Shai Hulud Cancel Australian Tour
Low ticket sales have been confirmed as the cause for the tour not going ahead.
Image supplied
The touring landscape is tough. Just ask American metalcore veterans Shai Hulud, who have sadly been forced to cancel their 2026 Australian tour.
The band were locked in to tour Australia in January for the first time in 13 years, but low ticket sales mean the tour will no longer go ahead. All tickets will be refunded at the point of purchase.
The band took to social media to release a statement regarding the cancellation, which is available to read below.
“We’re really sorry to share this. After putting a lot of work into these shows, and despite members taking time off work and our agency running additional ads, ticket sales in some locations just didn’t come together in a way that made the risk manageable for us.
”With heavy hearts, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the Shai Hulud dates scheduled for January 2026. We’re genuinely sorry to everyone who bought tickets and was excited to be there with us. We were so looking forward to it. All tickets will be fully refunded.
”After a strong 2025, we want to keep building on that momentum and focus our energy on what helps Shai Hulud continue to exist and thrive. One thing we want to share openly: for bands doing international tours, pre-sales matter a lot. If you love a band and plan to go, buying early truly helps make these tours possible. We have seen success by taking the risk and going out there trusting that our fans show up on the day that we play. And, they do, sometimes to our surprise. But, with international flights being extremely costly and all of those costs coming up front it became a very difficult risk to manage for ourselves and our families.
“Thank you for supporting live music, it means more than you know, and even more now.
“SHAI HULUD”
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The current iteration of Shai Hulud, comprising Geert van der Velde (vocals), Matt Fox (guitar, backing vocals), Matt Fletcher (bass), Mark Gumbrecht (guitar) and Moe Watson (drums), had headline shows lined up in Brisbane, Sydney, Newcastle, Hobart, Adelaide and Melbourne, along with an apperance in Perth for Froth & Fury Fest.
While disappointing for fans, it shows the difficulty facing touring artists and why people need to buy tickets at the earliest moment instead of waiting last minute.
