Live music in Canberra this weekend

Canberra’s live music week, in one place

For a city its size, Canberra has an unusually deep live music week. A typical Friday and Saturday will run from acoustic sets in inner-north pubs and free jazz at lake-side bars, through to touring indie at The Basement in Belconnen, dance line-ups at sideway, headline rock at UC Refectory or AIS Arena, and chamber music at Llewellyn Hall or Wesley Music Centre. Sundays slow down into folk sessions, jazz brunches and outdoor sets at the wineries on the Murrumbateman side.

The feed at the bottom of this guide refreshes with this weekend’s confirmed shows. Below is a quick map of the rooms so you know what kind of night each one promises.

The reliable rooms

The Basement in Belconnen is the city’s 400-capacity indie/rock workhorse – touring Australian acts almost every weekend, ticketed, all-ages on most bills. UC Refectory takes the bigger touring shows that outgrow the Basement but don’t fill an arena. sideway in Civic is the place for dance and underground line-ups, often late and 18-plus.

For classical and chamber, Llewellyn Hall at the ANU School of Music in Acton hosts the Canberra Symphony Orchestra and most touring chamber programs. Wesley Music Centre in Forrest runs a Saturday afternoon series that is one of the best-value tickets in town. The Street Theatre in Acton programs cabaret, jazz, and Australian song-writers in a 200-seat room with good sight lines.

Free and low-cost pub gigs

Walk-up pub gigs are the easiest way into the week. Smith’s Alternative on Alinga Street has live music almost every night and a $5–$25 ticket range. The Polish Club in Turner runs late-week jazz and a long-running Wednesday session. The Phoenix on East Row is a small-room original-music staple. Old Canberra Inn in Lyneham books folk, country and bluegrass into a fire-lit beer garden most Sundays.

Out south, King O’Malley’s and P.J. O’Reilly’s book traditional Irish sessions on weekend afternoons. Hippo Co in Civic does Sunday jazz with no cover most weeks.

Outdoor and seasonal

In summer the lake-side stages at Lennox Gardens and Stage 88 in Commonwealth Park host free council-programmed concerts and festival days. The wineries at Four Winds, Mount Majura, Pialligo Estate and the Murrumbateman cluster run weekend afternoon sets through the warmer months. In winter, the focus shifts indoors and the chamber and jazz programs at Wesley, Smith’s and the Street are at their strongest.

Festivals worth diarising

Standout dates on the local music calendar include the National Folk Festival at EPIC over Easter, Spilt Milk at Commonwealth Park in late November, the Canberra International Music Festival across the parliamentary triangle in May, You Are Here in March, and the Canberra Blues Festival in spring. Most release programs three to four months out – we link them in the feed below as soon as tickets go on sale.

How to find a show tonight

Scroll to the live feed below for the next 14 days of confirmed shows across every venue above. If you’re hunting for something tonight specifically, our tonight guide filters by start time, and the music guide archives everything we’ve covered.