Thundercat (USA) Returning to Aotearoa New Zealand in May

Los Angeles jazz-funk-soul-fusion visionary and former bassist for Suicidal Tendencies, Thundercat aka Stephen Lee Bruner is making a momentous return to Aotearoa New Zealand this coming May, with headline dates locked in for The Powerstation in Tāmaki Makaurau and Meow Nui in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Last gracing local stages in 2018, the durag-loving superstar will be here down under touring his first new album in six years Distracted, the impatiently awaited follow-up to 2020's hit-strewn It Is What It Is. Packed full of contributions from fellow stars including Tame Impala, Lil Yachty, Flying Lotus, A$AP Rocky, Chanel Tres, WILLOW and Mac Miller (recorded before his passing in 2018), Distracted is out in full on 3rd April via Brainfeeder.

Get tickets immediately for these guaranteed spellbinding events, and engulf your eyes / ears with lead singles 'I Wish I Didn't Waste Your Time', 'No More Lies' featuring Tame Impala, and 'I Did This To Myself' featuring Lil Yachty and Flying Lotus...

Thundercat

Monday 4th May - The Powerstation, Auckland
Wednesday 6th May - Meow Nui, Wellington

Auckland tickets on sale via powerstation.net.nz
Wellington tickets on sale via premier.ticketek.co.nz

Experience the mind-msuhing animated visuals for 'I Wish I Didn't Waste Your Time', from Distracted...

Check out 'No More Lies' featuring Tame Impala, from Distracted...

Listen up to 'I Did This To Myself' featuring Lil Yachty and Flying Lotus, from Distracted...

Press release:

In an age of endless notifications and fractured attention, Thundercat turns the chaos inward on Distracted, his long-awaited new album and one of his most resonant statements yet. Six years on from It Is What It Is, the record captures the restless aftermath of grief and modern overload, balancing existential weight with Thundercat’s unmistakable wit and warmth. It’s an album that laughs through the noise, folding jazz-fusion virtuosity, elastic funk and late-night introspection into songs that feel like unfiltered inner monologues: tender, funny, and painfully human.

That philosophy carries directly into the live experience. Onstage, Thundercat treats Distracted not as a lecture on modern life, but as a shared release, stretching songs, breaking the fourth wall, leaning into humour and spontaneity as a form of survival.

Thundercat's New Zealand shows promise moments of presence inside the noise: music that drifts, refocuses, and reminds you why joy still matters. It’s playful, loose, deeply human, and a rare chance to experience Distracted and all of Thundercat the way it was meant to be felt, not scrolled past.