This December Culture Wars will bring their 2026 World Tour to Adelaide as part of their Australian Tour.
The band was last in Australia in 2024 playing huge shows opening for the likes of Lany and Amy Shark right across the country.
Culture Wars is an Austin-bred alternative powerhouse bridging the gap between 90s guitar grit and the cinematic polish of modern pop. Since the release of their 2021 EP, the band has maintained an explosive upward trajectory as a formidable self-managed unit.
Lead vocalist Alex Dugan spoke to Glam Adelaide about their tour, their music and how the band originally formed.
“It has kind of progressed over time. Dave Grayson, the drummer, and I met ten or eleven years ago when we were in college through mutual friends. We both wanted to start a band so we slogged it out with different musicians trying to find our band. We met Dillon Randolph (bass player) through a childhood friend of mine and then, when we were making demos, Caleb Contreras the guitarist was an intern at the studio and we ended up pulling him in at that point. Finally Josh Stirm, our other guitarist, was an intern at the studio in El Paso when we were making our EP so that’s how we found him. So that’s kind of how it all came together and from there we have written a lot and worked very closely to produce great music.”
Culture Wars is driven by their ‘song first’ authenticity and their rejection of the hyper-digitised landscape of modern rock in favour of real instruments and collective chemistry.
“I think any work of AI is derivative of existing work and should pay a licensing fee for that work. Europe is starting to get that conversation right. But beyond that, I always say you’ve got to build your own skill. If we can’t, if we don’t learn how to do it on our own, we’re screwed. As a band we were very much wanting to make sure what we recorded was going to sound exactly the same when we performed live. We always start out with just a guitar and a vocal or a piano and vocal and if it doesn’t work that way we’re just not gonna do it. So that’s our formula that we developed; I think it’s worked pretty well.”
Culture Wars and their relentless passion earned them coveted opening slots for global giants like Maroon 5 and LANY, and they have since converted into a powerhouse headline band, selling out iconic venues across the globe.
We asked Alex how the band approaches their songwriting.
“We spend a lot of time trying to come up with the right melody and the right chorus and the right chords. That really determines what kind of direction we might take. Once we have the basic structure of the song we fiddle with it and fill out the sound. Usually we start with drums and bass and build the full piece from there. Sometimes Dylan, our bass player, has every single part of the music worked out already.”
This December Culture Wars will bring their 2026 World Tour to Australia for four exclusive shows, including a performance here in Adelaide.
“We’ve certainly grown up a lot as a band since we’ve been out to Australia. We’re a big, live, loud rock band so audiences can expect our signature big sound. We’re going to be playing a bunch of tracks and sharing what has been happening to us as a band. There is just this heightened energy that grows from performing live, between us and the audience, and we cannot wait to share that experience with Australian audiences.”
Culture Wars will play at the Lion Arts Factory on Wednesday 9 December. Tickets are on sale now.
Culture Wars – Australian Tour
Lion Arts Factory
Wednesday 9 December 2026
https://www.livenation.com.au/culture-wars-tickets-adp1514849
