Internationally acclaimed Aussie rock band King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard will play only one Australian performance in 2024 ... and it’s in Deniliquin.
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Kicking off a big year of touring South America, Europe, the UK and America will be their appearance at the Play on the Plains festival in Deniliquin on March 9.
It will be the first time the band — which includes local Michael Cavanagh on drums — has played in Deniliquin since 2011.
Then a relatively new band, they performed to an intimate crowd at the Deniliquin Club.
That performance was a way for Cavanagh and fellow Deni-based founding member Eric Moore to bring the Melbourne-based outfit to their hometown.
In the 13 years that have followed, the band has amassed a cult following that has seen them play some of the world’s largest festivals and arenas.
A 2019 study conducted by the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance had King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard ranked number 21 on a list of the world's hardest-working musicians after playing 113 live shows between January 2018 and August 2019 — both domestically and internationally.
They’ve won ARIAS and released 25 studio albums — 13 of them charting in the Australian top 20.
Add to that 20 live albums, seven compilation albums, two EPs, one remix and a host of videos.
They have been described as the “country’s most innovative, important and productive rock band”.
Such is the band’s popularity, a worldwide fan base share memes, mixes, videos, graphics, theories and discussions, all through which they explore and expand what they have termed ‘The Gizzverse’.
While Moore left the band in 2019 to concentrate solely on producing music with his label Flightless, Cavanagh said he was excited to be heading back to Deni with the band.
“It’s really exciting; I’m really pumped because I have always wanted to bring Gizz back to Deni as a now fully formed unit,” Cavanagh said.
“And especially in this era of Gizz, and at this point of our careers.
“There have been chats and ongoing discussions with Chris Bodey (who works with the organisers of Play on the Plains and the Deniliquin Ute Muster on musical lineups) for a number of years on how we could get Gizz to Deni, but we were always overseas or busy.
“So when this opportunity came up, we did everything we could to make it work.”
Making it work meant a reasonable financial investment by the band, who have purchased extra musical equipment in time to bring to Deniliquin for the show.
“Normally before a world tour our equipment all leaves on freight up to two weeks before we do, which means we can’t perform for those weeks before a tour.
“Deni is two days before we leave for our first tour of South America.
“But we recently duplicated all our equipment, which we are fortunate to be in a position to do, so that we could so this.
“We knew it was going to be a stretch, but we just knew it would be special to be playing in Deni — not just because it’s my hometown, but because we want to support regional music too.”
Cavanagh is the band’s drummer. Stu Mackenzie, Cook Craig and Joey Walker provide vocals and guitar, Ambrose Kenny-Smith is on harmonica, vocals and keyboards and Lucas Harwood is on bass.
Most broadly referred to as a hard rock band, Gizz’s albums have been described as being garage rock, psychedelic and progressive rock, synth-pop and even jazz fusion.
As for what the Deniliquin audience can expect, Cavanagh said it would be “heavy”.
“It will be rock; real fast music,” he said.
“We’re actually still working on the set list, and our set lists for the rest of the year, and rehearsing them now.
“That’s when we’ll work out exactly what it will look like.
“We are always working on new music, so perhaps people can expect some new music — some songs that have never been heard anywhere; but, no promises.”
It is two days after playing Deniliquin that King Gizzard board a plane on their first international tour of 2024.
They will wing their way to Chile, for their first ever South American tour.
They’ll do a few individual shows throughout the country during March, and will also feature at the famed Lollapalooza festival when it plays Chile, Argentina and Brazil.
After a break from touring in April, they’ll head back overseas for Europe and the UK from May through to June.
The American tour will then begin in August and, despite a one-month break in October, continue through until the end of November.
The inclusion of King Gizzard to Play on the Plains has resulted in the event picking up international ticket sales, with some fans from England, Canada, Germany and the United States booking their trips to Deniliquin.
At the festival Gizz will share the main stage with some great Aussie acts.
Among them is another band with Deniliquin roots.
Three members of the five-piece garage rock hive mind The Carp Factory grew up in Deni — Sid Pearn, Will Keech and Sam Young — and the band’s name is inspired by fertiliser company Charlie Carp which was established in the town.
Also on the lineup is five-time ARIA award winner Baker Boy, high energy party starters Northeast Party House and alternative rock singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Alex Lahey.
Pop singer-songwriter Kita Alexander is expected to be a crowd favourite, particularly after recently celebrating polling number 14 in the Triple J Top 100 with Atmosphere.
The entertainment continues on the B-stage with a Battle Of The Bands competition with three categories — junior band, senior band (open age) and solo artist (open age).
In addition to live music there will be bars, food trucks, a silent disco, beach volleyball and fireworks.
Camping is available on-site, and local and regional buses will be operating.
Tickets are on sale at www.deniplayontheplains.com.au
Senior journalist