Ben Lee To Celebrate ‘Awake Is The New Sleep’ With 20th Anniversary Tour

Ben Lee has announced that he will revive his 2005 album Awake Is The New Sleep for a national tour across September and October of 2025. The shows will see Lee and his band perform the album from start to finish to celebrate its 20th anniversary, as well as a selection of songs from across his discography – up to and including last year’s This One’s For The Old Headz. The full list of tour dates, as well as pre-sale and ticketing information, can be found below.

“I’m not really a nostalgic person – I prefer to keep pushing forward with new projects and ideas – but this feels weirdly right to me,” said Lee in a press statement announcing the tour. “I’ve done so much touring in the last couple of years, and it’s become abundantly clear to me that Awake was a really vital part of so many people’s lives and emotional journeys. I’ve chatted to so many people about the wide-eyed exploration and optimism of the record, and how it still seems to find people at the exact right time that they need that kind of energy.”

Ben Lee – ‘Gamble Everything For Love’

Awake Is The New Sleep, Lee’s fifth solo album, was originally released in late February of 2005. Its release was preceded by the lead single ‘Gamble Everything For Love’ in late 2004, and followed by the release of hit single ‘Catch My Disease’ that April. Two further singles were released, ‘Into The Dark’ and ‘We’re All In This Together’ – the latter of which underwent a revival in popularity some 15 years later as it became an unofficial COVID-19 lockdown anthem. Awake remains Lee’s most successful album to date, having being certified double Platinum and peaking at number five on the ARIA Albums Chart. Lee also won four ARIA Awards at the 2005 ceremony: Best Male Artist, Best Independent Release, Best Cover Art and Single Of The Year for ‘Catch My Disease’.

“For me, it’s an album of endings and beginnings,” said Lee about Awake. “I made it when I’d just left a major romantic relationship, had no record deal for the first time in my career, and was getting into spirituality, philosophy and the occult. It’s an album that seemed to change a lot of lives, including mine. I’m looking forward to facing that, head on, and exploring what these songs mean to me and the audience today, 20 years on. They still feel potent.”

Ben Lee Awake Is The New Sleep 2025 Tour

All shows are 18+, with the exception of those marked with an asterisk that are all-ages.

• Thursday, September 25th – UC Refectory, Canberra ACT*
• Friday, September 26th – King Street Bandroom, Newcastle NSW*
• Saturday, September 27th – Liberty Hall, Sydney NSW
• Thursday, October 2nd – Beach Hotel, Byron Bay NSW
• Friday, October 3rd – Princess Theatre, Brisbane QLD
• Saturday, October 4th – Miami Marketta, Gold Coast QLD
• Thursday, October 9th – Torquay Hotel, Torquay VIC
• Saturday, October 11th – Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC
• Friday, October 17th – The Gov, Adelaide SA
• Saturday, October 18th – Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle WA

A pre-sale for the tour will run from 2pm local time on Tuesday, May 20th. General sale will then follow on Thursday, May 22nd – again at 2pm local time. Both can be accessed via Frontier Touring.

Further Reading

Ben Lee Pays Tribute To The Late Jill Sobule: “A Force Of Nature”

‘I Couldn’t Do a Bad Show If I Tried’: Ben Lee Is Leaning Into His Weirdness

Grinspoon Announce 30th Anniversary Tour With Bad//Dreems