GALLERY & REVIEW | The Wombats & Del Water Gap by Carly Villiers - Brisbane, 2025

English indie rock band, The Wombats, are a household name in the Australian scene. Whether you’ve seen them at a festival or a headline show, it seems they’re always popping up somewhere, their love for the down under crowd is certainly clear.

Following the release of their latest album “Oh! The Ocean”, the Liverpool group - consisting of Matthew Murphy, Tord Knudsen and Dan Haggis, passed by Australia before they head to tour the US and UK. 

With over 20+ years of music, and cycles of worldwide touring, their return to Brisbane’s iconic Riverstage venue was eagerly anticipated. 

The evening began with quite the lineup of support acts and uniquely different sounds - WA rock band Ra Ra Viper, UK singer-songwriter Bea & Her Business and US indie-pop artist Del Water Gap. 

The Wombats ripped onto stage with the catchy “Sorry I’m Late, I Didn’t Want To Come”. Perfectly blending new and old, the setlist was stacked with fresh tracks such as “Can’t Say No” and  “I Love America And She Hates Me”, as well as classics like “Techno Fan”, “Pink Lemonade”, and “Tokyo (Vampires & Wolves)”.

The energy when “Turn” played was off the charts, what a wild experience to be screaming “It won’t get better than this” with an amphitheater full of people. Even Murphy went on to exclaim, “I think Riverstage is genuinely one of our favourite venues to play”. 

Closing out the night’s encore with a huddle of the band’s very own mascots, wombat costumes sprawled the stage as “Greek Tragedy” and “Lets Dance to Joy Division" sent the crowd into madness.

GALLERY: The Wombats in Brisbane, 2025

GALLERY: Del Water Gap in Brisbane, 2025

All photos: © Carly Villiers