Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE

About This Event

<p><strong>Earl Sweatshirt</strong> and <strong>MIKE</strong>, two of hip-hop&rsquo;s most distinctive voices, <span data-date-isostring="2026-03-23" tabindex="0">today</span> announce a run of headline Australian and New Zealand tour dates this May including an unmissable performance at<strong>&nbsp;The Timber Yard&nbsp;</strong>in <strong>Melbourne&nbsp;</strong>on <strong>Saturday <span data-date-isostring="2026-05-23" tabindex="0">23 May</span></strong>presented by <strong>I OH YOU&nbsp;</strong>and <strong>MG Live</strong>. Following the recent announcement of their  joint headline show as part of  <strong>Vivid LIVE</strong>,anticipation continues to build for their forthcoming collaborative album, <em> </em><a href="https://theharp.ffm.to/pompeiiutility" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong><em>POMPEII // UTILITY</em></strong></a>with  SURF GANG  (out <span data-date-isostring="2026-04-03" tabindex="0">April 3</span>), with this tour shaping up to be one of the year&rsquo;s most surprising &ndash; and anticipated &ndash; live hip-hop experiences.</p><p>Arriving on the heels of 2025 albums from both rappers &ndash; MIKE&rsquo;s<em> Showbiz!</em>  and  Earl&rsquo;s<em> Live, Laugh, Love&nbsp;</em> &ndash; is the forthcoming collaborative album,  <em>POMPEII//UTILITY&nbsp;</em> with the celebrated SURF  GANG, playing like a victory lap that traces their friendship back over more than ten years.  Over this time, the pair have developed a loyal working relationship, tallying notable collaborations like allstar on  MIKE&rsquo;s 2020 album <em>Weight of the World</em>, <em>Sentry&nbsp;</em>on  Earl Sweatshirt and The Alchemist&rsquo;s collab album<em> Voir Dire</em>. While  MIKE  and  Earl  have orbited it selectively, they haven&rsquo;t fully lived inside the SURF  GANG  universe until now, making  <em>POMPEII //UTILITY&nbsp;</em> feel like a full-circle collision of worlds.</p><p>With the recent release of the album&rsquo;s lead double single <em>Minty // Earth</em>,  Earl Sweatshirt, MIKE and  SURF GANG gear up for an album that at its core, embodies a shared ethos that has always been a part of their creative DNA: collaboration as community-building. It evokes African and diasporic traditions where art and story are collective, iterative, relational &ndash; part of a larger whole. From top to bottom, there was a clear concerted effort to keep every angle of the project within the family.</p><p>For over a decade,  Earl  Sweatshirt has galvanised fans with his storytelling, vulnerability, and lyrical gift. Having emerged at just 16 from the raw and incendiary Odd  Future collective, Earl quickly cemented himself as a definitive poet chronicling growth, self-discovery, and the resonant moods of a generation, earning widespread critical acclaim.</p><p>Citing  Earl as one of his largest inspirations, the New York-born rap whiz kid  MIKE  made an explosive debut with the searing lyricism and scuzzy beats of his debut mixtape, <em>MAY GOD BLESS YOUR HUSTLE</em> (2017), wowed critics with his follow-up<em> tears of joy</em> (2019) and delivered one of 2025&rsquo;s most acclaimed records in the incisive and extraordinary <em>Showbiz!</em></p>