Damien Rice is heading back to the Sydney Opera House, and this time he’s bringing the album that started it all. The Irish singer-songwriter will perform two nights in the Concert Hall on 11 and 12 February 2027, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his landmark debut, O.
The Sydney dates form part of a 25-city world tour, with an additional Australian performance at Melbourne’s Hamer Hall on 9 February. For Sydney audiences, it’s a welcome return following Rice’s two sold-out Opera House performances in 2023.
Released in 2002, O is one of those records that quietly gets under your skin and refuses to leave. Written and recorded in Rice’s Dublin kitchen, funded by a loan from his father and released on his own label, the album goes on to sell more than two million copies and earns him the prestigious Shortlist Music Prize.
And then there are the songs. The Blower’s Daughter, Cannonball and Volcano turn heartbreak, longing and emotional uncertainty into something devastatingly direct. Stripped of unnecessary production, they help establish Rice as one of the defining singer-songwriters of the early 2000s.
Rice’s live performances have become almost as well known as the music itself. He approaches the stage without a rigid plan, allowing songs to stretch, shift and occasionally unravel. One moment can be barely above a whisper, the next a full-throated emotional release. It’s an approach that makes even the largest venues feel unexpectedly intimate.
That unpredictability should be particularly compelling inside the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, where Rice’s sparse arrangements and powerful vocals have room to breathe. The two anniversary performances will feature favourites from O alongside selections from his wider catalogue, including material from a career that most recently produced 2014’s My Favourite Faded Fantasy.
Despite long gaps between albums, Rice has maintained a devoted following, largely because his songs never seem interested in following fashion. They deal in messy emotions, uncomfortable truths and the sort of vulnerability that rarely comes with a safety net.
His return also adds another major name to the Opera House’s summer program, which includes Suede, The Avalanches, Madness, Leon Bridges, Angus & Julia Stone, Dijon and Cat Power.
A quarter of a century after O first appeared, Rice is returning to the Sydney Opera House with the songs that changed his life. Two nights, one extraordinary debut album and a chance to hear some of the most affecting music of the past 25 years in one of Australia’s finest concert halls.
Australian tour dates 2027
Tuesday 9 February
Hamer Hall, Melbourne
Thursday 11 February
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney
Friday 12 February
Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney
All shows are licensed all ages.
Ticket information
Frontier Members presale begins Thursday 22 October at 10am AEDT.
General tickets go on sale Friday 23 October at 10am AEDT.
