The Cat Empire Takes the Leap With Tixel For Ticketing Resales

When The Cat Empire embarks on their global tour next week, they’re taking Tixel with them.

Announced today, May 28th, The Cat Empire names Tixel as the ticket exchange for their Bird in Paradise World Tour, marking the first time the jazz/funk party band has appointed an official global resale partner.

“Playing live has always been at the heart of our music, but especially our new album Bird in Paradise, so we’re stoked to be partnering with a platform that understands how important live music is to us and to our fans,” comments Felix Riebl, founding member and front man of The Cat Empire.

“We’re taking this show to a bunch of new cities, and old friends we haven’t seen for a long time, so having Tixel as our official ticket exchange to make sure our fans are getting genuine tickets is great.”

The brainchild of Zac Leigh, Jason Webb and Denis Mysenko, Tixel was created in 2017 and launched proper the following year to play in the space of facilitating legitimate ticket sales for concerts, festivals and live events.

Its ambition from the outset: to create a safer and fairer way to buy and sell tickets online. All sales on the Australian platform are capped at 10% above face value.

Partners include the Australian Grand Prix, Beyond the Valley, Rising: Melbourne, and Corner Hotel, artists The Teskey Brothers, and Tame Impala, and primary ticketing platforms Eventbrite and Oztix. Investors include Alberts Impact Capital, Future Classic, Galileo Ventures, I OH YOU, Rose Avenue and UNIFIED Music Group. 

This latest pact, notes Leigh, reflects a growing trend for fan-first artists to have more control over the entire fan experience, including ticketing.

“Many of the shows on The Cat Empire’s last tour sold out and it can be a difficult or risky process for fans to find a ticket,” he says, “and every concert has a significant number of fans that need to regretfully sell their ticket. We’re proud to help connect these people on behalf of a band that cares deeply about the experience not just in the crowd, but on their way there too.” 

More partnerships are said to be in the pipeline as Tixel works more closely with artists, along with live events specialists.

The Cat Empire is hitting the road in support of Bird in Paradise, their tenth and latest studio album. The collection, their second release since a lineup change in 2021, debuted at No. 18 on the ARIA Albums Chart in March.

All told, six of their LPs have impacted the national top 10, including leaders: Two Shoes (for one week in 2005) and Rising With The Sun (one week in 2016).

Following two warm-up shows this Friday and Saturday at Disney World for the Garden Rocks Concert Series, The Bird in Paradise World Tour takes flight for shows across the US and Canada through mid-July. Australia dates are locked-in for August and September, followed by shows across Europe and the UK.

Regardless of resale regulation and local legislation, every ticket traded on Tixel is listed with an automatically-detected face value, reps say, its price capped to allow the seller to recoup the cost of buying the original ticket, and to cut out the scalpers.

For more, visit the The Cat Empire’s Tixel Artist Hub.

The Cat Empire Australian Tour 2025

With special guests Little Quirks

Saturday, August 9th — Freo Social, Fremantle (18+)

Sunday, August 10th — Freo Social, Fremantle (All Ages Matinee)

Friday, August 15th — Enmore Theatre, Sydney (All Ages)

Saturday, August 16th — Bar On The Hill, Newcastle (18+)

Saturday, August 23rd — Mundi Mundi Bash, Broken Hill NSW (All Ages)

Thursday, August 28th — Miami Marketta, Gold Coast (12+)

Friday, August 29th — The Tivoli, Brisbane (All Ages)

Sunday, August 31st — Munro Martin Parklands, Cairns (All Ages)

Thursday, September 4th — Odeon Theatre, Tasmania (All Ages)

Friday, September 5th — Civic Hall, Ballarat (18+)

Saturday, September 6th — Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (18+)

Sunday, September 7th — Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (All Ages)

Tickets Available Here