The Counting Crows are in NZ ahead of a three-date tour kicking off March 23 in Christchurch. Video / NZ Herald
American rockers Counting Crows aren’t straying away from their Kiwi fans for too long, announcing a one-off show in Auckland which will take place exactly three years after their last visit.
The alternative rock band, formed in San Francisco in the 1990s, are packing their guitars and returning to NewZealand next year for the first time since 2023, when they and English punk star Frank Turner performed in Christchurch, Auckland and Wellington.
The group will kick off their Oceania leg at the Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on March 23, before crossing the Tasman to play Adelaide’s Festival Theatre on March 27 and Sydney’s Enmore Theatre on March 29, concluding in Melbourne at the Palais Theatre on April 1.
The Herald‘s Anna Leask described the night in Ōtautahi as “the musical equivalent of chicken soup for my 90s music-loving soul as Duritz’s familiar, soothing and at times haunting voice weaved through the old, the new, the nostalgic, the heartbreaking, the heart soaring and the best of the band’s catalogue“.
The seven-man band’s newly announced concert comes off the back of their successful The Complete Sweets! Tour,announced in March, which celebrates their latest material Butter Miracle, The Complete Sweets!.
The tour has seen the Mr Jones hitmakers take on a near-nonstop schedule of shows through North America and Europe, beginning in June, where their passionate and intricately crafted rock and roll sound has continued to draw crowds nearly 35 years after their formation.
Adam Duritz of Counting Crows. The band will open their Oceania leg at Auckland's Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre on March 23, 2026. Photo / Mark Seliger
Counting Crows were nominated for two Grammys in 1995, and received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for their Shrek 2 single Accidentally in Love.
“We never do this on tour,” Duritz said, as Immerglück added: “It’s a rarity”.
Counting Crows: The Complete Sweets! Tour
Where: Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland
When: March 23, 2026
Tickets: Pre-sales start from tomorrow, October 16 at 10am via Mastercard, One NZ and Live Nation, with general sales on Monday, October 20 at 11am via Live Nation
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