*Sunbleached not appearing
Nashville alternative emo rockers Free Throw are heading back to Australia in January 2027, announcing a seven date national tour with support from Oklahoma emo outfit Ben Quad, making their Australian debut, and Brisbane alt rockers Sunbleached. Tickets go on sale Wednesday 7th October at 10am local time via Destroy All Lines.
The upcoming tour marks Free Throw’s third trip to Australia, following a co-headline tour with Microwave in 2025 and a support run with Hot Mulligan in 2024, selling out multiple dates and leaving a lasting impression on new fans throughout the country.
Since forming in 2012, Free Throw have found themselves at the forefront of modern emo punk. Their 2014 debut Those Days Are Gone quickly became a genre favourite, laying the groundwork for more than a decade of touring alongside the likes of Hot Mulligan and New Found Glory as well as appearances at Slam Dunk, Riot Fest and more. They return to Australia following the release of their sixth album, Moments Before The Wind, out now via Wax Bodega. The followup to 2023’s Lessons That We Swear To Keep, the new album chronicles a surrealist descent into liminality: a period of intense personal upheaval coloured by loss, renewal, reflection and ultimately life changing joy surrounding vocalist Cory Castro’s impending fatherhood.
The record is a swirl of Midwest emo, sweat-soaked punk fervor, and crashing alternative rock - but also the sort of achingly vulnerable lyricism fans and critics have come to expect from the band. Through it all, Moments... finds Free Throw still moving, still growing, but now, perhaps more than ever, acutely aware that the path ahead is neither straight nor obvious. There’s a quiet confidence guiding them there into a brand-new era, ready for whatever the wind blows their way.
Joining Free Throw for their first ever Australian shows is Ben Quad. Hailing from Oklahoma City, the modern emo quartet released their debut album I’m Scared That’s All There Is in 2022, followed by 2024’s Ephemera EP, before returning this year with their Jon Markson (The Story So Far, Drug Church) produced album Wisher. Wisher taught them to thrive inside the unpredictable, to harness a no-limits musical mentality and self-effacing sense of humour and turn it into some of the most resonant, captivating post-emo of today. The record embraces a more expansive take on their genre, folding in screamo, pop sensibilities, math-rock and glitchy production. The record is about savouring life’s small victories - the moments that might not feel like much at the time but can snowball into something bigger if you only allow yourself to find the joy in them.
Rounding out the lineup is Brisbane’s Sunbleached, who will bring their highly anticipated debut album Stop Destroying The Things You Love to stages across Australia. Released via Community Music just last month, the album is produced by Fletcher Matthews (Trophy Eyes, Dear Seattle, Secret World) and captures Sunbleached at their best and brightest, bringing together the band’s signature blend of alt-rock and emo across a personal, dark and sweeping debut. Establishing themselves early on as ones to watch in Australia’s alternative emo space, Stop Destroying The Things You Love places the band firmly in league with the artists that have shaped them.
