An Evening With Gillian Welch and David Rawlings - New Zealand Tour Announced

Pioneers of the 21st century renaissance of folk, country, bluegrass, roots and Americana music, US songwriting partners Gillian Welch and David Rawlings are finally returning to Aotearoa New Zealand after a decade away. Winners of multiple Grammy Awards (amongst many other accolades), the critically adored duo will be playing their first ever Te Waipounamu South Island headline date at Christchurch Town Hall this coming summer, performing in similarly opulent settings in Auckland, Hamilton, New Plymouth, and Wellington for their full scale nationwide tour.

Their musical journeys intersecting on numerous releases together over the decades, Welch and Rawlings arrive following their 2024 album Woodland, named after their Nashville, Tennessee studio which was destroyed by a tornado in 2020, which scooped the Grammy award for Best Folk Album in 2025. Welch herself contributed to the soundtrack for (and briefly appeared in) the Coen brothers 2000 cinematic landmark of folk music O Brother, Where Art Thou?, which inspired musicians all around the globe to get strummin'.

These very special events are brought to you by Love Police, Banished Music and Strange News — be sure to snag tickets when they go live later this week...

An Evening With Gillian Welch and David Rawlings
New Zealand Tour 2027

Wednesday 17th February — The Civic, Auckland
Thursday 18th February — BNZ Theatre, Hamilton
Friday 19th February — TSB Showplace, New Plymouth
Saturday 20th February — Michael Fowler Centre, Wellington
Tuesday 23rd February — Town Hall, Christchurch

Pre-sale from 10am, Thursday 3rd September
General on-sale from 10am, Friday 4th September
Subscribe for pre-sale at banishedmusic.com

Here's the two songwriting luminaries playing a Tiny Desk Concert for NPR Music in 2025...

Check out vintage footage of the pair playing Welch's 'I'll Fly Away' from O Brother, Where Art Thou?...

Press release:

Completing a three-year odyssey of Southern Hemisphere visits, the legendary Gillian Welch and David Rawlings head south once again this February to fulfil a promise to visit all major centres in Australia and New Zealand.

In 2027, that journey arrives in Aotearoa, with the Grammy Award-winning duo set to perform five shows across New Zealand, travelling from Auckland to Hamilton, New Plymouth, Wellington and Christchurch.

Known for their distinctive blend of Appalachian, bluegrass, country, Americana and folk, Welch and Rawlings have built a remarkable body of work across a career spanning more than three decades. Their music draws deeply from traditional American songwriting while remaining timeless, intimate and unmistakably their own.

The tour marks Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ first-ever performances in the South Island, as well as their first shows in the rest of New Zealand in more than a decade.