One of NZ’s favourite singer-songwriters, Julia Deans has just announced she'll be touring New Zealand in August, performing with predominantly female support acts and crew.
Julia Deans has just announced she’ll be touring the country in August to celebrate the release of her second album We Light Fire, which came out last month.
Julia (of Fur Patrol fame) recently supported Marlon Williams’ sold out nationwide tour, with her performances being described variously as ‘stunning’, ‘spellbinding’ and ‘captivating’. The RNZ Music team saw her recently too – and she was brilliant (that voice!).
READ: Nick Bollinger reviews Julia’s new album We Light Fire
All the support acts on Julia’s tour will be female and non-binary fronted bands or solo artists and the team behind the tour are also predominantly women: booking agent, promoter, publicist, and the majority of Julia’s band and touring crew.
Julia Deans performing at Auckland's Golden Dawn Photo: RNZ / Alice Murray
In light of the conversation that’s currently happening around gender inbalance in the music industry, Julia decided to use her tour as a platform to create opportunities for women.
“Throughout my career I have strived to be recognised as a musician first, but often my being a woman has meant I’ve been looked upon as some kind of novelty.
“To me, gender should not be an issue. I strongly believe we need to foster an environment that not only welcomes women and encourages them to get involved, but which also encourages men to support women and embrace them as equals.”
READ: Track by track – Julia Deans on her new album We Light Fire
The August tour will be the first time audiences around New Zealand will get to see her perform her own headline tour with a full band in over seven years. Exciting stuff.
Tickets are on sale now at UnderTheRadar and Ticketmaster (for the Tuning Fork gig).
Any artists/bands interested in applying for support slots, keep an eye on Julia Deans Facebook page
Julia Deans We Light Fire album release tour dates:
- Fri 3rd August, Hamilton, The Meteor
- Sat 4th August, Leigh, Leigh Sawmill
- Fri 10th August, Gisborne, Dome Bar
- Sat 11th August, Wellington, San Fran
- Wed 22nd August, Christchurch, Blue Smoke
- Thu 23rd August, Dunedin, 50 Gorillas
- Fri 24th August, Queenstown, Sherwood
- Fri 31st August, Tauranga, Totara Street
- Sat 1st September, Auckland, Tuning Fork
