New York punk and indie rock acts Prince Daddy & the Hyena and Macseal will make their Australian debut this July, joining forces for an eight-date co-headline tour presented by Destroy All Lines.
The run will kick off at The Brightside in Brisbane on Friday, July 17th before heading through Newcastle, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne, Belgrave, and Adelaide, wrapping up at Lynotts Lounge in Perth on Saturday, July 25th.
The upcoming co-headliner sees the long-time friends, Counter Intuitive labelmates and fellow New Yorkers finally head Down Under together for the first time.
Built on years of friendship, mutual admiration and undeniable chemistry, the pairing is a natural extension of a bond forged through countless shared shows and years in each other’s orbit.
Ahead of the tour, the bands caught up with Tone Deaf to reflect on where it all started – from half-remembered first meetings at tiny venues to matching tattoos within a week.
They share stories from the road, jokes at each other’s expense, genuine praise, debates over favourite songs, and plenty of excitement about finally bringing it all to Australian crowds.
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Tone Deaf: You guys are all coming to Australia for the very first time this July! Super exciting! And you both have a bit of shared history, so let’s start from the beginning. Do you remember the first time you crossed paths? What was your honest first impression of each other when you met?
Kory (Prince Daddy & the Hyena): I honestly don’t remember meeting.
Cole (Macseal): It was 10 years ago at Amityville Music Hall. It was our first weekender and Oso Oso were touring and I think both of our tours crossed paths.
Kory: I can’t remember the show.
Cole: Well, I guess we didn’t make much of a first impression there.
Francesca (Macseal): I don’t remember that show either. I do remember meeting you on a different tour and then within a week we got matching tattoos. So I think that’s a pretty good first impression.
Kory: I remember that. I remember that very well.
Francesca: First, second impression, I guess.
Ryan (Prince Daddy & the Hyena): Very loud.
Cole: Yeah, you were really loud musically.
Kory: Okay, thank you for clarifying because I was a little worried there.
Cole: But you were very sweet.
Ryan: I agree. Very sweet people. I wanted to hang out more.
Kory, what’s a memory that comes to mind with Macseal?
Kory: I don’t know what my first memory is. But I know my first impression is pretty much the same as my current impression, which is just… they’re some wholesome little guys and gals. They don’t swear. They refuse to swear. They don’t curse. They don’t stay up past their bed time. They follow all the rules. And they’re sweet. I’m trying to think of what show Cole is talking about from before.
Do you have a fondest memory together?
Kory: I feel like we probably have a lot. I can’t think of any…
Justin (Macseal): The music hall for your headliner was too much fun.
Kory: That was a fun one. That was good.
Ryan: First time I ever got to crowd surf!
Kory: It was in Brooklyn. It was the last show on the tour we did together a couple years ago. And it was just extra rowdy and it was essentially both of our hometown gigs on that tour. So it was just extra.
Justin: Yeah. At one point the full tour package was on stage for your set.
Kory: Yeah. And laying down on the ground on stage. Yeah. That was fun. That was good.I have a fond memory with Justin, specifically. We went to New Orleans. Me, you and Kay, we partied in New Orleans for a little bit. That was a lot of fun.
Justin: It was a lot of fun. I pet a horse. I got really drunk in a matter of an hour and I pet a horse right on the street. I got a video, I’ll send it to you later.
What is your favourite thing about NYC?
Francesca: The New York Mets. The baseball team – I love them. LFGM, baby.
Kory: I don’t have anything. I hate the city, honestly. Not a fan. I like the Strokes. They’re from there. I like the Strokes.
Cole: Didn’t you hang out with them in New York City? And Mac DeMarco?
Kory: I’m not telling that story right now. *laughs*
You’re both heading to Australia for the first time. How are you feeling about it, especially getting to do it together?
Kory: I’m excited.
Ryan: It’s going to be so much fun. It’s crazy. We’re very excited. I think we’re just so comfortable with each other.
Cole: Yeah, we had so much fun on the one we did in the States. And it’ll be even more fun doing a bunch of stuff that we’ve never done before.
Ryan: Yeah, in a very beautiful country.
Kory: Yeah, I think the same. I guess I was a little nervous, mostly just for the flight there. But I think overall I’m just excited to be in a new place for the first time with people that we’re comfortable with and experience that with them.
What’s the most “Australian” thing you’re hoping to experience with your time over here?
Kory: Koala. That’s one of the few things I know about Australia. Kangaroo too.
I like that your answer is not even that you want to see a kangaroo, you want to experience kangaroo and experience koala.
Kory: In any way, shape, or form. Yeah.
Ryan: We’re a very big coffee band. I know Australian coffee culture is huge and I think a lot of shops in New York especially are trying to mimic Australian coffee. And so we’re looking forward to trying that because that would be really fun and enjoyable.
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Have any Australian bands, upcoming or legacy, made their way into your playlists or your regular listening?
Kory: I literally can’t think of any Australian bands right now. Is AC/DC an Australian band? They are, right? Yeah. AC/DC. I like INXS. I’m looking some up right now. I’m not being rude, I swear. I’m curious.
Ryan: We’re very big Courtney Barnett fans. I’ve been listening to her new record a lot. It’s really sick. Frankie?
