Sofi Tukker
w/ SACHI, Chloseahh, Estilo
Ice Cream Factory
Thursday, January 29 2026
Freshly arrived in Perth less than two hours before their set began, almost certainly while their support artists were already playing, Sofi Tukker brusquely shook off any jet lag they may have had with a joyful, energetic, and at times downright quirky performance at Ice Cream Factory to kick off their 2026 Australian tour.
Taking the early support slots were local DJs Estilo and Chloseahh. The former leant into the 2010s as an era, with the anthemic flavours of Adele, J-Lo, and Avicii. The latter was more accented towards the nineties, with the occasional familiar riff teasing an iconic musical destination, but then often switched up underneath with more eclectic choices. Both locals brought the appropriately smooth beats and chill vibes as the amphitheatre slowly filled up under an almost perfect summer dusk.
Also recently arriving in the West from international locales was New Zealand’s SACHI, joining the night’s headliners as primary support across their entire tour. By the time SACHI came to the stage, the venue was comfortably filled, with sufficient space at the rear for those finely attuning their arrival for one act only. This meant that when the set kicked off with Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now, the Perth crowd was at critical mass to dance as one and definitely up for a party.
SACHI proceeded to entertain the audience immensely with a series of old familiars, but with flavours of the performer’s own grit added in. From Daft Punk through Technotronic to The Chemical Brothers, and a plethora of others, the Old Gods were back, and this time they had brought even more bass. Both SACHI and the crowd were having an absolute blast, and the set could very easily be seen as a headline act itself.
However, that was not the case, and, for only ten minutes across the entire evening, the decks were cleared, the speakers fell silent, and the audience grew hushed.
Sofi Tukker came to the stage to an immense roar from the fans and launched directly into the iconic guitar riff of Drinkee, one of their biggest hits, right off the bat. Then straight into the track’s hypnotic and repetitive lyrics, fully in Portuguese, with the prevalent use of that language throughout their catalogue a key marker that has differentiated Sofi Tukker from their dancefloor peers.
During the second song, Pick Up the Phone, Sophie Hawley-Weld jumped down into the security pit to interact with the front rows, continued to sing while taking selfies, and gave multiple fans the best moments of their 2026 already.
At the first mini break to catch some breath, Tucker Halpern stated it had been too long since they had been in Perth, then asked the crowd when that actually was. Forgiven for this lapse, likely due to jet lag—incidentally, it was 2019—the duo then introduced two special guests, their backing dancers, brought all the way from the States. Followed by the perfect song to bust some moves and showcase their skills, Throw Some Ass—and yes, all on stage, they totally did.
Sofi Tukker broke up their originals through the night with portions of a DJ set, and here is where some very interesting choices were made. Blur’s Song 2 was the first to break cover, but also in the mix were Gloria Gaynor’s I Will Survive, Las Ketchup’s The Ketchup Song, and even a very unexpected appearance of The White Lotus theme.
The middle portion of the concert brought relaxed Latin beats such as Jacara and Trompa, which slowed the intensity of the night somewhat. The audience still danced joyfully, several Brazilian flags were unfurled, and everyone seemed fully in the moment, with little rush from anyone to get to the next track, whether it be another hit or deep cut.
A Tucker appreciation moment was scheduled within the set, and the maxim, “Sofi Tukker is two people,” was flashed upon the screen multiple times. As Halpern himself explained, there had been many times when he had been mistaken for “Tall Guy at the Back”, rather than an integral part of the overall project. The predicament was stated with affection, though, as the error seems almost an in-joke between the band and the fans now.
The delightfully dreamy Summer in New York was immediately followed by Bodies Hit the Floor—the latter a full collaboration between Sofi Tukker and Drowning Pool, rather than merely one of the DJ cuts. Even though the song is an actual credit for both bands now, it was still rather wild to hear in the mix tonight, especially considering its immediate precursor.
The duo ended the set with an Australian debut for their 2026 release, Cook, first publicly played in Montreal only two weeks before—it’s a goodie—and then another iconic riff with Hawley-Weld’s breathy vocals underneath, as the band’s highest-streamer, Purple Hat, rounded out the night. It couldn’t technically be classed as an encore—the duo had never left the stage—but it had acted as one.
Finally, the indefatigable backing dancers could rest. They had hardly stopped since their introduction, a mere three songs into the evening, and were themselves almost worth the price of admission alone.
Tonight’s show by Sofi Tukker had been the very epitome of joyfulness and relaxation. It was a lovely time had by all, evidenced by the slower than usual speed of audience departure. For an extended moment, people remained in the venue, just soaking up the energy and vibes that had positively infected them over the last few hours. The video behind the stage had toured a beautiful yet achingly alien world for most of the evening, and it would take some time to readjust to the world-on-fire timeline beyond the venue walls.