September in Adelaide: top events in your city this month
There are hundreds of events on around Adelaide this month, from arena-sized nostalgia to a 7am rave. 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
Ash: 1977, 30th Anniversary
Lion Arts Factory · Tuesday 8 September · 18+
Ireland's favourite power-pop trio play their landmark debut front to back, thirty years on. Girl From Mars on a Tuesday; call in fine on Wednesday.
Candlelight: Tribute to TOOL
The Meeting Hall · Friday 11 September
Yes, really: TOOL rearranged for strings by candlelight. The most Adelaide-coded date night of the month, and the series runs all month, including Hans Zimmer at St Peter's Cathedral on the 12th.
Macy Gray: The Encore Tour
Hindley St Music Hall · Saturday 12 September · 18+
Twenty-five million records' worth of soul on her largest Australian tour yet. That voice, up close.
BAKE x ADL
Jive · Saturday 12 September · all ages
My Cherie, The Matehs, Opulence and Ammonite on one all-ages bill built around connection as much as music. The local pick of the month.
The Temper Trap: Sungazer Tour
Hindley St Music Hall · Wednesday 16 September
Their first album in ten years, plus Sweet Disposition, which you will hear from three blocks away. The midweek plan that sorts itself.
Jem Cassar-Daley
Jive · Friday 18 September
A debut album tour of deeply personal songwriting from a name you'll be early to. Small room now, bigger rooms next time.
CI Brazil Music Fest
UniBar · Saturday 19 September · all ages
Three live bands and every Brazilian rhythm going, timed for Independence Day celebrations. Ten hours of it, if you have the legs.
Suzanne Vega
Thebarton Theatre · Thursday 24 September
Luka and Tom's Diner from the woman who wrote them, in the Thebby's warm old bones. A songwriting masterclass disguised as a gig.
Ashnikko: Smoochies Tour
Hindley St Music Hall · Sunday 27 September
The pop disruptor lands the Smoochies Tour on a Sunday. Blue hair optional, earplugs advisable.
Food and drink, the Adelaide flex
BK Wines' Biggest Tasting Ever
LOT.100, Hay Valley · Saturday 19 September
Nineteen years of BK celebrated with 190 wines out of the museum stash, then dinner. Sort the designated driver now; this is the Hills day out of the month.
Italian Masterclass: Spring Edition
Lockleys Football Club · Sunday 20 September
Roll fettucine, shape meatballs, then sit down to the long lunch you just made. Come for the pasta, stay for the bragging rights.
Club Sup
Pastel Wine Bar, North Adelaide · Thursday 24 September
A modern supper club: one shared table, three courses and strangers who stop being strangers by dessert. For the mate who says Adelaide has no scene.
La Boca's Chocolate Buffet
La Boca Bar and Grill · Saturday 19 September
Three hours of chocolate fountains, churros and Argentine grill. Not a metaphor, an actual chocolate buffet.
Cook with Callum Hann
Sprout Cooking School, Hilton · Wednesday 30 September
Twenty-four places to cook a two-course meal alongside a chef you already know from the telly. Books out; move fast.
Days out
Puppy Picnic
Beaumont House · Saturday 19 September Free
Picnic rugs, market stalls, food trucks and a lawn full of very happy dogs. Free entry, infinite serotonin, dog not strictly required.
Walking Tour: Southwest Corner
from Whitmore Square · Sunday 13 September
The old working-class streets of the city, traced with the stories that built them. Thirteen dollars and a very good pair of hours.
Full Moon Hike: Ambers Gully
Montacute · Sunday 27 September
Eight kilometres of bush trail by head torch under a full moon. The plan for the crew that's over pubs this week.
Bachata by the Beach
Henley Sailing Club, West Beach · Sunday 27 September
A beginner-friendly Latin dance party by the water, with instructors making sure nobody's left sitting out. Fourteen dollars, zero experience required.
Markets
XCHANGE Vintage Fashion Market
The Market Shed on Holland · Sunday 13 September
Fifty-plus stalls of Adelaide's best vintage, with free barber cuts and manicures if you're quick. Seven dollars in, one outfit out, minimum.
The Gator Club's 4th Birthday Market
College Park · Sunday 27 September Free
Fifteen stalls spilling into the courtyard with the coffee van going all morning. A birthday party you're all invited to.
Comedy and big ideas
Swati Sachdeva
Rhino Room · Thursday 10 September
Sharp, unfiltered stand-up on modern relationships and everyday chaos, on her first-ever Australian tour. See her while the room is still this small.
Talks on Tuesdays: Thinking Without Thinking
Rob Roy Hotel · Tuesday 29 September
A real expert on why your mind is already made up, delivered as a proper lecture in a pub, then drinks and argument. The good kind of Tuesday.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Trivia
TGI Fridays, Tea Tree Plaza · Tuesday 15 September Free
Forty Nine-Nine questions, burgers and a silly team name. Free to play, title on the line.
Something different
Marino Breaky Rave
Marino Community Hall · Friday 11 September, 7am
Ninety minutes of dancing before work, coffee waiting at the end. Show up, lose your mind gently, make the 9am stand-up.
Murder on the Dance Floor
Stamford Plaza · Friday 11 September
A three-course dinner in a 1970s disco with a killer somewhere at the tables. Dress for the decade, leave pointing fingers.
Anya Anastasia Trio at ILA
Immersive Light and Art · Saturday 19 September
A single launch performed inside wrap-around forest footage of takayna. A gig and an artwork at the same time.
Serial Killer Speakeasy
Burnside Ballroom, Tusmore · from 25 September · 18+
Four infamous true-crime stories staged live, each with its own cocktail. Like stepping inside the podcast, drink in hand.
Brick and Sip
Bowden Cellars · Sunday 27 September
Three LEGO build challenges for adults, drink in hand. Childhood dream, adult beverage, everybody wins.
Late ones
Pola & Bryson
149 Hindley · Friday 11 September · 18+
Melodic drum and bass from a respected UK duo, deep in the Hindley end of the night. Rolling basslines until very late.
On Repeat: Hamilton Club Night
Lion Arts Factory · Saturday 12 September · 18+
Hamilton songs in a club, all night. The Room Where It Happens, except it's a dance floor and everyone knows every word.
House Blend Vol. 4
Rhino Room · Saturday 26 September
Jazz house and disco house with live saxophone over the top. Best-dressed prize on offer; act accordingly.
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.
September's thirty 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.
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