Texan troubadours Shane Smith & The Saints are set to make their long-awaited Australian debut this October, delivering their signature blend of storytelling, soul, and Southern grit to fans in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
The genre-bending five-piece have spent more than a decade carving out a distinct sound—one that fuses country, Appalachian folk, Celtic flourishes, honky-tonk rhythms, and the roaring heart of Americana rock.
Their rise has been steady and hard-earned, with frontman Shane Smith crediting the band’s success to relentless touring and a deep connection with fans.
“We’ve done as many as 240 shows in a single year,” he explains. “We’ve worked so hard to get there, and that hard work has created a beautiful, meaningful audience.”
The band—also featuring Bennett Brown on fiddle, Dustin Schaefer on guitar, Chase Satterwhite on bass, and Zach Stover on drums—first turned heads with the emotionally charged anthem “All I See Is You”, taken from their 2015 sophomore album Geronimo.
The track became a cult classic across alt-country circles and college radio playlists, setting the stage for a sound that has only grown more cinematic and expansive over time.
Now, their fourth studio album Norther is pushing that vision further than ever. Released in early 2024 and named after the icy winds that cut through Texas during the winter months, the record plays like a modern Western soundtrack: equal parts love story, survival tale, and road-weary reflection.
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“It ain’t black or white, babe; it’s all the greys between,” Smith sings on lead single “The Greys Between”, a lyric that doubles as a mission statement for a band known for blurring genre lines.
From the sweeping string arrangements of “Book of Joe” to the honky-tonk gallop of “1000 Wild Horses” and the raw vulnerability of “All the Way”, Norther captures every shade of the Saints’ sound—imperfections and all.
Recorded between tour dates, the album was crafted in chaotic bursts of creativity. “We’d be on the road doing shows, and there would be a 48-hour gap where we’d fly into Dallas and try to record everything we possibly could, then fly right back to wherever the bus was,” Smith recalls. “It was like that for the entirety of the recording process.”
Despite the logistical juggle, Norther has been met with glowing acclaim, culminating in the band’s biggest year yet, including a sold-out Red Rocks Amphitheatre show (which moved 10,000 tickets in just 36 hours), a performance on the legendary Ryman Auditorium stage, and a pivotal cameo on the hit series Yellowstone, where they performed “Fire in the Ocean” in one of Season 5’s most talked-about scenes.
“When you’re in a band like ours, everyone gets their turn to play their music in the van,” Smith says of their eclectic musical influences. “Bennett grew up listening to Appalachian and Celtic-inspired folk and bluegrass… Dustin grew up loving classic rock… my wife introduced me to bands like Arcade Fire and First Aid Kit — cinematic folk that had a massive impact on my writing. We’ve spent years together, letting our sound evolve into something really unique.”
Now, after all that time on the road, Shane Smith & The Saints are finally crossing oceans — and bringing that evolved sound to Australia for the very first time.
Shane Smith & The Saints – Australian Tour 2025
Presale begins Thursday, May 15th at 1pm local time and ends Friday, May 16th at 9am.
General public tickets go on sale Friday, May 16th at 10am via livenation.com.au.
Saturday, October 18th
Princess Theatre, Brisbane
Tuesday, October 21st
Factory Theatre, Sydney
Wednesday, October 22nd
Corner Hotel, Melbourne
