Alex Warren canceled his Monday (Aug. 24) concert at Auckland’s Spark Arena just hours before showtime, citing sudden illness during his Finding Family on the Road World Tour stop in New Zealand.

“I never have to do this and it breaks my heart to even write this but I have to cancel tonight’s show,” Warren wrote on Instagram.

“I have tried everything to be able to make this show work and I’m sadly bedridden sick at the moment. I can barely talk let alone sing and it sadly isn’t possible to play tonight’s show.” He added: “I understand what it takes to be able to attend concerts and the fact so many of you travelled for this one has made this decision even more difficult. I love you so much and hope you understand.”

Promoter Frontier Touring confirmed the cancellation in a separate statement, saying Warren was unwell and unable to perform “following medical advice.”

“Alex is devastated to miss the show and has been looking forward to performing for his Auckland fans,” the statement read. “He sincerely thanks fans for their understanding and support.” Ticketholders will receive automatic refunds.

The Auckland date was the sole North Island stop on Warren’s New Zealand run, following two shows earlier in the week at Christchurch’s Wolfbrook Arena. It’s not the first time illness has forced Warren off the road: he scrapped Philadelphia and Montreal tour stops in 2025 after performing through bronchitis and laryngitis worsened his condition. Warren is next scheduled to perform Friday (Aug. 28) at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena, continuing an Australian leg that runs through Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth.

The cancellation lands just before a major release for Warren. His sophomore album, Wildchild, arrives Friday via Atlantic Records — the same day as his Sydney show — following 2025’s breakout debut You’ll Be Alright, Kid. That album, anchored by the 10-week Hot 100 No. 1 “Ordinary,” earned Warren the MTV VMA for best new artist and Billboard’s best new artist of 2025.

Wildchild has been previewed by singles “Fever Dream,” “Fine Place to Die,” “Passenger” and “Rescuer,” and Warren has described the 13-track project as documenting a healing process following his father’s death, in contrast to the grief-driven tone of his debut.

Hilltop Hoods will headline Australia’s Castaway Festival across three cities this summer, extending a run for the Adelaide hip-hop trio that has made them the most decorated act in the history of the ARIA Albums Chart.

The group holds a record seven No. 1 albums on the chart — more than any other Australian act, surpassing AC/DC, Powderfinger, Cold Chisel and Silverchair — a streak that most recently extended with 2025’s Fall From the Light.

Castaway will run at Whitfords Nodes Park in Hillarys, Western Australia, on Saturday, Nov. 21; Mornington Racecourse in Victoria on Saturday, Dec. 12; and Wollongong, New South Wales, on Saturday, March 20, 2027. Joining Hilltop Hoods on the bill are Brisbane rock band Violent Soho and ARIA-winning singer-songwriter Amy Shark, alongside supporting acts Playlunch, Trials, Lyric and Birdland. General tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 28, with artist, promoter and Telstra Plus presales opening Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Hilltop Hoods have built one of the most substantial catalogs in Australian hip-hop over more than two decades. The trio — Suffa, MC Pressure and DJ Debris — have logged 23 entries on Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown and have won 10 ARIA Awards. Their chart dominance dates to 2006’s The Hard Road and has continued through State of the Art (2009), Drinking From the Sun (2012), Walking Under Stars (2014), a 2016 remix compilation of those two albums, The Great Expanse (2019) and Fall From the Light (2025), which marked their sixth consecutive album to debut at No. 1 in Australia.

Violent Soho, known for anthemic festival sets and albums including WACO and Everything Is A-OK, have also topped the ARIA Albums Chart during their career. Amy Shark broke through with 2018’s Love Monster, which reached No. 1 in Australia and helped establish her as one of the country’s most recognizable pop songwriters. “I’m a huge fan of Hilltop Hoods and Violent Soho, I was more than happy to join the boys on the road!” Shark said in a statement announcing the festival. “I don’t think you could get a better lineup. Hip-hop, rock and pop — I can’t wait!”

The three-city run continues Castaway’s format of pairing major national headliners with rotating supporting bills across Australia’s west, southeast and east coasts.

The Wallflowers will play Australia for the first time, announcing a five-date tour presented by Love Police to mark the 30th anniversary of their breakthrough album, Bringing Down the Horse. The band will perform the album in full at every show.

The tour opens at Melbourne’s Palais Theatre on Friday, Dec. 4, followed by Thirroul’s Anita’s Theatre on Dec. 5, Sydney’s Liberty Hall on Dec. 6, Brisbane’s Fortitude Music Hall on Dec. 8 and Adelaide’s Hindley Street Music Hall on Dec. 9. A promoter presale begins Wednesday, Aug. 26, with general tickets on sale Friday, Aug. 28.

Bringing Down the Horse, released May 21, 1996, peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified quadruple platinum in the U.S.; in Australia it went gold and reached No. 9 on the ARIA chart. Lead single “One Headlight” became the band’s signature hit, topping Billboard’s Mainstream Rock, Modern Rock and Triple-A airplay charts simultaneously and winning two Grammy Awards in 1998 for best rock song and best rock performance by a duo or group with vocals. It later landed at No. 58 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 greatest pop songs. The album also produced “6th Avenue Heartache,” “The Difference” and “Three Marlenas.”

Each show will also feature a full performance of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1982 album Long After Dark — a tribute the band says reflects a formative influence on frontman Jakob Dylan. Dylan inducted Petty into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002.

Dylan, the son of Bob Dylan, has led the Wallflowers for more than three decades. Beyond the band’s catalog, he starred in the 2018 documentary Echo in the Canyon, working alongside Neil Young, Eric Clapton, Beck, Cat Power, Norah Jones and Regina Spektor, and has placed songs in film and TV including the Wallflowers’ cover of “Heroes” for the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack. The band supported Eric Clapton on his 2025 U.S. tour, following earlier support runs with Clapton, the Who and the Rolling Stones.

“I loved this record when it hit the streets,” Love Police’s BT said in a statement announcing the tour. “It was 1996, lots of good things around that were starting to reignite the country, roots, early Americana scene… It’s an excellent live show and we get a Petty album too?! Unreal.”

The Wallflowers’ 2026 Australian tour dates:

Friday, Dec. 4 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne
Saturday, Dec. 5 — Anita’s Theatre, Thirroul
Sunday, Dec. 6 — Liberty Hall, Sydney
Tuesday, Dec. 8 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane
Wednesday, Dec. 9 — Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide