November in Adelaide: top events in your city this month
November is the month Adelaide stops pretending it's a quiet town: Guns N' Roses and the Hilltop Hoods on the Grand Final street circuit, Handpicked Festival and the Christmas Pageant on the same Saturday, and Australian Crawl back on a beach. These are the forty-odd we'd actually message the group chat about.
Every pick below links to its live page on Keen, with dates, prices and the ticket link. The links retire once an event is done, so if one tells you it's been and gone, that's the truth doing its job. For the always-current version, what's on in Adelaide is rebuilt from the catalogue nightly.
The big nights
Guns N' Roses: The Jungle Zone
Adelaide Street Circuit · Sunday 29 November
The Sunday concert of the Grand Final weekend, after the last race of the Supercars season. Your ticket covers the racing all day too, so it's a very long, very loud Sunday. Airbourne warm it up.
Hilltop Hoods: Grand Final After Race Concert
Adelaide Street Circuit, Turn 4 · Saturday 28 November · 18+
The hometown headliners, on home turf, the night before Axl. Ball Park Music, CYRIL and Teenage Joans fill out the bill, and the show comes with every Saturday event ticket.
Red Hot Summer Tour: Australian Crawl and Men At Work
Glenelg Beach · Sunday 15 November, gates 12:30pm
Australian Crawl on a stage for the first time in forty years, Men At Work beside them, and Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe, Vika and Linda, Boom Crash Opera and Ella Hooper before that. Seven acts, one beach, an afternoon of Reckless at full volume. Glenelg is the last date of the whole tour.
Kool & the Gang + Sister Sledge
Hindley St Music Hall · Monday 30 November · 18+
Celebration, Jungle Boogie, We Are Family and Lost in Music on one bill. A Monday, yes, but a Monday you will still be talking about at Christmas.
Hoodoo Gurus: Rewind Tour
Hindley St Music Hall · Friday 27 November · 18+
All killer, no filler, with Ratcat and The Stems along for the ride. Three bands your older cousin swears by, in one night, and they are right.
The Angels: Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again, 50 Years On
Hindley St Music Hall · Friday 6 November · 18+
Fifty years of the single, and the whole room still shouts the response back. You know the one. Bring your voice.
The Sweet: The Final Blitz Tour
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Thursday 5 November
Ballroom Blitz, Fox on the Run and the rest of the glam rock canon, played one last time. Glitter optional, singing not.
Ann Wilson & Tripsitter: The Voice of Heart
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Thursday 26 November
One of rock's great voices with Dragon opening. If Barracuda and Alone in the same room doesn't move you, nothing on this list will.
The Church: A Psychedelic Symphony
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Saturday 28 November
Under the Milky Way with the George Ellis Orchestra behind it. The gentlest big night of the month, for the mates who skipped the street circuit.
Big days out
Handpicked Festival
Lake Breeze Wines, Langhorne Creek · Saturday 14 November
Ten years of music under the gums, and the birthday lineup is a big one: Guy Sebastian, Missy Higgins, The Living End, The Teskey Brothers, Kita Alexander and Old Mervs, with the family winery pouring. Book the bus; nobody is driving home from this.
National Pharmacies Christmas Pageant
Adelaide · Saturday 14 November Free
Floats, bands and Father Christmas at the end, like every November since 1933. The move is a footpath spot early, then a long lunch once the last float is through.
Adelaide's Biggest Deepavali Festival
Adelaide Showground, Wayville · Saturday 7 November
The festival of lights fills the showground with food stalls, music and a lot of colour, from lunchtime until late. Go hungry.
Feast Festival
Across Adelaide · 1 to 22 November
Three weeks and more than eighty queer events: parties, performance, exhibitions and the free Picnic in the Park to close it on Sunday 22 November. Pick a few from the program and make a month of it.
Semaphore Street Fair
Semaphore Road, Semaphore · Sunday 29 November Free
Three hundred and fifty stalls, roving performers and a whole road shut for the day, on the last Sunday of the month like always. Finish with chips on the foreshore.
