Interview: Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire On Australian Tour
By Sheldon Ang
Last time MEMPHIS MAY FIRE touched down in Australia, the shows sold out at breakneck speed, and the noise didn’t stop when the tickets did. With more than 1,600 fans reportedly left on waiting lists, the band is returning with a clear mission: make these nights count.
To find out what that kind of demand feels like from the other side of the barricade and what fans can expect from the upcoming run. Sheldon Ang sits down with the band’s singer Matty Mullins for a candid chat about the chaos of the last tour, the pressure of a long gap before the next return, and why they’re determined to “empty the tank” every night.
When MEMPHIS MAY FIRE last toured Australia, the reaction was bigger than anyone in the band expected: five shows sold out fast, and the demand kept climbing- leaving more than 1,600 fans stuck on waiting lists. Instead of treating it like a victory lap, the band saw it as a message. “It honestly caught us off guard in the best way,” Mullins tell us, and that surge of support has become the reason they’re returning with a renewed sense of purpose.
The speed of it all still sits with them. “You always hope for that kind of response…but to see it- to watch tickets disappear that fast and then hear about the waiting lists – it was surreal.” More than a flattering statistic, it felt like a signal flare from the other side of the world: “It felt like Australia was saying, ‘Hey, we’ve been here, and we’ve been waiting.’”
The band describes watching tickets vanish and then hearing about the growing waiting lists- as the kind of shock you secretly hope for. “You always hope for that kind of response… it was surreal,” framing it as a reminder that the connection is still real and the story in Australia isn’t finished. More than hype, the demand felt like a challenge: come back and prove it again.
One message in particular crystalised the urgency. A fan told the band they’d planned an entire trip around the show; flights, hotel, the lot, only to miss a ticket. They still turned up outside the venue, hoping something would open up at the last minute. “That hit hard. That’s when it became clear, we had to come back.”
That reaction did more than boost morale, it “lit a fire under us,” Mullins adds, a reminder that what they’re doing still matters and that there’s “unfinished business” in Australia. And because the realities of touring cycles mean the next visit could be years away, the band is approaching this run like it can’t afford hesitation. “There’s a different weight to these shows. We’re not pacing ourselves thinking, ‘We’ll be back next year.’ This is one of those moments where you empty the tank completely.”
With the realities of an album cycle and international touring schedules, the Mullins says it may be a long time before they can return once this run wraps. That changes the temperature of every show. They’re not pacing themselves for a quick comeback, this is the moment to “empty the tank completely,” treating each night like it could be the last Australian set for years.
That urgency is also aimed squarely at the people who missed out last time. They say the decision to return quickly wasn’t just about momentum. It was about the messages. One in particular stuck: a fan who had planned an entire trip around the show, flights, hotel, everything – and still couldn’t get a ticket. The fan ended up outside the venue, hoping something might open up. “That hit hard,” the band admits. “It’s one thing to miss a show, it’s another to go that far and still not get in. That’s when it became clear, we had to come back.”
So “making it up” has become the brief. “It means going bigger in every way we can,” says Mullins, starting with a setlist that “covers the full spectrum of who we are.” That means the songs fans have “been holding onto for years,” threaded together with the newer material that’s defining where the band is right now. Performance-wise, it’s about being “fully present and giving everything we’ve got,” while production is being pushed as far as possible so each night feels like an event, not just another stop.
Part of that is shaped by what they learned on the last run, a tour that quickly earned a reputation for mayhem. The biggest takeaway? “Australian crowds don’t need warming up. They’re in it from the first note.” It’s a level of commitment that forces the band to match it immediately “no slow builds, no holding back, just straight into it.” And it isn’t just volume; it’s attention. There’s an intensity, they explain, in how “locked in” Australian fans are. every lyric, every breakdown, every moment until it feels less like playing to a room and more like being swallowed by it.
Last time, the band says they learned quickly that Australian audiences don’t need a gentle build-up. “They’re in it from the first note,” and that immediate surge forces a different level of performance. What stands out most is how “locked in” the crowd feels, every lyric, every breakdown, every shift in energy, making the show feel less like a performance to Australia and more like something shared with it.
That same all-in energy is why the band is keen to bring the current era with them. The touring cycle for Shapeshifter has been immense, and they’re not leaving it at the border. “Shapeshifter is a huge part of this chapter for us. So some of those songs are absolutely going to be in the set.”
The record, he adds, “means a lot to us,” and it’s connected with people “in a real way.” This tour is their chance to give those tracks their full live punch, especially for anyone who hasn’t had the opportunity to hear them in person yet.
Asked what they’re carrying into what may be their last Australian run for quite some time, the answer is equal parts gratitude and urgency. “Gratitude, first and foremost,”knowing how many people missed out last time. But there’s also that sense of a clock ticking “like we have something to prove and something to give before we step away for a bit.” Their favourite memories here are the moments the crowd takes over completely: when the mic pulls back and the room is louder than the PA, then the after-show chaos of meeting fans, hearing stories, and seeing how far people have travelled. And when the final note hits on this run, they want it to land as more than a tour date. “I hope they remember that we gave them everything we had. That it wasn’t just another tour—it was a moment in time… something real.”
Personally, the band says this run is powered by two emotions at once: gratitude for being able to return so soon, and urgency knowing the next visit may be far off. Their favourite Australian memories are the moments when the room takes over when the mic drops away and the crowd is louder than the PA—followed by the post-show chaos of meeting people, trading stories, and seeing just how far fans have travelled.
When the final note hits, their hope is simple: that fans remember this chapter as more than a tour date on a calendar. They want it to feel like a once-in-a-lifetime moment, something “real” that people were part of. If the crowd leaves feeling seen, connected, and certain that the band gave everything they had, then MEMPHIS MAY FIRE will consider the mission accomplished.
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE and BLESSTHEFALL April 2026 Australian Tour Dates
Friday 24th April MELBOURNE, Northcote Theatre
Saturday 25th April SYDNEY, Manning Bar
Sunday 26th April BRISBANE, Princess Theatre
Tuesday 28th April ADELAIDE, Lion Arts Factory
Wednesday 29th April PERTH, Magnet House
Tickets On Sale Now From: https://thephoenix.au/memphis-may-fire-2026/
About the interviewer: Sheldon Ang, photographer, writer and the founder of Perth-based Sheldon Ang Media (est. May 2022) has been accredited to over 220 of the hottest acts including Taylor Swift (ERAS Tour in Sydney), Coldplay (Perth), AC/DC, KISS, Metallica, Iron Maiden, RHCP and P!NK with reviews shared by the likes of Belinda Carlisle, UB40, Delta Goodrem, and Roxette. He has interviewed rockers Suzi Quatro (pictured below), the late Ace Frehley (KISS), John Steel (The Animals), Frank Ferrer (Guns N Roses), Phil X (Bon Jovi), Andrew Farris (INXS) plus over 100 artists. He’s also a contributor on Triple M Radio as a music journalist.
