What sparked the idea of a seated, wired-headphone listening experience?

I've been looking for ways to explore a different approach to the live experience for a while now and the concept was a bit of a culmination. Much of my audience seems to listen to my music in quite a private way, when they are travelling, meditating, having their morning coffee, relaxing or doing yoga. I wanted to try and recreate this intimacy live in some way. Also I spend so much time working with and capturing acoustic instruments in the studio in ways that you can't in a live setting just due to the physics and stage noise the speakers create, so the headphones are a way to experiment with bringing the way I want to hear all the elements on my songs to the stage. And lastly, a huge inspiration that opened the vision up was seeing a show by mMelbourne composer and sound designer Tilman Robinson, 'The Quieter You Become' which used speakers and headphones together in a room, and mixed live sound, electronic elements and spatial performance in an immersive and visionary way. It challenged my ideas of what a liver performance could look like.

Was there a specific moment or frustration with how people usually encounter your music that led you here?
I've done a lot of shows and touring in different sizes and types of venues and I think I've just consistently felt that it can be challenging to create the sense of space and stillness for the kind of music I make without relying heavily on backing tracks to beef up the sound a bit. Acoustic guitars are notoriously hard to make sound good live and they are so central to what I do, trying to keep them sounding warm and dynamic has been a challenge that probably led to this solution too.

You self-produce all your work, which is rare for an artist at your streaming scale. How does that hands-on relationship with the sound change what you wanted this show to feel like for an audience?
Being a producer definitely brings me a lot closer to the sonic aspect of the work, and it's hard not to use that focus and use the skills you have to try to make a show sound the way you want. There's definitely an element of that where I find that I can be a little to close and try to control everything a bit too much as I've gone through such a focused and involved process to make the record in the first place.So it can be hard to step outside of that and let the songs exist in a different way. Hopefully with this show we can strike a balance, I'm working with some amazing musicians to help bring new arrangements of things to life, without losing the character and emotional connection with what I see as the core sounds of what I do.

Magdalene Laundry at Abbotsford Convent is a loaded, atmospheric venue. How did the location shape the show, and did you write or sequence anything specifically with that room in mind?
The Laundry is a beautiful space, and we chose it mostly due to the size of the floorspace, which will allow us to try seating in the round. The good (and challenging) thing about this show is we have a different set of constraints than a normal show which allows us to come into some of these unique venues.

With wired headphones and a seated audience, you're removing a lot of the usual live show noise (phones, chatter, movement). What do you want people to be left with in that silence, that they wouldn't get from a normal gig?
The concept here is to give people a really direct connection to an intimate performance, so hopefully removing some of these distractions will bring a focus to the whole thing. In my mind, this echos the studio and recording space. I've found that space so rewarding and enjoyable, being totally immersed in the sounds in front of you and I'm hoping we can bring that feeling to the audience.

With over 500 million streams and songs like "The Breach" reaching so many people who've only ever heard you through a phone speaker or earbuds, does this show feel like a correction, a culmination, or something else entirely?
I'm so grateful for the way my music has connected in the streaming world, and if people are listening on earbuds and they miss some of the bass or sonic clarity, but they still connect with the song, then that's amazing. The sonic thing is a small part of it all from that point of view. I see this show as an opportunity to experiment, play and deepen my practice, and use the skills and knowledge from the recording environment in a slightly novel way. Hopefully it will give fans and audience members another way into my songs, and create a vivid sonic experience for people.

Sat 5 Sep 2026 – Abbotsford Convent – Melbourne, VIC
Tickets now on sale

A Quick Chat with Dustin Tebbutt