Macclesfield Strawberry Fete
Macclesfield · Sunday 29 November Free
One of the oldest community days in the state: strawberries every which way, stalls, and an eating contest people take very seriously. A hills drive with a sweet ending.
Lucky Dumpling Market: the last night
Elder Park, Adelaide · Sunday 1 November Free
OzAsia's riverside hub closes on the first of the month, and the listing says this is the festival's final edition, so this is your last Lucky Dumpling. Lanterns, free music and dumplings by the Torrens one more time.
Cup Day, the long lunch
Tuesday 3 November is not a public holiday here, but Adelaide has never let that get in the way of a three-hour lunch. The race jumps at 2:30pm on our clock.
Melbourne Cup Waterfront Luncheon
Seafire on the Marina, Glenelg · Tuesday 3 November
Sparkling on arrival, five courses, South Australian wine and the race on the screens, with the marina out the window. $128 a head and the strongest argument for an afternoon off.
Melbourne Cup at The Playford
The Playford Adelaide, MGallery · Tuesday 3 November
Three courses in the ballroom with the Operation Flinders Foundation taking the proceeds, so the sweep is for a good cause. $181. The Blind Sports Foundation lunch at MrsQ Loft Wine Bar is the same idea in a wine bar, and the listing says it sells out every year.
Food and drink, the Adelaide flex
Adelaide Wine Festival: Summer Show
Morphettville Racecourse · Sunday 22 November
Wineries from five regions, live music and a long sunny afternoon on the lawns. The one day a year you can taste the Barossa, the Vale and the Hills without leaving the tram line.
Langhorne Creek Vignerons Raceday
Strathalbyn Racing Club · Sunday 15 November
Country racing with the Langhorne Creek producers pouring, food trucks, a flower bar and live music all day. Frocks, a punt and a designated driver.
Jim Barry Clare Valley Cup
Clare Racing Club, Clare · Sunday 22 November
Seven races, local wine, fashions on the field and a free shuttle from town. The Clare Valley's biggest day out, and a very good reason to make a weekend of it.
Urban Wine Walk Port Adelaide
Port Adelaide · Saturday 7 November
The Port's venues become a self-guided cellar door for the afternoon: pick your starting point and wander the laneways with a glass in hand. $79, and the pace is entirely yours.
Paxton Wines Long Lunch
Paxton Wines, McLaren Vale · Saturday 28 November
A seasonal menu from chef Jamie Bennie, every course matched, in the historic pavilion. The special-occasion pick, at $140 a head.
Comedy and big ideas
Richard Dawkins: 50 Years of The Selfish Gene
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Friday 13 November
Fifty years of one book, told by the man who wrote it. The ideas night of the month, and a pub debate guaranteed afterwards.
Dan and Phil: Hard Launch World Tour
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Wednesday 25 November
The duo half the internet grew up watching, finally hard launched and crash landing at the Thebby. Expect oversharing. Expect to love it.
Jenny & Joel Creasey
Norwood Concert Hall · Sunday 8 November
A very funny comedian and his mum, live and unfiltered. Take your own mum and compare notes.
Des Bishop
Norwood Concert Hall · Thursday 12 November
An hour of sharp stand-up from a seasoned touring comic. A safe bet for the mixed group, and it's done by nine.
Kunal Kamra: New Show
The Parks Theatre, Angle Park · Thursday 26 November
Sharp, political stand-up in an intimate room, $66. One night only, and small enough to hear every aside.
An Evening with Pip Williams
Salisbury Community Hub · Thursday 5 November Free
The Dictionary of Lost Words author on her new novel, The German Ward, a wartime love story. Free, an hour long, and the kind of thing you'll be glad you went to.
Arts and the big screen
Monet to Matisse: Defying Tradition
Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide · last day Sunday 8 November
Fifty-seven masterworks from Impressionism to the wild edges of modern art, exclusive to Adelaide, and gone after the first Sunday of the month. Tickets from $15; the gallery stays open late on Friday nights for it.
Architecture in Music
Immersive Light and Art, Adelaide · from Thursday 12 November
Charles Brooks photographs the insides of instruments so they look like concert halls, and this is the Australian premiere, wrapped in a new light and sound experience. Runs to 5 December.