Francesca: I like this band called Paint. I just found them on Spotify and I listen to them a lot. I like the feeling of it. Alex Lahey. Great artist.
Cole: I agree.
Ryan: On Tony Hawk Pro Skater 3 there’s a song called “It’s Not the Same” by Bodyjar.
Kory: That sounds familiar.
Ryan: You know it if you heard it.
Kory: Yeah. I believe you. Oh! Jet and Wolfmother. I played a couple of their songs in Rock Band or Guitar Hero. And Jake from Counter Intuitive Records showed me Rat!hammock a while back and I was obsessed with one of their songs. I’d probably like more songs too, I just never dug deeper. But I like them a lot.
What’s something that you admire about the other band and why?
Kory: What don’t I admire about them?
Ryan: I love Kory’s affinity for Australian bands.
Kory: I just love it, man. I can’t get enough of this stuff.
Ryan: I’ve said this before, but I feel like no matter what, you could tell that Prince Daddy are having fun playing and doing what they’re doing. And it’s very infectious. And as people they’re kind of the same way. Their energy is very positive and that’s very infectious which is cool and fun.
Cole: I admire how much effort they clearly put into their live show and also how fun they make it. Like we played a week of shows together last year and a couple of us went into the Prince Daddy pit and it kind of reminded me why I fell in love with this type of music in the first place. It’s super fun and I felt like a teenager again.
Kory: How nice. I got nothing… No, I’m just kidding. I honestly could go on about Macseal. If I had to go on about any band, it would probably be their band. I’m very, very much inspired by them. They write good songs. They play them well. They’re a big inspiration for me genuinely – no bullshit. I’ve ripped them off before plenty of times. There are at least four or five Prince Daddy songs that are rips of Macseal songs.
Ryan: We ripped you guys off too.
Kory: I was actually very happy when you did that. I felt better about myself when either you or Cole told me that there’s a P Daddy rip on this next record. I thought – thank God. It’s about time.
Ryan: We just finished one up that started as a Prince Daddy rip off.
Kory: Let’s go. Let’s fucking go. Love to hear it.
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What’s your favourite song from each other’s catalogue and why?
Kory: Hmm. Let me look real quick. I don’t want to give a half-assed answer to this one because I definitely have an answer.
Cole: I feel like we all have different ones within Macseal. I’d probably put forward “El Dorado”.
Justin: I put forward “Shoelaces”.
Ryan: I would also put “El Dorado”.
Cole: It’s just kind of the best chorus of all time if you think about it.
Ryan: Yeah, the song “El Dorado”. But it might also be one of their new songs coming out pretty soon too. So who knows?
Kory: Rock and roll. I was thinking it would be funny if Macseal picked one of the Macseal ripoff songs! Justin did! This is a hard one, actually. It’s between “Lucky for Some” and “Easily Undone”. And that’s as deep as I can go. I can’t choose between them. They sound good. They’re good songs. I love those songs a lot as a songwriter and as a music listener. I admire those songs and value them.
If you each had to swap one member with the other band for the entire tour, who goes where?
Ryan: We had originally said Frankie for Daniel, just because Daniel has played drums before, and Frankie has played drums for you guys before, so that could work out.
Kory: I guess in the same light, I guess Cole for Jay Nasty, because Cole’s played all of his parts before.
Ryan: That’s a good point. That’s true. We could also trade Justin for Jay Nasty, and trade the Jay bassists.
Kory: Yeah, there you go. Done. Done deal. Home for dinner.
If you had to cover one song from the other band live on this upcoming Australia tour, which song would you pick?
Cole: It’d be “Shoelaces” because you ripped that shit off.
Kory: Yeah okay. In the same vein then, it would be, “Afloat”, I think?
Ryan: Yeah, there you go.
Kory: Cause you ripped that shit off. No, honestly, probably “Nothing’s A Sure Thing Shelly”. That would be the one I would do. Because I feel like to P-Daddy-ify that, I wouldn’t have to do very much to it. I would feel at home playing that song.
Ryan: I would also put forth “Big-Box Store Heart” because I like the chords to that song a lot. That’s a fun one.
If you could go back and give your younger self a piece of advice, what would it be?
Cole: Maybe to slowly get over your fear of really big spiders cause in 18 years you’re gonna have to deal with that coming to Australia.
Kory: Maybe that you don’t have to say yes to every opportunity that comes. Being selective is not a bad thing with the opportunities that you’re given and that you take.
Cole: Also the fact that no one is going to care about the stuff that you’re doing or creating more than you will and you should just trust your instincts and your gut and if you’re happy with something then it’ll resonate with other people.
For complete tour and ticket information, see here.
PRINCE DADDY & THE HYENA AND MACSEAL AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2026
Friday, July 17th (18+)
The Brightside, Brisbane QLD
Saturday, July 18th (18+)
Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle NSW
Sunday, July 19th (Lic AA)
Marys Underground, Sydney NSW
Tuesday, July 21st (18+)
La La Las, Wollongong NSW
Wednesday, July 22nd (18+)
Stay Gold, Melbourne VIC
Thursday, July 23rd (18+)
Sooki Lounge, Belgrave VIC
Friday, July 24th (Lic AA)
Jive Bar, Adelaide SA
Saturday, July 25th (18+)
Lynotts Lounge, Perth WA
