North Carolina band Wednesday will return to Australia and New Zealand in May and June 2026, with three New Zealand headline dates in Wellington, Lyttelton and Auckland and Australian shows at Max Watts and the Metro Theatre. The move, timed around their acclaimed album Bleeds, sets multiple presale and general-sale windows that will determine how quickly demand for the group’s music is realised.
Wednesday RISING Melbourne Shows
Wednesday will play two RISING Festival headline concerts at Max Watts in Melbourne on Sun 31 May and Mon 1 Jun, before playing Metro Theatre in Sydney on Wed 3 Jun. Tickets for the Melbourne shows go on sale from 12: 00 pm AEDT on 16 March (9: 00 pm ET on 15 March), and Sydney tickets go on sale from 9: 00 am AEDT on 13 March (6: 00 pm ET on 12 March). The pattern suggests the band and promoters are staggering Australian sale windows to prioritise festival appearances in Melbourne ahead of the single Sydney date.
Wednesday New Zealand Dates
For New Zealand, Wednesday have three headline dates locked in: Friday 22 May at San Fran in Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Saturday 23 May at Loons in Ōhinehou, and Sunday 24 May at Hollywood Avondale in Tāmaki Makaurau. Their newest album, Bleeds, was released last September and has been widely hailed as one of 2025’s best releases, a success that follows the band’s breakthrough with Rat Saw God and a praised live debut in the market. The acclaim for Bleeds implies promoters expect strong turnout for these May dates, building on the band’s reputation for intense live shows.
Banished Music NZ Presale Times
The New Zealand run is presented by Banished Music and Strange News, with ticket windows listed in more than one way: presale tickets are given as from 10: 00 am on Friday 6 March and general tickets from 10: 00 am on Monday 9 March (10: 00 am on 6 March translates to 4: 00 pm ET on 5 March; 10: 00 am on 9 March translates to 4: 00 pm ET on 8 March). Another listing shows presale beginning Friday, May 6 (10: 00 am local time) and general sale Monday, May 9 (10: 00 am local time) — those May 10: 00 am local sales convert to 6: 00 pm ET on the preceding day. The discrepancy in listed presale windows raises a practical question for buyers about which schedule applies at each venue and could fragment early demand if not clarified.
MJ Lenderman is noted as a core member on recordings but no longer tours with the group, and the band’s prior regional appearances — including a sold-out Whammy Bar show on their earlier visit — provide evidence that these dates may sell quickly. The next confirmed development is the presale that begins at 10: 00 am on Friday 6 March (4: 00 pm ET on 5 March); if that presale applies to the New Zealand dates, the available data suggests tickets could move rapidly given the band’s recent acclaim and history of sold-out shows.
