All images by Taylor Bonin //

Ahead of their huge Australian tour in January, we have a look at life on the road with The Growlers.

With their sixth studio album Natural Affair, which includes recent single ‘Social Man’ making waves around the world, California blues/country-turned-disco/indie rockers The Growlers are well and truly on their way to establishing themselves as the biggest underground bands in the world. Does that make sense?

What we’re saying is they’ve never had that mainstream explosion (and inevitable burnout) which has allowed them to keep evolving and producing incredibly cool tunes without the pressure of recapturing past success. And that’s not to say they aren’t killing it – the group sell out shows around the globe on the reg and have earned a reputation for their entrancing live shows.

Natural Affair sees them expand on the funk and electro tropes of 2016’s City Club, further experimenting with synths and percussion. As per usual lead singer Brooks Nielson’s distinctive voice and lyrical style guide us on this sonic journey with warmth and gritty grace.

They’re heading back to Australia in January, this time heeding the calls of fans and adding a bunch of regional dates which is very exciting news. You can check out all the dates below and head here for tickets, and check out the photos and words below as snapped/stated by their longtime tour manager and collaborator Taylor Bonin:

THE GROWLERS ‘NATURAL AFFAIR’ AUSTRALIAN & NEW ZEALAND TOUR

Saturday 4 January – Kingscliff Beach Hotel, Kingscliff NSW
Sunday 5 January – CBD Live Southport, Gold Coast QLD
Monday 6 January – The Tivoli, Brisbane QLD
Wednesday 8 January – Sawtell RSL, Sawtell NSW
Thursday 9 January – 48 Watt St, Newcastle NSW
Friday 10 January – Wollongong Uni, Wollongong NSW
Saturday 11 January – Park House, Mona Vale NSW
Sunday 12 January – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW
Tuesday 14 January – Westernport Hotel, San Remo VIC
Wednesday 15 January – Pier Bandroom, Frankston VIC
Thursday 16 January – The Croxton, Melbourne VIC
Friday 17 January – Torquay Hotel, Torquay VIC
Sunday 19 January – Powerstation – Auckland, NZ
Monday 20 January – Powerstation (AA)- Auckland, NZ 

The first night of a 50 show run in Denver, CO.

Pre-show set list making on night 1.

Greetings from Asbury Park, New Jersey. Day off at the beach. Brooks bought a board that surprisingly made it all the way home from tour.

Ice bucket post-show. Tampa, Florida.

Curbside with the fans after show + ice bath.

St. Augustine, Florida. We saw this kid surfing the next morning.

This monitor engineer wanted a fist bump every time you’d pass him.


Brooks’ self tour haircut.

Found this cool spot on a walk around the venue. Virginia Beach, VA.

Sound check in Portland, OR.

We made it to Europe and had to stop and smell the roses. Swiss Alps.

A few of us went paragliding… Unreal.

Locals at the show in the Swiss Alps.

Random bath tub found on a hike before sound check.

Sound check on a mountain.

Prettiest venue to date.

Over there!

Waiting to hit the stage in the Netherlands.

Little car in Erlangen, Germany. On our way to a beer garden.

Best friends.

Up close and personal. Portland, Oregon.

Weird room next to our green room. Decided it would be good for a photo shoot.

Brooks warming up before the show in Milwaukee. Smoking in the boys room.

Another day, another sound check.

Final show night of tour in Seattle, WA.

Thank you everyone. Now we go home and will most likely return to a town near you very soon.