Slava & Sharon Grigoryan: Live
Immersive Light and Art, Adelaide · Thursday 26 November
Guitar and cello played inside the artwork itself, for one night only. The quietest, strangest, loveliest hour on this list.
Dirty Dancing in Concert
Hindmarsh · Saturday 28 November
The whole film on the big screen with the songs played live by a band on stage. Nobody puts Baby in a corner, and nobody in that room stays seated for the lift.
Lucha Fantastica: Day of the Dead
Lion Arts Factory · Friday 27 November · 18+
Ten masked luchadores, mariachi, suspense and a great deal of nonsense. There's an early family show at 5pm the same night if the kids want in.
Candlelight and something different
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons
St Peter's Cathedral, North Adelaide · Friday 20 November
The Four Seasons under a few hundred candles in a stone cathedral, from $33. The same night the pews host a Queen tribute; Tool on strings fills the Meeting Hall on the 6th and Hans Zimmer the Capri on the 28th, if your crowd leans that way.
Adelaide's Theatre of Magic
InterContinental Adelaide · Saturday 14 November
Close-up illusions and magic-themed cocktails in a hotel ballroom, $69. Sit up the front if you want to be fooled properly.
Brick and Sip: a LEGO workshop for adults
SixTwelve Brewing, Saint Agnes · Friday 6 November
Escalating building challenges with a beer in hand, and you get to smash it at the end. $56 with a drink included. Competitive mates, beware.
Reel Rock 20 Film Tour
The Mercury, Adelaide · Thursday 26 November
The year's best climbing films on a proper screen, $21. You will leave wanting to book a trip you are not fit enough for.
Late ones
Shrek Rave
Rhino Room, Adelaide · Saturday 7 November
Swamp visuals, green glow sticks and a cocktail called Donkey Drank, from $6. The dumbest night of the month, and we mean that with love.
Back to the 90s
Atlantis Lounge Bar, Adelaide · Saturday 14 November
The touring party lands in Adelaide for the first time: nineties house, eurodance and every club classic in one room, $27. Dress accordingly.
Divorced Dad Rock Night
Rhino Room, Adelaide · Saturday 21 November
Nickelback to Nirvana, dadcore outfits encouraged, tickets from $6. Nobody needs to be divorced, or a dad, to shout along to How You Remind Me.
The Gay Agenda
The Austral Hotel, Adelaide · Saturday 7 November · 18+
Worm Girlz, Cry Club, FVNERAL and Sunsick Daisy rotating the headline slot, in Feast month. The night before, Thick 'n' Juicy runs a big warm queer dance floor on Hindley Street until four.
Free and all ages
Path to Fury: the final
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Saturday 7 November Free
Six rising South Australian heavy bands battle it out on the Thebby stage, free entry, all ages. Catch the next big thing before the Thebby charges you for it.
Singing Under the Stars: Parkside Carols and Markets
St Raphael's School, Parkside · Friday 20 November Free
Carols on the lawn with markets, food trucks and a bar. Bring a picnic blanket and your least embarrassing singing voice.
Books & Bangers: Amy & Book Club
The Wheatsheaf Hotel, Adelaide · Wednesday 25 November Free
A bookish podcast recorded live at the pub, hot takes included, then a band. Midweek, free, and a better conversation starter than most first dates.
The part where you actually go
That's the list. The gap between reading it and standing in one of those rooms is the same as ever: someone has to pick a date and make the call.
That's the job Keen does. The quickest way in is Find a time: pick two or three dates that could work, add an idea or two from this page, and drop one link in the group chat. Everyone answers from their browser, no app and no account needed. You see which date wins, tap once, and it's a real plan with RSVPs and a chat of its own.
And once your mates are on Keen too, it starts doing the noticing for you: everyone marks the nights they're free, and when yours line up, Keen tells you, along with what's on that actually suits the crew. The Grand Final weekend (26 to 29 November) is the obvious place to start.
November's forty-odd best excuses are above. Pick one, name a night, and send the message.
Start closer in. See what's on in the next few days, pick a night, send the link.
What's on in Adelaide this weekendGet Keen free on the App Store or Google Play.
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