Brisbane’s Ball Park Music announce a massive Australian and New Zealand tour alongside their new single ‘Please Don’t Move To Melbourne‘, in the lead up to the release of their much-anticipated eighth studio album Like Love on Fri 4 April.
Like Love is named after its heartfelt title track, which recently won hearts of fans around the country, voting it as #43 in triple j’s Hottest 100 of 2024, making it the thirteenth Ball Park Music song to appear in the annual countdown.
Where ‘Like Love‘ showed a softer and more introspective sound from the band, the second single from the album, ‘Please Don’t Move To Melbourne‘, brings the tone right back up with a bright, upbeat melody and an undeniable chorus that will no doubt get stuck in your head, while simultaneously paired with vulnerable lyrics in a way that only Ball Park Music can.
Ball Park Music singer and songwriter Sam Cromack explains, “The origins of this song are old. Proper old. I can recall writing the chorus in a house I rented many moons ago. I remember the enchanting nature of the three chords being spread over six bars; it gives it this suspended feeling as if it could just go on forever and never resolve. But all I had was that chorus. Inspired by a time when many friends were departing Brisbane for greener pastures down south, it lay dormant for years. I didn’t know how to complete the story. When scratching around for material on this record I shared it with the band and they instantly connected. Again, the unusual number of bars made us wanna play it all bloody night. It just has this circular, infinite quality to it. As we did that, I kinda just let the melodies and all those subconscious ramblings bubble up and suddenly we had verses! It’s endured a strange construction, but it’s truly one of our favourite songs we’ve made.”
Filmed by Ball Park Music guitarist Dean Hanson on a sunny day in Brisbane/Meanjin, the ‘Please Don’t Move To Melbourne’ music video is a tongue-in-cheek bid to show how much fun Brisbane is, featuring no less than 22 references to their hometown, including The Wheel Of Brisbane, the Story Bridge, the Brown Snake (Brisbane River), a Bluey City Cat, Kurilpa Bridge, The Brisbane Steps, Howard Smith Wharves, the Brisbane sign, Suncorp Stadium, Netherworld, the XXXX Brewery and Sam’s XXXX hat, Brunswick Street Fortitude Valley, Ric’s, Dean’s treasured cap from The Zoo (RIP), The Fortitude Valley Train Station, walking over the Riverside Express, The Wally Lewis and Darren Lockyer Statues, throwing around a Brisbane Broncos football, Paul’s Brisbane Lions hat and drinking Green Beacon beers on the wheel.
Fri 2May – Forth Pub, Fort TAS – Buy Tickets
Sat 3 May – Odeon Theatre, Hobart TAS (All Ages) – Buy Tickets
Thu 8 May – Prince of Wales, Bunbury WA – Buy Tickets
Fri 9 May – The River, Margaret River WA – Buy Tickets
Fri 16 May – Forum, Melbourne VIC – Buy Tickets
Sat 17 May – Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide SA – Buy Tickets
Fri 23 May – Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane QLD – Buy Tickets
Fri 30 May – Enmore Theatre, Sydney NSW (All Ages) – Buy Tickets
Fri 6 June – San Fran, Wellington NZ – Buy Tickets
Sat 7 June – Tuning Fork, Auckland NZ (All Ages) – Buy Tickets
Fri 13 June – UC Refectory, Canberra ACT – Buy Tickets
Presale: Tue 11 Feb, 12pm local time
GP On-Sale: Fri 14 Feb, 12pm local time
Support: Bean Magazine (Australian shows only)
