La Dispute have announced an Australia and New Zealand headline tour, in support of their latest album No One Was Driving the Car.
Released in September via Epitaph Records, it comes six years after their previous album Panorama. The Michigan post-hardcore band – made up of Jordan Dreyer on vocals, Brad Vander Lugt on drums, Chad Morgan-Sterenberg and Corey Stroffolino on guitar, and Adam Vass on bass – dealt with the stagnancy of the pandemic, celebrated the ten-year anniversaries of Wildlife and Rooms of the House, and began working on No One Was Driving the Car.
The fifth studio LP is the first entirely produced by the group, and it came together across Grand Rapids and Detroit, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Philippines: “I think the change in environment was really helpful to breathing new life into the process each time we came back to it,” Dreyer said.
Their headline tour will kick off at Perth’s Astor Theatre (licensed all ages, under 18 must attend with parent or guardian) on October 16th, before heading to Frankston on October 18th, Melbourne (18+) on October 19th, Adelaide on October 21st, Sydney on October 23rd, Newcastle on October 24th, and Brisbane on October 25th. They will then travel across the Tasman to Wellington’s Meow (licensed all ages) on October 27th, and Auckland’s Hollywood Avondale (licensed all ages) on October 28th.
General on sale tickets to the Australian show will be available from 10am (local) on Friday, February 20th. A Mastercard presale (excluding Adelaide and Newcastle) will run from 9am (local) on Wednesday, February 18th, followed by a Live Nation presale at 9am (local) on Thursday, February 19th. Tickets for the New Zealand shows will also be available from 10am (local) on Friday, February 20th.
Eight of the nine shows across Australia and New Zealand are all ages/licensed all ages, harping back to the roots of La Dispute, according to Dreyer.
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“All of us were underage when we first started going to local shows at home in West Michigan, and still when attending them pushed us to start writing music together and playing our own,” he explained. “Without venues that were accessible to us, both as attendees and performers, the entire endeavour might’ve died on the vine, and we’d have lost out not only on an important creative outlet as young people, but a welcoming community too.
“Understanding that possibility, it’s been a priority always to keep our doors open to all comers where possible, so that anyone – including (or especially, really) younger people – have the same opportunities afforded to us at a crucial age.”
Self produced and heavily inspired by the 2017 psychological thriller First Reformed, No One Was Driving the Car grapples with malaise in the shadow of the looming apocalypse, which has noticeably been worsened by the advancement of tech. The title comes from a quote from a police officer Dreyer read in a news article about a lethal self-driving Tesla crash, an absurd event which raises questions about the amount of control we have in our own lives.
Across Australia, La Dipsute will be joined by Brisbane-based four-piece Special Features. In New Zealand, they will be joined by Mieke.
For complete tour and ticket information, see here.
LA DISPUTE AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND 2026
Friday, October 16th (Licensed All Ages)
Astor Theatre, Perth WA
Sunday, October 18th (All Ages)
Singing Bird, Frankston VIC
Monday, October 19th (18+)
170 Russell, Melbourne VIC
Wednesday, October 21st (All Ages)
The Gov, Adelaide SA
Friday, October 23rd (All Ages)
Liberty Hall, Sydney NSW
Saturday, October 24th (All Ages)
King Street, Newcastle NSW
Sunday, October 25th (All Ages)
The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
Tuesday, October 27th (Licensed All Ages)
Meow, Wellington NZ
*not presented by Live Nation
Wednesday, October 28th (Licensed All Ages)
The Hollywood Avondale, Auckland NZ
*not presented by Live Nation
