In what promises to be one of 2026’s most anticipated live events, TISM will perform their 1995 ARIA Award-winning album Machiavelli and the Four Seasons in full at the Sydney Opera House on Friday 10 April. The show will mark a rare and exclusive one-off performance from one of Australia’s most enigmatic and enduring bands — never to be repeated elsewhere.
Emerging from Melbourne’s late-’80s underground, TISM (This Is Serious Mum) have built a legacy on anonymity, satire, and subversion. The balaclava-clad collective blurred the lines between art, music and mischief, spanning seven albums, multiple ARIA wins, and a reputation for live performances that blend humour with chaos and precision.
Released in 1995, Machiavelli and the Four Seasons was the band’s third album and a creative turning point. Balancing sharp wit with infectious pop hooks, the record spent 72 weeks on the charts, peaked at #8, and earned the ARIA for Best Independent Release. Songs such as (He’ll Never Be An) Ol’ Man River and Greg! The Stop Sign!! became cultural touchstones, showing how satire and sincerity could coexist in Australian rock.
Described by Double J as “ridiculously infectious pop with fearless marauding spirit,” the album remains an irreverent classic — one that still captures the absurdity and irony of Australian life.
Following a surprise return in 2022 with a run of secret shows and a headline appearance at Good Things Festival, TISM toured nationally in 2024 on their Death to Art Tour, playing to packed venues and reaffirming their place as one of the country’s most unique musical institutions.
Now, at the Sydney Opera House — a venue far removed from the suburban chaos that first inspired them — TISM will revisit Machiavelli and the Four Seasons in its entirety. It’s an unexpected setting for a band built on the art of contradiction, and perhaps that’s exactly the point.
Go HERE for ticketing information.
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