney and Brisbane

Don’t miss the chance to see Kevin Devine live in a city near you for an unforgettable night!

Hello Kevin! How are you, and where are you currently?

Hello sir.  I’m doing okay, all things considered.  I’m in my apartment in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, NY.

Awesome to hear that you will be touring Australia this June! What are you looking forward to the most about touring here again? It’s been a real long time since you were here last, and what was the last tour here you did?

I know - I’m really excited to come back, I truly kinda thought that ship had sailed - it’s been ten years, and with Covid, and the way the music industry has sorta eroded its middle class in that time, I just sorta figured I’d probably not get the chance.  I’m thrilled.  I’m looking forward to the people, to the distinct personality of each place, to the overall energy, I’ve always really liked my time there.  The last one was supporting Manchester Orchestra (and APES) in 2014.

How did picking the supports for the AU Tour come to be? And did you get to dive into listening to say LOVELOVELOVE and FVNERAL ahead of picking them for the shows?

Destroy All Lines, the tour’s promoter, reached out with the idea about accepting submissions for local support at each show, and I thought it was creative and inclusive and cool.  I really genuinely enjoyed everyone who submitted and would’ve loved to curate an all-day festival in each town with multiple local bands playing with Jimmy & I.  I did listen to all the acts and am definitely looking forward to meeting and playing with them all.

I’ve been an avid listener of Kevin Devine for a long time, I used to live in the USA between 2010-2015, and caught you live before in Atlanta, and have been across your other projects like ‘Bad Books’ with Andy Hull of Manchester Orchestra (one of my favorite bands) – since your last record ‘Nothing’s Real, So Nothing's Wrong’ is their new music on the way?

I’ve written about 12 songs towards a next record, but I likely won’t record one until early 2025.  I really like to group of songs - we’ll see what comes - I’m also in the process of starting a project with my friend and collaborator Caroline Glaser, who plays as Brother Bird, and we should have some music out sometime in the next year also.  Bad Books works in mysterious ways but someday there will be a fourth record, I’m sure of that, even if none of us know when.

Will you performing any Bad Books songs on your AU Tour?

I can’t see why not - at least one or two, sure.

What can AU Fans expect from these shows?

It’s my intention to play a range of material from my entire catalogue, and to make sure I represent the last two records - Instigator from 2016 & Nothing’s Real, So Nothing’s Wrong from 2022 - since they both came out since my last tour over there.  But I always try to cover something from almost every record - or to get close. 

I know you're heavily influenced by Neutral Milk Hotel, Pavement, and Elliot Smith – what do you listen to when you're cooped up at home?

Lately a lot of basketball/independent news/spiritual practice podcasts and whatever my kid is listening to, haha.  I really like Brother Bird’s new record, I like Squirrel Flower, I like the bands I’ve played with this year - Mansions, Motherfolk, Queen Of Jeans.  My friend Robert made a record as Gobotron that isn’t out yet but that is very good.  I’m slow to music sometimes, everything is so immersive and moves at such a speed, but I try and let myself find things as they materialize for me.  To not be in a rush.  I recently watched a Radiohead Austin City Limits performance from their King Of Limbs record that was incredible.  And so on and so forth.

What can you tell us about Triple Crown Records, and how has your relationship developed with them?

Oh man, I’ve know Fred Feldman, who ran the label forever until very recently, for … 21, 22 years now.  He’s just always been a true believer and made a home for me there, despite my being something of a stylistic outlier.  And he’s always been very fair to me.  We did Make The Clocks Move & Split The Country, Split The Street there; he helped me self-release Bubblegum & Bulldozer on the heels of a Kickstarter campaign in 2013; he was working with Procrastinate Music Traitors when we did Instigator with them in 2016; and then brought us back to Triple Crown proper for Nothing’s Real…in 2022.  I love and trust him and am grateful for his career-length interest in making sure I have a place to put out my songs.

Did you ever have anything to do with Favorite Gentlemen and or perform at The Stuffing? 

I played at the Stuffing a lot between 2010 and 2019, maybe five or six times…I’d love to do it again.  Favorite Gentlemen were involved in releasing Brother’s Blood, and I’ve been close to the Manchester guys for like, 17 years at this point, so I’m sort of a de facto FAVE GENT.

What has been the most memorable show or tour in the past few years?

Oh man, it’s impossible to pick just one…every show is memorable in its way.  I just finished a short northeast tour with the band Motherfolk and I really enjoyed it.  The last show was in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg, and it was fascinating…I made records and had rehearsal spaces in that neighborhood from 1999 to 2017, and it’s wild to be there now, making new creative memories and experiences while sort of expecting all these ghosts to walk in at any point…time collapses, it’s strange.  I loved the full band tour we did in 2022 when NR,SNW came out - the band was incredible and there was a real sense of mission.  It was also challenging, intense routing, Covid, down box office, etc.  But there was something beautiful about it too.  

We enjoy giving back and supporting emerging artists, bands, or creatives from your local community. Are there any you'd recommend we check out from your local communities?

Brian Bonz, Mansions, Kayleigh Goldsworthy, Kississippi, Half Waif, Queen Of Jeans, Adult Mom, Laura Stevenson, Motherfolk, Brother Bird, Sydney Sprague, and on and on and on.

If you can get a message to Andy Hull, we’d love to see Manchester return to Australia at some point haha!  

I’ll pass that along for sure.  He’s human garbage, but I’ll do it all the same.

Thanks again! We will catch you in Sydney on the upcoming tour!

Please do! Come say hey, very much looking forward to it.