MATT WARD ANNOUNCES NEW SINGLE ‘COME HOME SAFE’ & MASSIVE AUSTRALIAN TOUR
The country music stalwart is playing 21 dates across the country in support of his forthcoming third album, The Long Way Home.
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South Australian country singer Matt Ward returns with the brilliant new tune ‘Come Home Safe’, the lead single from his much anticipated third album, The Long Way Home.
Produced by Matt Fell (Troy Cassar-Daley, The Whitlams), ‘Come Home Safe’ is an upbeat country rocker with an accompanying music video shot by fellow South Aussie Jacob Tamas on Ward’s farm on the Fleurieu Peninsula.
In a press release about the song, Ward explains it “is about the dangers of forever searching for happiness, without realising it is right in front of you.”
The statement continues: “The writing process for the song was very different to my normal approach. I had a recurring dream about a town in regional South Australia that I’d never visited before. I decided to visit this town, and on the way had a really bad car accident! Following this, I had another dream where the melody and vocal style (also quite different for me) came to me – I woke up in the middle of the night and recorded the melody.”
To coincide with the release of ‘Come Home Safe’, Ward has unveiled the dates for his huge national tour that kicks off at Stein’s Taphouse in Nuriootpa on Friday, May 17. The extensive tour takes in many regional spots, with the first seven shows in South Australia before Ward heads across the border to Victoria for three shows. He then travels to New South Wales for three performances before returning to SA for five more gigs and a one-off show in Queensland. The tour ends with two performances in Tasmania in November.
A country music lover for many years, Ward released his debut self-titled EP in 2016, with the song ‘Neil Young’ helping him get picked up by Stanley Records. A storyteller at heart, Ward partnered with award-winning producer Matt Fell in 2019 and released the concept album Heartland, a record about the devastating drought that hit Australia in the early 00s. The album went straight to the top of the ARIA Country Album Chart and was followed five years later by Ward’s sophomore release If I Was In Dallas Tonight. Once again topping the country charts, the album detailed Ward’s experiences living and travelling between Adelaide and Austin, Texas.
Ward’s most recent release was the 2023 EP, The Way That I Was Meant To Be. Self-produced and released via his own independent record label, Heartland Music Australia, the EP showed another sign of Ward and featured the acclaimed duet with Taasha Coates (The Audreys), ‘Two To Tango’.
The Long Way Home is set for release on September 6. You can pre-order the album here. Tickets for Ward’s tour are on sale here.
Matt Ward 2024 Australian tour
Friday, May 17 – Stein’s Taphouse, Nuriootpa, SA
Saturday, May 18 – Three Brothers Arms, Macclesfield, SA
Sunday, May 19 – Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide, SA
Sunday, May 26 – Overland Corner Hotel, Overland Corner, SA
Friday, May 31 – Soundcity, Port Lincoln, SA
Saturday, June 1 – Hotel Augusta, Pt Augusta, SA
Saturday, June 15 – Ballara Sounds, Warooka, SA
Friday, July 5 – The Lomond Hotel, Melbourne, VIC
Saturday, July 6 – Pistol Petes, Geelong, VIC
Sunday, July 7 – Shiraz Republic, Cornella, VIC
Thursday, July 18 – The Midnight Special, Sydney, NSW
Friday, July 19 – The Tamworth Hotel, Tamworth, NSW
Saturday, July 20 – Royal Hotel, Dungog, NSW
Sunday, July 21 – Junkyard Hote, Maitland, NSW
Friday, September 6 – Stein’s Taphouse, Nuriootpa, SA
Saturday, September 7 – Three Brothers Arms, Macclesfield, SA
Sunday, September 8 – Shotgun Willies, Adelaide, SA
Friday, September 20 – Doo Bop Bar, Brisbane, QLD
Sunday, October 20 – Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide, SA
Friday, November 1 – Altar Bar, Hobart, TAS
Sunday, November 3 – Wilder Tasmania, Gowrie Park, TAS
