The global punk rock landscape would look vastly different without the bruising anthems, razor-sharp sociopolitical fury, and unwavering grit of Chicago’s finest, Rise Against. For over two and a half decades, Tim McIlrath, Zach Blair, Joe Principe, and Brandon Barnes have acted as the sonic conscience of alternative music, throwing their weight behind causes that matter while sound-tracking the lives of millions. Now, the powerhouse four-piece is gearing up to cross the Pacific once again for what promises to be one of the most explosive, boundary-pushing double-bills down under has seen in years.
While Aussie fans were treated to a brief, high-octane taste of the band in early 2024 when they tore through arenas opening for pop-punk royalty Blink-182, it has been nearly a decade since Rise Against commanded their own proper headline slots on our shores. The agonizing wait is finally over. Come November and December 2026, the band is returning to claim their throne, co-headlining a massive national run alongside Celtic-punk legends and longtime brothers-in-arms, the Dropkick Murphys. It is a pairing born out of mutual respect, raw sweat, and a shared philosophy that live music should be a unifying, sweat-soaked communion.
From the relentless velocity of Melbourne’s John Cain Arena to the open-air intensity of Brisbane, Sydney, Perth, and Gosford, this tour isn’t just a victory lap; it’s a necessary release. Australian crowds have always held a fiercely loyal, borderline-feral affection for Rise Against, matching McIlrath’s soaring choruses and Blair’s blistering fretwork note-for-note, mosh-for-mosh. With a staggering, deep-cut-heavy discography to pull from, the band is preparing to unleash the full-throttle, headline-length sets that local diehards have been starved of since 2018.
Ahead of the highly anticipated summer tour, we sat down with the band’s powerhouse guitarist, Zach Blair. Known for his explosive stage presence and deep-rooted passion for the global punk community, Zach opened up about the enduring bond between Rise Against and Australian audiences, the mechanics of co-headlining with a powerhouse like the Dropkick Murphys, why the heavy, fast, and unapologetic nature of punk rock is more vital now than ever before and more.
General onsale tickets are available from livenation.com.au and livenation.co.nz
