Fresh from sneaking into triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs with ‘No Aphrodisiac’ landing at #91, The Whitlams have dropped some very classy news: they’re taking their beloved orchestral show on the road again in 2026.
The band – who made history back in 2004 as the first Aussie indie act to team up with the nation’s top orchestras – have announced a string of orchestral dates across the country, kicking off in January at Sydney’s State Theatre with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and wrapping up in June in Perth with WASO. Along the way they’ll hit Hobart, Brisbane, Newcastle, Adelaide and Toowoomba, with each show backed by some of the finest symphonic talent in the land.
“We are pleased to report that other orchestras have come on board for next year.”
The tour follows this year’s forthcoming one-off Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performance at Hamer Hall on Saturday, 6th September, which will see Tim Freedman and co. dive headfirst into a retrospective career-spanning setlist.
Fans can expect sweeping arrangements of classics like ‘No Aphrodisiac’ and ‘Blow Up The Pokies’ alongside highlights from their more recent records Sancho (2022) and Kookaburra (2024). These lush orchestral treatments come courtesy of some of the country’s most celebrated composers, including Brett Dean, Iain Grandage and MSO conductor Nicholas Buc.
Reflecting on the project, Freedman said: “Once every seven years we get to perform in the middle of the beautiful storm of an 80-piece orchestra. It’s always memorable.”
Tickets for The Whitlams’ Orchestral 2026 tour go on sale next month.
For now, you can cop the full list of dates down below.
The Whitlams 2026 Orchestral Tour Dates
Save the dates, tickets on sale next month
- FRI 30 JAN – State Theatre NSW with Sydney Symphony Orchestra
- SAT 31 JAN – State Theatre NSW with Sydney Symphony Orchestra
- FRI 27 FEB – Wrest Point Hobart TAS with Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra
- FRI 6 MARCH – QPAC QLD with Queensland Symphony Orchestra
- SAT 7 MARCH – QPAC QLD with Queensland Symphony Orchestra
- SAT 14 MARCH – Civic Theatre Newcastle NSW with Sydney Philharmonic
- SAT 11 APRIL – Festival Theatre SA with Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
- SAT 6 JUN – Empire Theatre QLD with Toowoomba Concert Orchestra
- SAT 13 JUNE – Riverside Theatre WA with West Australian Symphony Orchestra
Further Reading
triple j’s Hottest 100 Of Australian Songs: The Complete List
Watch Horrorshow Cover The Whitlams’ ‘No Aphrodisiac’ For ‘Like A Version’
How Gough Whitlam Changed Australia’s Music Landscape
