October in Adelaide: top events in your city this month
There are hundreds of events on around Adelaide this month, and a long weekend to open it. These are the thirty-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
The Cat Empire with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · 9 and 10 October
The band's catalogue blown up to full orchestral scale, with flamenco artists Arte Kanela on the bill. The best night of the month for anyone who has ever danced badly to Hello.
Gipsy Kings by Diego Baliardo
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Saturday 17 October
Flamenco rumba you'll recognise from the first bar. If Volare comes out, you will join in; nobody has ever resisted.
Don McLean: American Pie 55th Anniversary
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Friday 23 October
American Pie and the rest, played by the man himself. Eight and a half minutes of communal singing, guaranteed.
Oliver Tree
Hindley St Music Hall · Thursday 8 October
The Love You Madly, Hate You Badly world tour lands in Adelaide. Expect the unexpected, possibly including the haircut.
TISM
Hindley St Music Hall · Friday 16 October
Masks on, chaos guaranteed, at a proper Adelaide music hall.
The Smith Street Band
UniBar Adelaide · Friday 2 October
Shouty, big-hearted punk and their first national tour in years, all ages, on the long weekend Friday.
Bob Evans: Suburban Songbook 20th Anniversary
Lion Arts Factory · Thursday 22 October
An ARIA-winning album played front to back, twenty years on. Nostalgia, but make it gentle.
James Marriott
Hindley St Music Hall · Monday 12 October
Sharp, honest indie-pop from a UK number one album. A Monday gig to brag about on Tuesday.
Lisa Ono
Adelaide Town Hall · Tuesday 20 October
Three decades of bossa nova, sung softly in a real hall. The calmest night out on this list, from $72.
Eloise
Lion Arts Factory · Sunday 25 October
A smoky-voiced Londoner opening her world tour right here in Adelaide.
Less Than Jake: Circus Down Under
Hindley St Music Hall · Saturday 31 October
Ska-punk horns and singalongs at full pelt, on Halloween night.
Food and drink, the Adelaide flex
CheeseFest
Rundle Park / Kadlitpina · 17 and 18 October
More than a hundred cheese, food, wine and drinks producers turn twenty-one in the park, with demos and masterclasses. Loosen the belt in advance.
Taste of the Best: Royal Adelaide Wine Awards Public Tasting
Adelaide Showground, Wayville · Friday 9 October
Award-winning wines, cheese tables and a glass to keep. The easiest way to find out what the judges liked.
Oktoberfest in the Gardens
Pinky Flat, North Adelaide · Saturday 3 October
Steins, brass bands and lederhosen on the lawn, on the long weekend Saturday.
Oktoberfest at The Grand Bar
The Grand Bar, Glenelg · Sunday 4 October Free
Steins by the sea, a live band and a whole day of it, with free entry.
Olive Festival
Beaumont House, Beaumont · Saturday 3 October
Artisan stalls, a gin bar and a tour of an 1860s olive grove. Peak Adelaide, in the best way.
Yalumba: The Signature Wine Dinner
Seafire on the Marina, Glenelg · Thursday 29 October
Four courses matched to museum vintages, hosted by the winemaker. The special-occasion pick, at $181 a head.
Days out
Labour Day Race Day
Gawler Barossa Jockey Club, Evanston · Monday 5 October
Lawns, rose gardens and a punt on the country track, on the public holiday itself. The Gawler Cup follows on Friday 23 October with twilight racing.
Murray Bridge Gold Cup
Murray Bridge Racing Club · Saturday 3 October
A big country race day, frocks and all, on the long weekend Saturday.
Bewitched: The Magic Market
Prince Henry Gardens West · Saturday 17 October
A marketplace of witches and makers in the gardens. Same day as CheeseFest, so plan the route.
XChange Market
The Market Shed on Holland · Sunday 18 October
Fifty stalls of vintage and small labels under one roof, $7 in.
Modernist Adelaide Walking Tour
Faraway House · Sunday 18 October
An hour and a half of mid-century Adelaide you have walked past a hundred times without noticing.
Comedy and big ideas
Greg Davies: Full Fat Legend
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · Saturday 24 October
A very tall, very funny man with a room in stitches. The comedy booking of the month.
Bill Bailey: Vaudevillean
Thebarton Theatre, Torrensville · 6 and 7 October
His new show, two nights at Thebarton. Book the second night and pretend it was always the plan.
Great Question: Tristan McLindon
Ern Malley, Stepney · Friday 23 October
Magic, comedy and mind reading from a festival sellout, in a small room. Sit near the back if you have secrets.
Free and all ages
Future Sounds
UniBar Adelaide · from Saturday 17 October Free
A free entry, all-ages festival of new South Australian music. Catch the next big thing before your little cousin does.
Groovefest
Northern Sound System, Elizabeth · Saturday 3 October Free
A free all-ages festival of Adelaide's best up-and-coming bands.
Something different
Candlelight: Halloween Classics
St Peter's Cathedral, North Adelaide · Friday 30 October
Halloween classics by candlelight in a stone cathedral. A Tool tribute fills the same pews on the 17th, if that's more your crowd.
The Jury Experience: The Million Dollar Murder
Woodville Town Hall · Friday 30 October
You're the jury: hear the case, then decide guilty or not. Friendships will be tested.
Halloween Retro Silent Disco
Adelaide Town Hall · Saturday 24 October
Three DJ channels, headphones on, costumes in the Town Hall. Hilarious from the outside, glorious from the inside.
Edgar Allan Poe Speakeasy
Burnside Ballroom, Tusmore · Friday 9 October
Four Poe stories staged over four classic cocktails. Quoth the raven: another round.
You're Dead! Black Parade Burlesque
Nexus Arts · Friday 23 October
Burlesque, cabaret clowns and twenty years of The Black Parade. Eyeliner mandatory, spiritually.
Late ones
Odd Mob
Hindley St Music Hall · Sunday 4 October
A homecoming run landing on the long weekend Sunday, when nobody has to work the next day.
End of Days: ShockOne b2b Aeon:Mode
Cloisters at UniBar Adelaide · Saturday 31 October
Drum and bass royalty back to back until the small hours.
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 Labour Day long weekend (3 to 5 October) is the obvious place to start.
October's thirty-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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