Australian band Sons of the East polishes off 100-stop world tour with shows in Alaska

For a good chunk of their dozen-year career, Dan Wallage and his bandmates in Sons of the East were playing around their home in Sydney, Australia, for discount drinks and half-price meals.

When they complete their four-show tour through Alaska this weekend, the band will have performed more than 100 concerts worldwide this year. Wallage said finishing the tour in the 49th state seems like a cherry on top of what has been an overwhelmingly successful year for the band.

“To think we’re going to be playing a few shows in Alaska, having just done 100 shows around the world, it’s pretty surreal,” said Wallage, who plays guitar and banjo.

The band plays Wednesday at the Palmer Alehouse and Thursday at 49th State Brewing in Anchorage before heading to Hope for a pair of shows Friday at Saturday at the Creekbend Company. All four shows start at 7 p.m.

Sons of the East has been a DIY music success story, building an audience with energetic live performances. The band released its first studio album, “Palomar Parade,” in 2022. In short order, the group garnered more than 300 million streams including singles and EPs.

An indie folk group, the trio also includes keyboardist Nic Johnston and guitarist Jack Rollins. All three share singing duties to create the band’s tight harmonies.

They draw from influences from their home country as well as classic American performers like The Eagles, Johnny Cash and Simon & Garfunkel.

“We all grew up on our parents’ music,” Wallage said. “In terms of kind of bands that are closer to home, all of us are massive Crowded House fans. And Jack grew up listening to a lot of AC/DC. We all grew up listening to lots of different music, which is why throughout our songwriting, there’s definitely quite a mix of sounds and influences.”

While the band members have taken harmony inspiration from the traditional American music, they’ve also put a unique twist on their own vocals.

“We try and put a slightly more modern take on the harmony variations, but in terms of just getting them sounding good and in tune, you always go back to a lot of that country stuff, where they just sound incredible.”

During its travels, the band is constantly asked about Australia’s most notable marsupial — the kangaroo. But that hasn’t stopped them from hoping to catch a glimpse at some of Alaska’s most well-known residents.

“Jack’s dream is to see a bear so that’s come up nearly every day in the car,” Wallage said. “We love nature and we love animals so when we go somewhere with an animal that we don’t have in Australia, we’re always like, ‘We need to see it.’ ”

Once the band returns home, they’ll finish off the year with more gigs in Australia and then start preparations for their second full-length album, which they hope to release next year. Spending nearly the full year on tour has been a grind, but the band is excited about the progress they’ve made.

“We used to play at a local pub down the road from our house, and you know, it’d be a few of our mates and our parents there,” he said. “We’ve just seen so many incredible places. And to top it off in Alaska is a pretty awesome way to finish it all off for the year.”