October in Hobart: top events in your city this month
Hobart punches well above its weight this month: a Show, a public holiday and a run at the Odeon that most mainland cities would envy. These are the twenty-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 Hobart is rebuilt from the catalogue nightly.
The Show
The Royal Hobart Show
Hobart Regatta Grounds, Queens Domain · from Thursday 22 October
Carnival rides, showbags and Tasmanian food on the waterfront, a short walk from the CBD. Thursday 22 October is Show Day, a public holiday around Hobart, which is the whole plan sorted if you get in early.
Big nights at the Odeon and beyond
Genesis Owusu: Redstar Wu's Pirate Radio Tour
Odeon Theatre · Friday 2 October
A Tasmania-only show from a seven-time ARIA winner whose gigs blur concert and performance art. The pick of the month.
JET: The Rumblin' Regional Revue
Odeon Theatre · Friday 30 October
The songs everyone knows, played by the band who wrote them. This is a shouting-along gig; bring the whole group.
Midge Ure: Catalogue, The Hits Tour
Odeon Theatre · Tuesday 13 October
A hits set from one of the architects of eighties pop. Bring the mate who has strong opinions about Vienna.
Ben Folds and a Piano
Odeon Theatre · Sunday 4 October
Ben Folds added more towns to a sold-out tour, and Hobart made the list. One man, one piano, a lot of singalong.
Hindley Street Country Club
Odeon Theatre · Saturday 3 October
The cover band your algorithm keeps serving you, live and very tight.
Old Mervs
Odeon Theatre · Saturday 24 October
An indie-rock duo on their biggest tour yet, all ages.
Adalita: 15th Anniversary of Her Debut Album
The Grand Poobah · Saturday 10 October
Her raw, intimate solo debut, fifteen years on, in a small room that suits it perfectly.
Conrad Sewell: Acoustic Tour
The Bush Inn, New Norfolk · 14 and 15 October
Big songs stripped right back in a proper country pub. The second show was added for a reason; the Thursday is the other one.
Shonen Knife
Altar Bar · Sunday 18 October
Forty-five years of neon pop-punk from Osaka, still going. Delightful from the first chord.
The Buoys: Concrete Cowboy Tour
Altar Bar · Wednesday 21 October
Full-throttle rock songs made for yelling with your mates, celebrating a new album.
Taxiride
The Grand Poobah · Saturday 24 October
A chart-topping Aussie band and the songs you grew up on. You know more of them than you think.
Comedy and stories
Ross Noble: Cranium of Curiosities
Odeon Theatre · Saturday 17 October
A tornado of tangents from a master of the ramble. No two shows the same; this one's yours.
Nat's What I Reckon: Panic at the Bistro
Hellenic House, North Hobart · Saturday 3 October
Sweary, warm-hearted chaos from a bloke who sells out theatres.
Secret Screenings with Beau Miles
Odeon Theatre · Saturday 31 October
Unreleased films, the stories behind them and a proper Q and A. The outdoorsy friend will not stop talking about it.
Tom Hawkins: The Record Breaker
RACV Hobart Hotel · Wednesday 14 October
Premierships, teammates and life after football, straight from the man himself.
Candles, jazz and slow nights
Candlelight: Vivaldi's Four Seasons
St David's Cathedral · Saturday 17 October
The Four Seasons by candlelight in the cathedral. Ed Sheeran meets Coldplay follows later the same night, if the strings are the point rather than the composer.
The Jazz Room: Sinatra and Armstrong
Hobart Town Hall · Friday 9 October
Two of the most influential voices of all time, reimagined live in the Town Hall.
Fleetwood Macs
Wrest Point, Sandy Bay · Saturday 31 October
Two hours of Fleetwood Mac hits done justice. A Halloween night for people who would rather sing than dress up.
Free and different
Navratri Garba and Dandiya Night
Hobart City Hall · Saturday 3 October Free
Free entry, traditional dress and dandiya sticks until late. Warmly welcoming, even if you have never held a dandiya stick.
Here on Sea Country: Free Tour
State Library and Archives of Tasmania · Tuesday 6 October Free
A free guided walk through Palawa stories of Sea Country.
Glow Tour at Tunnel Hill Mushrooms
Tunnel Hill Mushrooms, Mount Rumney · Saturday 3 October
Fungi glowing under UV in the tunnel, then barbecued mushrooms outside. Nothing else on this list is remotely like it.
Late ones
CRŸBABY
Cathedral, Hobart · Saturday 24 October
Global club sounds from a serious touring DJ, late on the Saturday of Show week.
Early Bird: Daytime Clubbing for the 30+
Altar Bar · Saturday 10 October
Four hours of unashamed singalong pop, done and dusted before dinner. Genius, frankly.
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. Show Day is a Thursday, so the long weekend basically builds itself.
October's twenty-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 Hobart this weekendGet Keen free on the App Store or Google Play.
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