Ben Lee is hitting the road this September and October to mark 20 years since the release of Awake is the New Sleep.
The 2005 album launched commercial hits like “Catch My Disease” and “We’re All in This Together”, and steered the Sydney artist into more indie-pop territory.
“I’m not really a nostalgic person, I prefer to keep pushing forward with new projects and ideas,” Lee shared, “but this feels weirdly right to me.”
He says the album still resonates deeply with listeners. “I’ve chatted to so many people about the wide-eyed exploration and optimism of the record, and how it still seems to find people at the exact right time that they need that kind of energy.”
Lee wrote the album during a major turning point in his life. “I made it when I’d just left a major romantic relationship, had no record deal for the first time in my career, and was getting into spirituality, philosophy and the occult (but wasn’t in over my head just yet – that would come soon enough lol).”
To go with the tour, Lee is releasing “Catch My Disease 2025”, a shoegaze-leaning rework of his 2005 hit featuring Phantom Planet. “Alex [Greenwald] said ‘Yes, as long as we can go shoegaze with it.’ I said ‘of course.’”
He even updated some lyrics: “Had to chuck in a mention of Ulladulla,” he said, “and also shouted out some of my favourite Aussie artists, Mallrat and Miss Kanina.”
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“And just for fun got a few musician pals to sing backing vox on the track: Lara Meyerratken, Sadie Dupuis, Alex Lahey, Khatumu and Tim Blunt from FVNERAL.”
The tour will see Lee perform Awake is the New Sleep in full. “No backing tracks, no click tracks, no video screens,” he promised. “It’s gonna be a vibe.”
The tour will hit major cities across Australia this Spring, with shows in Canberra, Newcastle, Sydney, Byron Bay, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Castlemaine, Torquay, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Fremantle between September 25th and October 18th.
Frontier Member Presale starts Tuesday, May 20th at 2pm (local time) via frontiertouring.com/benlee and runs for 24 hours or until allocation is exhausted. General tickets go on sale Thursday, May 22nd at 2pm (local time).
Lee’s most recent album, This One’s for the Old Headz, dropped last year on his label Weirder Together, which he co-founded with his wife, Ione Skye. He broke down the album tracks for Rolling Stone AU/NZ, which you can read here.
Ben Lee 20th Anniversary Tour
Presented by Frontier Touring
Thursday, September 25th
UC Refectory, Canberra, ACT
Lic. All Ages
moshtix.com.au
Friday, September 26th
King Street Bandroom, Newcastle, NSW
Lic. All Ages
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Saturday, September 27th
Liberty Hall, Sydney, NSW
18+
moshtix.com.au
Thursday, October 2nd
The Beach Hotel, Byron Bay, NSW
18+
moshtix.com.au
Friday, October 3rd
The Princess Theatre, Brisbane, QLD
18+
ticketmaster.com.au
Saturday, October 4th
Miami Marketta, Gold Coast, QLD
12+
oztix.com.au
Thursday, October 9th
Theatre Royal, Castlemaine, VIC
18+
oztix.com.au
Friday, October 10th
Torquay Hotel, Torquay, VIC
18+
oztix.com.au
Saturday, October 11th
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne, VIC
18+
moshtix.com.au
Friday, October 17th
The Gov, Adelaide, SA
18+
oztix.com.au
Saturday, October 18th
Fremantle Arts Centre – Front Garden, Fremantle, WA
18+
oztix.com.au
