Nowadays, it is rare for a band to have to leave Australia off their touring list on their world tours, but for Travis it is quite extraordinary that they had not made it down to Australia for 25 years (which they blamed their now former manager). Thus, it was fitting that they packed out the Darling Harbour Theatre on a night of pouring rain in the Sydney summer for a concert that celebrated their smash hit album The Man Who as well as some of their other biggest hits from over the years.

The night started off with a set from Sydneysider Josh Pyke, who really set the tone for the performance to come with some beautiful songs about his children and his wife that captivated the audience and had them well set up for when Travis took to the stage. The last song, “Don’t Let It Wait”, had Pyke encouraging the audience to sing along and this was well received, with Pyke complementing the music of Travis quite naturally.

Travis took to the stage to a flurry of applause, kicking off The Man Who set with an endearing PowerPoint presentation which talked of some quirky stories around each of the songs, with frontman Fran Healy’s trademark humour well on display. They opened with “Writing to Reach You”, which Healy said was inspired by a gas heater, Franz Kafka and Wonderwall in the midst of a breakup, which showed off the band’s funnier side whilst also providing some useful context to the music and engaging the audience.

The band moved on to some of their biggest hits, with “Driftwood” having the whole crowd singing along before the band played the smash hit “Why Does It Always Rain on Me?”, which was apt considering a good portion of the audience was drenched from the torrential rain outside when coming in. 

“Last time we were here it rained and I thought it couldn’t happen again, but it’s f***ing pouring outside,” said Healy to laughter.

While Healy did not quite nail the high notes every time in this gig, he still showed off a beautiful voice and the band was well in sync on the night, leading to a cohesive and, for many, a nostalgic musical performance. 

As the band moved into the set of their other hits after finishing The Man Who, the awkwardness of the venue started to become somewhat apparent, with the band moving from originally scheduling the gig in the TikTok Entertainment Centre, which is more geared for rock concerts, to the smaller more intimate Darling Harbour Theatre, which is not set up as well for rock concerts. This meant that for some of the audience they could not stand up when they wanted to, but ultimately that did not last too long, with Healy encouraging everyone to stand up for the second half of the show, which added a great deal of energy.

“It’s not a f***ing Coldplay gig, stand up,” he said. 

A fragile version of “Closer” was one of the highlights in this set, alongside “Side”, which was also excellent, as well as some of the band’s newer material like “Gaslight” and “Bus”, which provided a nice contrast to the classic material.

The band closed their set with a bit of a surprise, delivering a rocking cover of Britney Spears’ “Baby One More Time”, which they performed exceedingly well, showing off the depth of Healy’s voice as well as the band’s musicality before closing with “Sing”, which had the whole audience on their feet, having a great time and sending the band off with a bang.

Overall, this was a fun concert, showing off the breadth of Travis’s discography. Although Healy may not quite have the same voice anymore, the band still packed a punch and brought a great show and everyone in the audience left having had a great time. The band promised it would not be 25 years before they were back again and given the level of fervour in the room, one can only hope this is the case.

Rating: ★★★★

Travis – Darling Harbour Theatre – 14 January 2026

Photo credit: Stefan Ruiz