‘Now I’m Going Across the World Playing Shows’: I Promised The World’s Caleb Molina Looks Back

I Promised The World are spending the opening days of their first Australian tour a long way from the rooms where the band first began building a live following.

Texas band I Promised The World are currently in the country supporting August Burns Red on the Australian leg of the Season Of Surrender Tour, the run began in Fremantle last night and continues this week through Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane.

For guitarist and vocalist Caleb Molina, Australia adds another milestone to a touring history that has moved quickly, I Promised The World officially formed in 2023, while their self-titled EP arrived in January through Rise Records.

Ahead of the Australian dates, we asked Molina to pick out his most memorable touring moments to date. His choices stretch from an early house show and the band’s first trip outside Texas to their first Los Angeles show and a recent headline sell-out.

Selling Out Their Biggest Headline Show

“One of my most recent favourite memories is from the show we played in LA a little bit over a month ago. It was our first time selling out a room that big, I think it was about 1200, or 1300. And it was just a really crazy feeling for us, especially it being a headline tour for us. It was our second ever headliner, and we also got to play with one of my personal favorite bands, A Static Lullaby. It was just awesome to see that many people there to see us. And not only that, I think the fact that every single band on that bill, Guilt, Rosasharin and A Static Lullaby, every set was awesome and it was just a really good time.”

The Release Show That Looks Different Now

“Next, this one wasn’t our first show ever, but it was our first ever ‘release’ show. It was in a house, and it was after we’d just dropped our first EP. That show was really, really awesome. To me at the time, all these other bands I was playing with were bands I’d looked up to, my friends, and just really cool bands. And I remember one of the bands, one of the members, a good friend on stage said something like, ‘I’m going to tell my kids in 20 years that I saw this’. At the time, I was like, ‘why is he saying that? I’m just playing a dumb show.’ But it’s funny talking to him more recently to hear that because now I’m going across the world playing shows and looking back, that was an awesome early moment. I get it now.”

I Promised The World ’02’

Their First Trip Out Of State

“I remember the very first time we ever went out of state to play a show, it was the Ephyra Showcase in Connecticut. That was in 2024, and it was a really big feeling for us getting on a plane and going to play a show. I remember it feeling surreal, everything from travelling to playing with a bunch of the bands. That was my first time seeing a show out of state and it was also my first time seeing a hardcore scene that wasn’t our own. I think the East Coast has one of the strongest hardcore scenes in the United States. And just seeing that for the first time, that blew all of us away. It also changed the way we wanted to go about things, with our songs, our live performance and everything. That was probably my first real ‘pinch me’ moment.”

The First Time A Show Became Dangerous

“I also remember the first time someone passed out during our show. We’d started playing at a venue called the Rubber Gloves, it’s where we did most of our first shows at. We were playing the smaller room and I remember there was just a big swarm of people. We were playing on the floor and someone passed out and that was the first time I realised, ‘oh damn, someone can get really hurt here’.”

Their First Los Angeles Show

“Lastly, I think our very first show in LA was really great. It was with In Loving Memory and Widowdusk. It was just a really good screamo lineup, a bunch of screamo bands that are really awesome. I don’t think we were originally on the bill, but we were on tour at the time. I forget how we got on there, I think someone in Widowdusk either asked for us or we asked to get on. But it was really cool because they let us on the show. And at that time, that was the biggest crowd of people we’d ever played in front of which was really cool for us.”

Molina’s comment about “going across the world playing shows” has become literal this week. I Promised The World are now making their Australian live debut, with five dates remaining alongside August Burns Red.

The current tour continues in Adelaide tomorrow night before stops in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Brisbane.

I Promised The World Australian Tour Dates

• Tuesday, September 29th – Adelaide, The Gov
• Thursday, October 1st – Melbourne, 170 Russell
• Friday, October 2nd – Sydney, Liberty Hall
• Saturday, October 3rd – Newcastle, King Street Bandroom
• Sunday, October 4th – Brisbane, The Tivoli

The current listing confirms those remaining dates and lists I Promised The World on the Australian shows. The present bill also includes The Gloom In The Corner and Fallweather, replacing Bloom from the original tour announcement.

Pick up your tickets here.