Seahaven Touch Down Next Week For Their Debut Australian Tour
Over the span of nearly two decades, Seahaven have earned a reputation as one of the most respected cult bands in alternative and emo. Throughout their career they’ve shared stages with artists including Touché Amoré, Man Overboard, Balance and Composure, Basement, Title Fight and more, and they’ve built a devoted following through a number of acclaimed releases, including their latest self-titled 2026 album, mixed and mastered by Will Yip. With introspective lyrics, dynamic arrangements, and a sound that balances melancholy with soaring hooks, Seahaven continue to evolve while staying true to the honesty that has defined the band from the beginning. Next week they join Dear Seattle on their trek across Australia as well as their own headline shows playing Whatever Forever in full. Front man Kyle Soto talks to Rob Lyon about the tour.
Debut Australian tour, there’s got to be something exciting about going to a country like Australia for the first time?
I mean, it’s been long overdue. I think we were supposed to go, I can’t remember the year, maybe 2012 or 2013 and then something fell through. I don’t remember what it was, and it just never came up again. Then we kind of started intermittent touring, kind of not, you know, off and on a little bit. So it just never ended up coming to fruition. It’s definitely something we’ve all wanted to check off the bucket list and yeah, I mean, there’s so much to see. You guys got lots of cool wildlife out there. I’m a big surfer, so hopefully I can get some surfing in over there. Obviously, all the fans that have supported us over the years through the internet and asking us to come over, finally we can get out there and do some shows. So it’d be super fun, I think.
Have you been able to gauge how big the Australian interest is here? Because as you said, there’s been a lot of people asking and probably we thought it was never going to happen.
I think at least for myself, I like just going into it blind. I think again, over the years there’s been comments and messages and things like that asking for us to come over, and you can look at the analytics with the streamers — Spotify and Apple and all that stuff — and see that there’s a listener base there and all that. I don’t want to set any real expectations or just kind of go into it excited to meet some new fans. We start in Perth, so by the end of the first flight, the layover and the second flight, it’s going to be just about twenty five hours of travel. So I’m just excited to get there and experience it and take it for what it is. But I’m not sure. I’m excited to see how the turnouts are.
Do you know the guys from Dear Seattle? Have you toured with them before?
Uh, no. Actually wasn’t super familiar, and then I kind of dove into their stuff. But it seems like they have a pretty good presence out there and super excited to meet them. The brief correspondence we’ve had, they seem like nice guys. We’re always excited to meet new bands and make friends and hopefully they can kind of show us the lay of the land. I think it’s cool going over there for the first time. You know, sometimes bands will go over there for the first time and just do the headlining gigs, but I’m happy to go out there with a band who’s from there and knows the scene and all that, and hopefully they can take us under their wing a little bit and show us the ropes. So that’s exciting. Yeah, excited to meet them.
Do you get much of a chance to put the tourist hat on and check out the sights, and as you said before, get a bit of surfing in as well?
I’m trying to, we have a tour manager that’s linked up with us that’s over there and we all have a WhatsApp chat going on, I’m trying to see if logistically when I can fit some of that in. I know some of the itinerary is pretty tight as far as some overnight drives and things like that. We cross a lot of territory. I can’t come all that way and not get some surfing. So we will end up at the beach at some point, hopefully. Just debating if I should bring a board or get something out there. But definitely in this stage of the band, I think we’re a little older now, so we’re more excited to do more touristy things. Whereas before it’s all fast and loose, but now it’s like, okay, we’re out here, let’s try to treat it as somewhat of a vacation. Like, we have some free time, let’s try to go see some sights or do something, we’re already there, might as well see some of the country.
The rumour is that it will be a different set list every night. Is that the way you’re approaching this tour?
Usually we meet up pretty far in advance, but everyone’s been out of town, so we actually just met up for the first time last night and throwing some songs together. I will say this is a bit tricky because it’s the first time we’re coming over there, but we’ve been a band for some time and have a moderately dense discography, so you want to make sure you cross off a lot of those as far as making it into the set list. We’ve got on the whiteboard and we’re trying to put it together. I don’t know we’ll definitely have different set lists for the side shows, like the headlining gigs, versus the shows with Dear Seattle. But yeah, still putting that together and seeing, trying to put ourselves in the shoes of if someone was a long‑time listener or if someone’s a new listener and they’re both seeing us for the first time, what do we want to put out there? So we want to make sure we get the most well‑rounded set we can.
Fifteen years of Whatever Forever, is that a big part of the set, almost like trying to play that album start to end?
For the headline shows, we will be doing that record in full and then some extras and then as far as how much Whatever Forever goes into the other support gigs, songs from that record, we’re still sorting out. But we’re going to try to pack in as much as we can just because again, it’s been so long and who knows when we can make it over again. So we’ll try to get as much content in there as we can, as many songs as we can.
What is it about that album that still keeps resonating with fans so strongly?
That’s a good question. I think for us it’s, I think when a lot of people fall in love, their favourite record will be when they first came across the band and what got you into the band. I think that came out in 2011, and that was our first big splash in the scene, the first full length and we toured a lot on it. I think that we’ve never been afraid to take big swings. So the record that followed that was a huge left turn, we went real mellow and in a different direction sonically and then funny enough, the scene slowly turned into that direction as well.
But I think on some sonic choices, we might’ve been a little early. As far as what’s resonated with that record, relearning all the songs and playing them, it’s definitely fun to see like, oh okay, it’s very high energy the whole way through. There’s a lot of thought that goes into all the lyrics and tying everything together thematically, which has been a common theme across all of our records. Relearning them actually is kind of a fun way to realise like, oh okay, because I’m kind of falling back in love with it. I’m like, oh, I remember where I was because I was writing that when I was eighteen, I think. So versus now it’s like looking back as an adult, looking back at that, I was kind of like a kid. But there’s a lot in there. It’s pretty dense lyrically, and you can tell, I can understand why it resonates with a younger audience sorting through the trials and tribulations of being a young adult.
