Skip to main content

Main navigation

Damien Rice

12 – 13 May 2023

In the Concert Hall

Contemporary Music

Legendary Irish troubadour Damien Rice returns to Australia for his highly-anticipated Sydney Opera House debut, a night of classic songs, wry banter and emotional power in the Concert Hall.

The return of a folk rock legend

Damien Rice is back in a big way. The beloved Irish singer-songwriter, whose emotionally wrought songs defined a generation of 21st-century heartache, is riding high on a sold-out international comeback tour, and he’s set to return to Australia for his long-awaited Sydney Opera House debut in the Concert Hall.

Rocketing to stardom on the strength of his 2002 debut O, and its enduring favourites “The Blower’s Daughter,” “Volcano” and “Cannonball,” the Dublin-born multi-instrumentalist collected the Shortlist Music Prize and quickly earned a reputation for his powerful live shows – tough and tender performances that saw him develop an intimate rapport with fans. Rice’s follow-up, 2006’s 9, yielded the global smash “9 Crimes,” while his self-imposed absence following 2014’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy – his most recent album to date – only added to the anticipation among fans for his return.

As his recent performances in the UK attest, Rice has lost none of his cathartic power or stage presence. If anything, his combination of raw melodrama and masterful dynamics has grown more accomplished, sprinkled with a newfound sense of personal zen and laced, as ever, with Rice’s wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humour. He has been missed. 

Sydney Opera House Presents

Other information

You may also like

31 May 2024 Contemporary Music

BARKAA

Making her fiery solo debut at the Sydney Opera House, ARIA-nominated Malyangapa and Barkindji rapper BARKAA – the Blak matriarch of hip-hop – brings her infectious, politically potent sound to Vivid LIVE.

30 May - 1 Jun 2024 Contemporary Music

Underworld

Grammy-nominated UK electronic music legends Underworld return to Vivid LIVE for three pulse-pounding euphoric nights in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.

24 May 2024 Contemporary Music

Arca

Venezuelan-born pop diva Arca – one of the world’s most avant garde superstars – is headed to Vivid LIVE at Sydney Opera House for her very first Australian performance.

Checking availability