Bluesfest Tours Presents Erykah Badu Walk Between Worlds - Australia Tour April 2026
Bluesfest Tours proudly presents Erykah Badu, the Queen of Neo Soul, returning to Australia for the first time in 12 years.
One of the most influential and enduring artists in contemporary music, Erykah Badu is a five-time GRAMMY® Award winner with wins spanning 1998 to 2025, a cultural icon and the defining voice of the neo-soul movement. Her return to Australia in April 2026 marks a rare and highly significant moment for audiences, bringing one of the great live performers of the modern era back to Australian stages.
Influenced by R&B, 1970s soul and 1980s hip hop, Badu emerged in the 1990s alongside artists such as D’Angelo and Maxwell, reshaping the sound, language and spirit of modern Black music. Her genre-defining debut Baduizm announced a singular new voice, followed by era-defining albums Mama’s Gun and New Amerykah, works that remain foundational to contemporary R&B, soul and hip hop.
Blending soul, jazz, funk and hip hop with spiritual, political and deeply human themes, Badu has continually pushed artistic boundaries across a career that has remained creatively vital for nearly four decades. Her influence extends far beyond music into film, fashion, visual art and activism, reinforcing her status as one of the most important creative forces of her generation.
Alongside her celebrated catalogue, Erykah Badu remains creatively active and deeply engaged in new work. In recent years, she has released acclaimed collaborations including the Grammy Award-winning track “3:AM” with Robert Glasper, and featured on releases with artists such as The Alchemist, reinforcing her ongoing relevance across contemporary soul, jazz and hip hop. Badu has also continued to debut new material through live performance, allowing songs to evolve organically on stage, a process that has long defined her approach to creation. This ongoing output reflects an artist who is not revisiting the past, but continuing to move forward with intention, curiosity and creative freedom.
Renowned for her deeply intuitive, improvisational and emotionally resonant live performances, Erykah Badu’s shows are immersive and unpredictable, shaped by the moment, the audience and the energy in the room. No two performances are ever the same, making each appearance a singular live experience.
As part of her Australian tour, Erykah Badu will also make a landmark return to Byron Bay Bluesfest, where she will perform on Good Friday in an extraordinary back-to-back performance before Earth, Wind & Fire on the same stage. This historic double-bill stands among the most significant live music moments ever presented at the festival.
Erykah Badu last appeared at Bluesfest in 2014. In 2026, she returns not only as a revered artist, but as a living, evolving cultural force whose music continues to resonate across generations.
This tour is a rare opportunity to experience one of the most important artists of the last 30 years in full live form.
Walk Between Worlds reflects how Erykah Badu exists artistically. She has always operated between spaces rather than inside one. Between past and future. Between tradition and experimentation. Between the spiritual and the political. Between structured songs and pure improvisation.
Her live performances move fluidly between eras of her catalogue, new material, spoken word and spontaneous musical exploration. The title speaks to that ability to bridge worlds, musical, cultural and emotional, while never being fixed to one.
It also reflects where Badu is now. An artist honouring legacy while actively creating, evolving and looking forward. Not a nostalgia act. Not a reinvention. A continuation.
Erykah Badu
AUStralian 2026 tour
Presented by Bluesfest
MELBOURNE – Wed 1 April – Margaret Court Arena
BYRON BAY – Fri 3 April – Byron Bay Bluesfest
SYDNEY – Sat 4 April – TikTok Entertainment Centre
