Legendary Irish troubadour Damien Rice returns to captivate Australian audiences this May with a special one-night-only performance.

The beloved singer-songwriter, whose emotionally wrought songs defined a generation of 21st-century heartache, is riding high on a sold-out international tour and will make his QPAC debut on Monday 22 May.

Having the unconventional tendency to prefer walking on stage with no setlist, Damien Rice commands complete attention as soon as he enters the room. A favourite of fans, critics and artists alike, Rice has garnered a reputation for his powerful live shows – tough and tender performances that have seen him develop an intimate rapport with fans.

Rocketing to stardom on the strength of his 2002 debut O, and its enduring favourites "The Blower’s Daughter", "Volcano" and "Cannonball", the Dublin-born multi-instrumentalist quickly cracked Top Ten in the UK, collecting multi-platinum status and earning him the Shortlist Music Prize. Rice’s follow-up, 2006’s 9, yielded the global smash "9 Crimes" while his self-imposed absence following 2014’s No.1 Rick Rubin-produced My Favourite Faded Fantasy – his most recent album to date – only added to the anticipation among fans for his return.

As his recent performances in the UK attest, Rice has lost none of his cathartic power or stage presence. If anything, his combination of raw melodrama and masterful dynamics has grown more accomplished, sprinkled with a newfound sense of personal zen and laced, as ever, with Rice’s wonderfully self-deprecating sense of humour.