Lorde has announced she’s been forced to postpone the Australian and New Zealand legs of her ‘Solar Power’ world tour to February and March 2023.
The tour was originally planned to kick off in New Zealand and Australia in March of next year before continuing on to the rest of the globe in April. These dates have now been pushed back, with uncertainty around the easing of border restrictions, and the recent outbreak of COVID-19 in New Zealand cited for the postponement.
According to a press release from Australian touring company Frontier, both Frontier and New Zealand touring company Eccles would require both countries’ borders would need to be fully open to both citizens and non-citizens for the shows to go ahead, as the majority of Lorde’s touring band and crew are non-citizens and would require travel exemptions.
Additionally, the touring companies say they would need assurance from respective governments that there be “limited or no quarantine” in place as that is how the tour was originally routed.
“I am beyond devastated to be postponing these shows. Starting the tour in New Zealand was always really important to me, and would have been a huge high,” Lorde commented in an accompanying statement.
“I fought this decision for a long time, but the truth is that touring internationally through a COVID outbreak has a ton of unforeseen moving parts, and I’d much rather play for you when we’re all confident it will go smoothly.
“I want to apologise wholeheartedly to the fans. I’m so gutted to let you down, but so grateful for your understanding.”
With the rescheduled dates comes additional shows at previously sold out stops on the tour. Those include another show at Days Bay in Lower Hutt, New Zealand along with Riverstage in Brisbane and Belvoir Amphitheatre in Perth. Pre-sale for those shows will begin from November 17 before tickets are released to the general public on November 19.
Part of Lorde’s New Zealand tour also included a headline set at the Electric Avenue festival at Hagley Park, Christchurch. The festival will go ahead on its original date next year, with Lorde now headlining the 2023 event instead.
Previously-purchased tickets will be valid for the rescheduled dates. Ticketholders who are unable to attend new show dates will be able to obtain a full refund, with requests to be submitted prior to December 10, 2021 to point of purchase.
NME gave ‘Solar Power’ five stars upon its release in August, writing that the follow-up to 2017’s ‘Melodrama’ “continues her winning streak, as she blazes a trail through the pop landscape with a beautiful paean to nature”.
Lorde’s rescheduled Australian and New Zealand tour dates for 2023 are:
FEBRUARY
Tuesday 21 – Lower Hutt, Days Bay
Wednesday 22 – Lower Hutt, Days Bay (new show)
Monday 27 – Upper Moutere, Neudorf Vineyards
MARCH
Wednesday 1 – Havelock North, Black Barn Vineyards
Friday 3 – New Plymouth, Bowl of Brooklands
Saturday 4 – Western Springs, Auckland, Outer Fields
Tuesday 7 – Brisbane, Riverstage (new show)
Wednesday 8 – Brisbane, Riverstage
Friday 10 – Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Saturday 11 – Melbourne, Sidney Myer Music Bowl
Monday 13 – Sydney, Aware Super Theatre
Tuesday 14 – Sydney, Aware Super Theatre
Friday 17 – Perth, Belvoir Amphitheatre (new show)
Saturday 18 – Perth, Belvoir Amphitheatre