M. Ward’s love affair with Australia continues. After a sweet run of intimate Melbourne shows in early 2025, Australia's favourite whisper soft ‘n’ smoky songwriter and guitarist M. Ward returns in March with his band, The Undertakers for a special East Coast tour taking the music from metro bars to the regions.
Renowned for leaving his audiences spellbound, M. Ward’s warm vocals, intricate guitar work and atmospheric songwriting light up rooms, reaffirming his status as one of the most quietly influential artists of his generation. Best known for his celebrated solo albums, his work with Zooey Deschanel as She & Him, and his role in the acclaimed supergroup Monsters of Folk, Ward continues to captivate fans around the world.
Joined by The Undertakers, Ward will bring a fuller, richer and more expansive live experience to Australian stages — weaving his signature folk-blues storytelling through the band’s dynamic accompaniment. The result: an excellent chance to hear these songs in their most powerful form, in intimate venues along the East Coast.
Support Act: Annie-Rose Maloney
Annie-Rose Maloney writes country-ish music about the deep kernels of pain we all carry around in our pockets.
Fast becoming a favourite in the alt-folk worlds, Annie-Rose has already supported the likes ofAndy Shauf, Angel Olsen, Hurray for the Riff Raff, and Angie McMahon, despite only releasingher debut album Circle Walking in February 2025.
Her recent single A Bit of Love gained acclaim from NME - who added it to their global NewBangers playlist - as well as from Rolling Stone, who described it as a "delicate, introspective opener," and The AU Review, who called it "a beautiful, idiosyncratic, and quietly devastatingslice of alt-folk that really hits you in the feels." It has received airplay on Double J, ABC Country, Triple R, PBS FM, and a slew of glowing reviews on Unearthed, including a 5-starreview from Tommy Faith, who wrote: “This might be my favourite single so far from 2025. Special, special song.”
Raised on Wadawurrung Country with a piano in the house and a granny who yodelled atbedtime, Annie-Rose grew up immersed in the sounds of K.D. Lang’s Hymns of the 49th Parallel, The Be Good Tanyas, and The Waifs. After playing a One Day International (ODI) forthe Australian women’s cricket team against India in 2011, she started (and ended) her first
award-winning band, Murdena, before spending the next decade honing her solo project — now fully realised.
Annie-Rose has a simple ethos when it comes to writing songs: they must have a pulse, feelgood to sing, and bear a truthfulness about the human experience. Her assured presence holds
audiences gently as she leads them through moments of heartbreak, loneliness, and elation.
Circle Walking was recorded in a living room in Heidelberg, in Naarm/Melbourne’s northeast, with co-producer Tim Harvey (Aldous Harding, Jade Imagine, Lisa Mitchell). The record also features Jess Ellwood on guitar, backing vocals from Angie McMahon, Ruby Gill, and Olivia Hally (Oh Pep!), with McMahon and Gill also contributing keys on Time For Gladys and A Bit of Love respectively
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