After performing with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra last month in front of 6,000 concert goers at Hamer Hall, The Whitlams will reconvene their orchestra tour in 2026 with a 9-date national tour.
Led by Tim Freedman, The Whitlams have spent two decades reshaping its catalogue for the concert hall, going back to 2003 when Richard Tognetti AO (currently artistic director and leader of the Australian Chamber Orchestra) developed a strings, piano and drums repertoire of Freedman's songs that toured nationally with ACO.
This led to a West Australian Symphony Orchestra commissioned concert in 2004 (that concert was made even more memorable when when a family of ducks flew in and settled on the pond between the band and audience in the middle of the lullaby 'Breathing You In'), as well as four nights at the Sydney Opera House in 2007, and an enduring commitment from the band to continually revisit their catalogue, reworking their pieces for an orchestra treatment.
What makes these shows remarkable is not just their scale, but how the drama of small moments is magnified by the beautifully written arrangements into something deeply poignant.
Stories of friendship, romance, grief, and humour are conveyed by eight unique composers who each deploy the full arsenal of large ensemble dynamics in their own way, from the delicacy of twenty-piece strings to the all-in power of the more grandiose moments, the effect of which Freedman has likened to "being hit over the head with a velvet hammer".
We declared last month's Melbourne Symphony Orchestra concert: 'Some pairings just make perfect sense: wine and cheese, Woody and Buzz, fish and chips. . . The Whitlams and an orchestra. . . Tim Freedman's unmistakeable voice was as powerful as ever, eliciting loud cheers and a standing ovation from an adoring audience.'
The 2026 tour will commence in Sydney (two nights) in late January before travelling throughout February-June to Hobart, Brisbane (two nights), Newcastle, Adelaide, and Toowoomba, before a final concert in Perth.
Highlights of tour include the Sydney Symphony Orchestra performing on the stage of the decadent State Theatre for the first time in over a decade. While Queensland Symphony Orchestra welcome the band back to its home at QPAC where they performed a memorable concert together in 2007, punctuated by frequent election updates on the night of Kevin07.
Tickets on sale.
The Whitlams Orchestral 2026 Tour Dates
Fri 30 Jan - State Theatre (Sydney)Sat 31 Jan - State Theatre (Sydney)* matinee & evening shows
Fri 27 Feb - Wrest Point (Hobart)
Fri 6 Mar - QPAC (Brisbane)
Sat 7 Mar - QPAC (Brisbane)
Fri 13 Mar - Civic Theatre (Newcastle)
Sat 14 Mar - Civic Theatre (Newcastle)
Sat 11 Apr - Festival Theatre (Adelaide)
Sat 6 Jun - Empire Theatre (Toowoomba)
Sat 13 Jun - Riverside Theatre (Perth)