When these milestones roll around what does it mean to you when you take a moment to reflect on it?
For me it’s interesting because we just did the anniversary run in the US and then we did Europe. For me it’s interesting because it almost doesn’t seem like that much time has passed. What really puts it in perspective is people coming up at the shows and saying, oh, this record had a big impact on me when I was in high school or middle school or whatever, when they were very young and for me it’s like, everyone’s the main character in their own story. You don’t really think about how much you’re aging until, or the record or just time is moving, until you have these little milestones to look back and give you perspective.
So to me, it didn’t seem like that much time has passed, but realistically it’s like, oh okay, I guess it’s been a while. We took a long time off touring and our last record came out maybe a year or so ago, and then I think back like, oh no, we released the last record before this recent one in 2020. It’s like six years has passed. Time flies by and you don’t really notice it and it’s crazy to see. Especially too, like the core fans, the ones that have been there from the beginning, we’ve developed these relationships with, you’ll see them like, oh, I remember them when they were much younger. Now you’re seeing the whole thing age and it’s kind of a trip. But the fact that people are still listening to it and still care enough to come out and see the show and it still makes an impact on them is, obviously we’re very grateful for that.
How do you find playing it start to end? Does that present challenges relearning some of those songs that may not necessarily get played a lot live?
Yeah, I think at first there were a couple songs where the tunings were a little different or that we had to, some that we never had played and then when we relearned them, it was actually fun because some of them never really got too much of the light of day. We leaned into the fan favourites and just played those forever. So the ones we hadn’t really played over the years were fun to figure out and bring out. As far as the start‑to‑finish thing, it definitely took some reps in the beginning because it’s all very high energy. A lot of the vocals are in a higher register, so doing the vocal exercises to get there to be able to play it all the way through. Then on these last tours, we’ve been doing the full record and then eight more songs after that or something like that. So it’s a pretty long set. Just getting the reps in and making sure you’re fully up to par. The first couple practices were like, okay, this is going to take a little, got to grease the wheels a little bit and get back in the zone. But no, I think it’s fun. think it actually gave me perspective on the flow of the record. Playing it live, I realised like, oh, I think we sequenced this record pretty well. The peaks and valleys feel very natural. I think it’s a well‑paced record in the way it’s sequenced.
If you fast‑forward to 2026, the self‑titled, it is a fantastic album. I absolutely love it. You’ve done a fantastic job there. Have you been really stoked by the fan reaction to the album?
Yeah, I think I really try not to dive too far into the comments and the internet and all that stuff because I feel like it can’t be, whether it’s really negative or really positive, it can’t do too much good. So I do read some of it, but I don’t try to live in the comments. But what I have seen, and I do browse and check it out, it’s all been super positive. The fans we’ve talked to in person on these past tours have said nothing but great things. I know that, I speak for myself and the other guys, we’re very, very proud of it. At this stage it’s just a matter of trying to get it in front of more people. Again, it’s been a while since we’ve toured, so just trying to get back into the zeitgeist, into the scene, and get the record circulating and get it in front of people. Because we’re very stoked on it. The people that have heard it so far have been nothing but good things. So far so good.
How do you think the sound has evolved over the journey up until this new album?
I think that is one thing that I feel, for me, listening back to the records, as the producer and writing these songs, it’s very easy for me to see where the very clear timestamps are on where I was in that moment in time. I think that over the years you kind of grow up and evolve and mature and all that. It’s a nice snapshot to see where things sat in that moment in time. Coming to the new record, I think it’s a pretty good representation of just being able to use all the tools. I feel like at this stage in my song writing, when it comes to me sitting down and starting from scratch, over time you learn your strengths and your weaknesses and where to lean into and where to pull away from. I feel like now that’s the exciting part about song writing for me, constantly finding a way to refine and sharpen that tool. When you have a history you can look over and see where you’ve come from and where you’re going, it’s nice to feel like it’s going in the right direction. Like the song writing isn’t getting worse. Obviously it’s all subjective, but I’m pretty proud of the new record and I think it definitely encapsulates the strong suits that I may have, and just leaning into those and maybe pulling away from some of the weaknesses, so to speak.
What’s next for the band?
We definitely want to do a proper US run on this new record. Again, we’ve been gone for so long, so really just trying to get back in the mix. We understand the landscape, especially in 2026, with social media and where everything sits, there’s so much noise and so much happening all at once and so many songs being released every day and everyone posting every hour on TikTok and Instagram and pushing the singles they’re releasing. So we understand it’s a very congested space. It is a double‑edged sword, it gives a platform for everyone to release their music that wasn’t there ten, twenty years prior, but it also makes it a little more competitive. So we understand we just got to get out there and play and get back into the mix. We want to do some proper touring on this. Anytime I release something like this, that spark gets reignited. There are already some little ideas, little voice memos that I’m playing with, the song writing bug never goes away. It’s always fun to see the voice memo now that in three years ends up turning out on the full project or whatever may happen next. That whole journey is always really exciting to me because it takes so many shapes. So for now, pushing this new record and then spinning it into whatever comes next musically. We’ll see what that ends up being.
Interview By Rob Lyon
Catch Seahaven on tour with Dear Seattle on the following dates, tickets from Destroy All Lines…
Seahaven headline tour dates, tickets from Destroy All Lines…
