Bernard Fanning and Paul Dempsey had one last trick up their sleeve before kicking off their regional tour tomorrow in Cairns.
Their surprise new track, “King Pumpkin”, is a funky bonus cut their Fanning Dempsey National Park debut album The Deluge, which has been scoring rave reviews.
The album tour starts at the Tanks Art Centre in Cairns on April 30, with stops in Hobart, Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo, Newcastle, Thirroul, Canberra, Toowoomba, and the Sunshine Coast, wrapping up on the Gold Coast on May 24. Limited tickets are still available at fanningdempseynationalpark.com.
Fans can expect a high-energy set blending tracks from The Deluge with classics from both artists’ catalogues. Each show will feature a local solo artist or duo as an opening act.
Fanning explains the new track: “’King Pumpkin’ opens with a quote borrowed and adapted from author Jonathan Swift. Falsehood lies, and truth comes limping after it, so that when man came to be undeceived it is too late. It’s a very accurate description of what is transpiring in the political and online sphere worldwide. Deception is apparently now, an attitude. We loved the idea of putting a sleazy funk backing to this.”
Dempsey adds, “It’s funny how far away it ended up from the original demo which was somewhere in brutalist industrial electronica territory…. All along it was trying to tell us it just wanted to shimmy.”
The release of “King Pumpkin” and the tour follow a strong start to 2025 for Fanning Dempsey National Park, including a standout performance for ABC TV’s NYE24 broadcast and spots at the SummerSalt and Great Southern Nights festivals.
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The Deluge debuted at #3 on the ARIA Albums Chart, #1 on the Vinyl Chart, and was Double J’s Feature Album. The debut single “Disconnect” was also shortlisted for APRA’s 2025 Song of the Year.
Fanning Dempsey National Park’s “King Pumpkin” is out now.
