Fresh from a triumphant, room-rammed set at The Other’s Way festival, Aotearoa indie legends The Bats are heading out on the road in 2026 to finally deliver the live accompaniment to their much-loved 2025 album Corner Coming Up. Recorded with Tex Houston at Chicks Studio in Port Chalmers, their 11th album Corner Coming Up charted at #1 on the IMNZ chart & #2 on the Aotearoa Music Charts and shows The Bats at their shimmering, melodic best; full of bright guitar lines, warm harmonies, and the band’s unmistakable Bats-ey sweet mystique.
A beloved part of the Flying Nun story, the band have maintained the same lineup since Robert, Kaye and Paul shoplifted Malcolm from The Bilders who played their first gig on New Year’s Eve 1982 in Dunedin.
So behold, nine shows across February and March in The Bats most extensive NZ tour in over 20 years, sharing songs from the record alongside treasured picks from their four-decades-deep knockout catalogue.
Adding to the intrigue, the Auckland headline date at Hollywood Avondale is part of Banished Music & Strange News newly minted Strange Universe show series.
ABOUT THE BATS
Formed in Christchurch in 1982, The Bats - Robert Scott, Kaye Woodward, Paul Kean, and Malcolm Grant - have quietly and loudly endured as one of New Zealand’s most beloved pop bands. An integral cog in the Flying Nun scene alongside friends/ contemporaries The Clean and The Chills, The Bats quickly developed a sound all their own: chiming guitars, melodic bass lines, and songs that unassume while are instantly memorable.
With a lineup that has stayed the same for over 40 years, their chemistry is unmistakable. Albums like Daddy’s Highway, Fear of God, Silverbeet, Free All The Monsters and so many more The Bats have cemented their legendary status at home and abroad, earning them a devoted generation-spanning following.
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