Spiderbait are taking one of the most important records of their career back on the road, announcing a national tour to celebrate 30 years of Ivy & the Big Apples — the 1996 album that helped define Australian alternative rock in the ’90s.
The run kicks off on July 4th at Brisbane’s Tivoli before heading through Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney, with a stacked lineup of fellow heavy-hitters joining along the way. Custard, Magic Dirt, The Meanies and Tumbleweed will appear across select dates, while Melbourne upstarts The Gnomes will open every show.
Frontier Touring members can access pre-sale tickets from April 16th, with general sales opening April 17th.
For Spiderbait, the tour is as much about nostalgia as it is about revisiting a turning point. Ivy & the Big Apples marked a creative leap for the trio; a sharper, more polished evolution of their scrappy punk beginnings that still carried their chaotic energy.
It debuted in the ARIA Top 3, went double platinum, and lingered in the charts for close to a year.
But Ivy‘s legacy stretches well beyond chart positions. The album delivered “Calypso” and “Hot Water & Milk”, and, most famously, “Buy Me A Pony”, which became the first Australian song to top triple j’s Hottest 100, cementing Spiderbait’s place in the national psyche.
“Stoked to be touring Ivy & the Big Apples this year for her 30th birthday,” the band said in a statement.”Such an important album for us with lots of epic memories… like ‘Pony’ winning the Hottest 100 & Janet singing ‘Calypso’… So to play the record live in its entirety around the nation will be mega. And a fantastic lineup of so many of our fave bands thanks for celebrating with us!”
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The anniversary shows follow a run of widely praised dates in 2024, where the band celebrated two decades of Tonight Alright and its breakout hit “Black Betty”. Those gigs saw Spiderbait adding extra shows to meet demand, proving their appeal hasn’t dimmed across generations.
Three decades on, the band’s story still feels unlikely: three friends from regional Australia building a catalogue that’s sold over a million records locally and continues to rack up global streams in the hundreds of millions. Their live show, powered as much by long-standing friendship as it is by distortion pedals, still remains their calling card.
To mark the milestone, Ivy & the Big Apples will also be reissued as a 30th anniversary vinyl edition on July 3rd, which can be pre-ordered here.
Spiderbait ‘Ivy & the Big Apples’ 30th Anniversary Tour
With special guests Custard, Magic Dirt, The Meanies, Tumbleweed (select shows only) + The Gnomes (playing all shows)
Frontier member pre-sale runs 24 hours from Thursday, April 16th 12.00pm local time or until allocation exhausted via frontiertouring.com/spiderbait.
General on sale: Friday, April 17th from 1pm local time.
Saturday, July 4th
With special guests Custard + The Gnomes
The Tivoli | Brisbane QLD (18+)
ticketmaster.com.au
Saturday, July 11th
With special guests The Meanies + The Gnomes
The Ice Cream Factory | Perth WA (18+)
eventbrite.com.au
Friday, July 24th
With special guests Magic Dirt + The Gnomes
Forum | Melbourne VIC (18+)
ticketek.com.au
Saturday, July 25th
With special guests The Meanies + The Gnomes
Hindley Street Music Hall | Adelaide SA (Lic. All Ages)
moshtix.com.au
Friday, July 31st
With special guests Tumbleweed + The Gnomes
Enmore Theatre | Sydney NSW (Lic. All Ages)
ticketek.com.au
