'90s Crossover Band Announces Tour Dates in Australia for the First Time in 16 Years
Massive Attack have added more dates to their upcoming tour.
The English hip-hop group announced that they will be heading to Australia this August, playing three shows in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney. Massive Attack will be performing at Brisbane's Entertainment Centre, Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena on August 6, 9 and 11, respectively, marking their return to Australia since 2010. Tickets go on general sale at 3 pm local time on Friday.
The news came two months after the duo released "Boots On The Ground," a politically charged collaboration with Tom Waits and his son Casey. The track ended a six-year period without new music from Massive Attack, whose most recent studio release was their 2020 EP, Eutopia.
Formed by Robert "3D" Del Naja, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew "Mushroom" Vowles in 1987 in Bristol, England, Massive Attack became one of the trailblazers for the hip-hop community. They released their debut studio album, Blue Lines, in 1991, and its lead single "Unfinished Sympathy" was a chart hit in Europe, including No. 1 on the Dutch Top 40. Thaws and Vowles eventually ended up leaving the group to pursue solo careers, leaving 3D and Daddy G continuing as a duo.
Despite being known as pioneers of trip-hop, a subgenre of hip-hop that also blends EDM, jazz, soul, funk and rap, they despised being known as one because many of their songs cross different genres. In a 2006 interview, Daddy G stated that they "used to hate that terminology."
"We used to hate that terminology trip-hop so bad," he told Hour. "You know, as far we were concerned, Massive Attack music was unique, so to put it in a box was to pigeonhole it and to say, 'Right, we know where you guys are coming from.'"
In addition to their music, Massive Attack has been known for their activism, constantly advocating for human rights, anti-war, climate change and more.
Massive Attack is currently embarking on their European leg of their tour, which kicked off this past weekend at Veikkaus Arena. On Sunday, they will perform in Berlin's Zitadelle and conclude the lineup of shows at the Forest National in Brussels next Monday.
Presale for Massive Attack's Australian shows will take place on Thursday. Meanwhile, the general sale will be open to the public on Friday afternoon local time.
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This story was originally published June 1, 2026 at 9:43 PM.