Big Thief Returning To New Zealand In December

Riding a wave of critical adoration for their new double album Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You, US indie / folk stars Big Thief have announced two Aotearoa headline events for December 2022. Singer / guitarist Adrianne Lenker and the gang's latest 4AD long player was written and recorded in five months across Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona, all in an attempt to document their growth — whittling down forty five tracks to twenty genre-pushing gems. With an absolute wealth of material at their fingertips (they've released five studio albums since 2016), attendance is sure to be mandatory for the Grammy-nominated group's Auckland and Wellington performances, details below...

UPDATE 8/04/22: A second Auckland headline event has been announced for Big Thief as the first date is now sold out + Wellington's venue has been upgraded to Michael Fowler Centre...

Big Thief
New Zealand 2022

Friday 2nd December - Powerstation, Auckland, tickets available from 2pm, 8th April
Saturday 3rd December - Powerstation, Auckland [sold out]
Sunday 4th December - Opera House, Wellington [new venue]

Tickets on sale via Live Nation from 12pm, Friday 25th March
Live Nation pre-sale: 12pm, Thursday 24th March to 11am, Friday 25th March

Listen to Big Thief's anthem 'No Reason' from Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You...

Press release:

Live Nation is thrilled to bring BIG THIEF to New Zealand for two shows this December in Auckland and Wellington!

One of the most talked-about indie acts today, the critically acclaimed and GRAMMY-nominated band will be touring in support of their latest album released in February, Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You bringing their intimate shows to Auckland’s Powerstation on December 3 followed by Wellington’s Opera House on December 4.

My Live Nation members can access tickets first during the presale at 12pm Thursday March 24 until 11am Friday March 25.

Brooklyn-born Big Thief – share their new sprawling double-LP exploring the deepest elements and possibilities of Big Thief. To truly dig into all that the music of Adrianne Lenker, Max Oleartchik, Buck Meek, and James Krivchenia desired in 2020, the band decided to write and record a rambling account of growth as individuals, musicians, and chosen family over 4 distinct recording sessions.

In Upstate New York, Topanga Canyon, The Rocky Mountains, and Tucson, Arizona, Big Thief spent 5 months in creation and came out with 45 completed songs. The most resonant of this material was edited down into the 20 tracks that make up DNWMIBIY, a fluid and adventurous listen. The album was produced by drummer James Krivchenia who initially pitched the recording concept for DNWMIBIY back in late 2019 with the goal of encapsulating the many different aspects of Adrianne’s songwriting and the band onto a single record.

In an attempt to ease back into life as Big Thief after a long stretch of Covid-19 related isolation, the band met up for their first session in the woods of upstate New York. It took a while for the band to realign and for the first week of working in the studio, nothing felt right. After a few un-inspired takes the band decided to take an ice-cold dip in the creek behind the house before running back to record in wet swimsuits. That cool water blessing stayed with Big Thief through the rest of the summer and many more intuitive, recording rituals followed.

When Max’s mom asked on a phone call what it feels like to be back together with the band playing music for the first time in a year, he described to the best of abilities: “Well it’s like, we’re a band, we talk, we have different dynamics, we do the breaths, and then we go on stage and suddenly it feels like we are now on a dragon. And we can’t really talk because we have to steer this dragon.”

The attempt to capture something deeper, wider, and full of mystery, points to the inherent spirit of Big Thief. Traces of this open-hearted, non-dogmatic faith can be felt through previous albums, but here on Dragon New Warm Mountain I Believe In You lives the strongest testament to its existence.