Frontier Touring are thrilled to announce the long-awaited return of the alt rock icons Garbage to Australia and New Zealand this December, with four electrifying shows for Auckland, Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. Standing among the most influential alternative rock bands of modern times, the band – Shirley Manson, Duke Erikson, Steve Market & Butch Vig – are true pioneers, selling over 20 million albums and responsible for a catalogue of era-defining hits. These summer shows will be the Garbage’s first Australian headline performances since 2016, and the band’s first appearance in Auckland since 2013.

‘To be able to return to sacred, stunning New Zealand and to Australia – the home country of our most beloved music business guru, Michael Gudinski – is an immense thrill for us as a band. We have been aching to return to this part of the world for a long time now and this tour will be played every night in Gudinski’s honour’ – Shirley Manson

Performing in ornate theatres in each city, including a tour closing night onstage in the Concert Hall at the iconic Sydney Opera House, these shows are a must for long-time Garbage fans. Garbage return in celebration of their highly acclaimed eighth studio album, Let All That We Imagine Be The Light. Since its release in May 2025, the band have been hitting the road, currently midway through their first North American headline tour in a decade, which began in early September. In November, they’ll head to Mexico before closing out their US run with a final Los Angeles show, ahead of their long-awaited return to Australia and New Zealand.

Onstage, the fearless outfit are hungrier than ever, earning rave reviews from critics at recent shows:

‘Garbage has never been a band to play it safe … Nearly three decades later, the band still commands a room with the same swagger that made Version 2.0 a global phenomenon’ – Miami New Times

‘The stage backdrop of gothic statues lit up in neon pink and UV lights serves as a perfect analogy for the band’s live sound: still slick and candy-coloured like their records, but with a surprisingly heavy industrial sensibility’ – ★★★★ The Guardian

Formed in Madison, Wisconsin, Garbage released their self-titled debut back in 1995 – an album that shot to #1 on the NZ Album Chart, #4 in Australia, and went 2x Platinum in both countries. What followed was three decades of era-defining records and chart-topping singles, including ‘Only Happy When It Rains’, ‘Stupid Girl’, ‘When I Grow Up’, ‘No Gods No Masters’, ‘I Think I’m Paranoid’, ‘Vow’ and countless more. Now, the band continue to evolve, as heard on latest single ‘There’s No Future In Optimism’.

“This record is about what it means to be alive, and about what it means to face your imminent destruction,” says Manson of their latest opus. “It’s hopeful. It’s very tender towards what it means to be a human being. Our flaws and our failures are still beautiful, even though we’re taught that they’re not… This is a tender, thrilling record about the fragility of life.”

Tickets to all shows go on sale Wednesday 22 October (1pm local time) via frontiertouring.com/garbage. Frontier Member presale starts Tuesday 21 October (10am local time) – see website for more information.

Do not miss these special shows: a joyous, electrifying celebration of the band that defined a generation.