Irish pop-rock outfit Picture This are about to play their first ever headline Australian shows this May, and they’re bringing Perth artist Sam McGovern along with them. Having just recently released their latest single, “Giants”, which follows their 2025 single “Yours Forever”, Picture This are rediscovering their own sound while playing some of their biggest shows yet. Ahead of the tour, I caught up with the entire band to chat about their recent singles, as well as their return to Australia.
“Yours Forever” is such a beautiful song, I think it encapsulates everything you guys do best. Where did the inspiration for this track come from?
Ryan: “It came out of nowhere, always the best songs usually do… I wrote on a mandolin at home, just messing around. I remember walking by the mandolin, picking it up and sitting down and the song just came quite quickly and then we brought it to the studio and worked on it and finished it out. I think it is a quintessential Picture This song, actually, which I didn’t realise at the time.”
At the moment, it’s a standalone single. You’ve also just released “Giants” as a standalone single. Are there plans for it to be part of something bigger eventually?
Jimmy: “I actually don’t know, but “Yours Forever” was burning a hole in our hard drive on our computer. When we make a song that everyone really enjoys and likes, we just want to release it. We are always making music and just want to put it out, I don’t know why we do it that quickly, but it just feels like it works for us.”
You were recently in Australia for the first time ever supporting Tom Grennan, you’re about to come back in May to play your first headline shows here. How awesome that you guys can travel so far and sell out venues, what does that mean to you at this stage in your career?
Ryan: “It doesn’t get old, it really doesn’t. And especially Australia being so far away from Ireland. We did a lot of pop-up shows around the Tom Grennan and South by Southwest shows where we would just pop up at a pub and just post online that we were gonna play an acoustic set there and then there was people lined up around the block and the pub was packed. Being all the way in Australia and getting to experience that was a cray feeling. And obviously there’s a lot of Irish there, which is always brilliant.”
I’m pretty biased, but I think that Australia is a very special place and it always means a lot when bands get to come play here. Logistically, it’s not the easiest place to tour either. Going into a massive tour like this, what’s your headspace like leading up to it? Are you able to just look forward to it or do the logistics get in the way?
Ryan: “The logistics, for sure. That would be the most stressful. It’s mostly Jimmy, to be fair. It’s one of his roles but someone’s gotta do it. I just sign off on it at the end. But no, we get very excited. Our favourite thing to do is play live shows and especially when it’s in a new territory. That was the amazing thing about Australia- it was the first time in a long time that we were in a new country for the first time… we’re always very excited in the lead up and when you start to rehearse you start to accept that you’re going on tour now and it is a very exciting feeling. We just love being on the road, it’s a lot of fun and we don’t take it too seriously. We’re very lucky we all get along, the more bands I talk to the more I realise how unique our dynamic is as a band.”
When you guys were here last, you got to see a little bit of everything but it was quite a short visit. Are there any particular cities you’re most looking forward to revisiting?
Jimmy: “What I, personally, really love about Australia is that every city is its own thing. You feel like you’re in a different country almost when you go to different cities. I love that about it… Sydney is exactly what I thought it would always be like, the vibe is cool and interesting… And I have to give it to Melbourne as well, I think Melbourne is just cool.”
Ryan: “Nowhere like Melbourne in the world, really. I fell in love with it.”
Beyond having a larger set list, how does a headline set differ for you guys from an opening set?
Ryan: “I think people get a way better sense of who we are as a band by seeing a full show as compared to an opening slot. When you do an opening slot, you ry and play all your biggest and most lively songs, but our set is actually a very dynamic one. When you see us play live, there’s a lot of super intimate acoustic moments, and then there’s more a rocky aspect to the whole thing and I think that’s the biggest difference- we have a very dynamic show.”
With Australia just months out from finally being able to witness this dynamic set for ourselves, it’s no wonder that tickets are becoming limited across each venue. So, if you’ve been sleeping on Picture This, it’s time to wake up, see what the hype is about and grab your tickets HERE.
PICTURE THIS
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2026
WITH SPECIAL GUEST SAM MCGOVERN
Wednesday 20 May – THE TRIFFID, BRISBANE
Friday 22 May – METRO THEATRE, SYDNEY
Saturday 23 May – 170 RUSSELL, MELBOURNE
Tuesday 26 May – ASTOR THEATRE, PERTH
Thursday 28 May – THE TUNING FORK, AUCKLAND
Header image supplied
