Rise Against and Dropkick Murphys Set for Biggest-Ever Australian and New Zealand Shows

Rise Against will return to Australia and New Zealand this November and December for their first headline run in the region since 2018, bringing Dropkick Murphys along for the ride on what will be the largest shows either band has played in the region.

The seven-date tour opens in New Zealand with shows at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena on Nov. 21 and Auckland’s Spark Arena on Nov. 24, before the Australian leg takes in Melbourne’s John Cain Arena (Nov. 26), Brisbane’s Riverstage (Nov. 29), the Sydney Opera House Forecourt (Dec. 1) and Perth’s Red Hill Auditorium (Dec. 4).

Both bands will also appear at Meltdown Festival at Gosford’s Entertainment Grounds on Nov. 28 alongside The Living End and Jebediah. Mastercard presale opens Wednesday, May 27 at 12 p.m. local time, with general on sale Friday, May 29 at 1 p.m. local time.

The news comes following Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath teasing the return in a 2025 interview with The Music. “We are currently conspiring to get down and bring the show to Australia,” he said. “This is a place that has supported us for so long, so we are definitely coming back.” The band last visited Australia in early 2024 as support for blink-182’s arena tour.

The tour supports Rise Against’s tenth studio album Ricochet, released Aug. 15, 2025 via Loma Vista Recordings and produced by Grammy winner Catherine Marks — her first collaboration with the band. The Chicago quartet have placed five consecutive albums in the top 10 of the Billboard 200, with their most recent pre-Ricochet effort, Nowhere Generation (2021), debuting at No. 9.

Dropkick Murphys join behind their thirteenth studio album For the People, released July 4, 2025 on their own Dummy Luck label. The Boston Celtic punk stalwarts have scored three Billboard 200 top 10 entries, with 11 Short Stories of Pain & Glory (2017) debuting at No. 8 and topping both the Top Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts simultaneously — the first time the band had reached No. 1 on either chart. Their signature track “I’m Shipping Up to Boston” remains one of the most recognisable songs in American sports, having become synonymous with the Boston Red Sox following the team’s 2007 World Series run.

Rise Against with Dropkick Murphys — Australia & New Zealand Tour 2026

Nov. 21 — Christchurch, NZ — Wolfbrook Arena
Nov. 24 — Auckland, NZ — Spark Arena
Nov. 26 — Melbourne, AUS — John Cain Arena
Nov. 28 — Gosford, AUS — Meltdown Festival, Entertainment Grounds*
Nov. 29 — Brisbane, AUS — Riverstage
Dec. 1 — Sydney, AUS — Sydney Opera House Forecourt
Dec. 4 — Perth, AUS — Red Hill Auditorium

*Festival appearance