Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027

Jimmy Barnes will spend the first months of 2027 doing what he has done for most Australian summers: playing outdoors in regional Australia. Announced on 5 October 2026, the Red Hot Summer Tour 2027 is led by Barnes, with Jon Stevens, Baby Animals, Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe, Chocolate Starfish and Sarah McLeod, and runs for eight Saturdays from Mannum in South Australia on 9 January to Wodonga in Victoria on 6 March 2027.

It is a package tour rather than a Jimmy Barnes headline tour, and as of 9 October 2026 no solo arena or theatre tour and no New Zealand dates have been announced for 2027. It follows the For the Working Class Man 40th anniversary tour, which played wineries, outdoor sites and arenas from November 2025, crossed to New Zealand in April 2026 and ended at Spark Arena in Auckland on Sunday 19 April 2026.

Barnes, born in Glasgow in 1956 and raised in Elizabeth, South Australia, holds the Australian record for number one albums: 16 as a solo artist and 22 including Cold Chisel. This page sets out the 2027 dates as they have been announced, then follows his concerts in Australia and New Zealand, from Cold Chisel's farewell in 1983 to his recent tours of wineries, theatres and arenas.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: what is announced so far

The Red Hot Summer Tour 2027 has eight dates, all on Saturdays: Mannum Golf Club in South Australia on 9 January, as part of Sounds By The River; Warrnambool Racecourse in Victoria on 16 January; Speers Point Park at Lake Macquarie, NSW, on 30 January; Broadwater Parklands in Southport on the Gold Coast on 6 February; Westport Park in Port Macquarie, NSW, on 13 February; Rochford Wines in the Yarra Valley on 20 February; the Country Club Lawns in Launceston, Tasmania, on 27 February; and Gateway Lakes in Wodonga, Victoria, on 6 March 2027.

Barnes heads a line-up of Australian rock acts of several generations: Jon Stevens, Baby Animals, Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe, Chocolate Starfish and Sarah McLeod. The tour is built for regional centres rather than capital cities; only the Gold Coast date is in a major urban area, and there are no shows in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide or Perth.

Barnes has led the Red Hot Summer Tour before. The setlist archive shows its 2022 edition at Mornington Racecourse, Roche Estate in the Hunter Valley, Bendigo Jockey Club, By The C on the Gold Coast and Stage 88 in Canberra, and he has returned to several of the 2027 sites over the years, including Mannum Golf Club in March 2021, Rochford in the Yarra Valley in January 2021 and the Country Club in Launceston in 2021 and 2024.

No New Zealand date and no capital-city headline show have been announced for 2027. If Barnes adds solo dates, this page will be updated; you can sign up below for the alert.

Before the Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: Australia/NZ concert history

Jimmy Barnes's concert history in Australia goes back half a century. He joined the Adelaide band that became Cold Chisel in 1975, moved with them to Armidale, Melbourne and then Sydney, and by the early 1980s they were drawing huge crowds. Cold Chisel's final shows before their 1983 split were four nights at the Sydney Entertainment Centre from 12 to 15 December 1983, the Last Stand tour. Less than a month later Barnes was on the road with his own band.

In the summer of 1986-87 he co-headlined the Australian Made concerts with INXS, a national touring bill with Mental as Anything, Divinyls, Models, the Saints, I'm Talking and the Triffids, using the Easybeats' 'Good Times', recorded by Barnes and INXS, as its theme. In October 2000 he performed at the closing ceremony of the Sydney Olympics. Cold Chisel re-formed in the late 1990s and has toured on and off since, most recently with a 50th anniversary national tour in late 2024 that ended at the Adelaide 500 post-race concert on 17 November 2024.

The setlist archive for Barnes's own shows is fullest from 2019. The Shutting Down Your Town Tour, for My Criminal Record, began at the Mackay Entertainment and Convention Centre on Wednesday 18 September 2019 and played Townsville, Cairns, the WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong, the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, the Empire Theatre in Toowoomba, the Riverstage in Brisbane, the Newcastle Entertainment Centre, Coffs Harbour, the Royal Theatre in Canberra and Pola Park in Tullamore, ending at Ascot Racecourse in Perth on Sunday 10 November 2019. In New Zealand it visited Dunedin Town Hall, Christchurch Town Hall and Spark Arena in Auckland.

During the pandemic years he played smaller and outdoor rooms: Lizotte's in Newcastle on Wednesday 30 September 2020, the Sydney Coliseum Theatre in November 2020, and in 2021 winery, golf club and garden shows in Tasmania, South Australia, Western Australia and Queensland. The Soul Deep 30 Tour of 2022 then played the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Rod Laver Arena, two nights at the Aware Super Theatre in Sydney and the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, before New Zealand dates at Dunedin Town Hall, Christchurch Arena, Spark Arena on Saturday 23 July 2022 and the Michael Fowler Centre in Wellington.

The Hell of a Time tour of mid-2024, a seated theatre run, took in the Regal Theatre in Perth, the Mandurah Performing Arts Centre, Frankston, Warragul, Shepparton, the Sydney Coliseum Theatre, Wrest Point in Hobart, the Barossa and Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide, then TSB Theatre in New Plymouth, the Civic in Auckland, Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, the Michael Fowler Centre and the Regent Theatre in Dunedin. The DEFIANT Tour of June 2025 played the AEC Theatre in Adelaide, the Riverside Theatre in Perth, two nights at the Palais Theatre in Melbourne, two at Fortitude Music Hall in Brisbane, the State Theatre in Sydney and the Canberra Theatre on Saturday 28 June 2025.

The Working Class Man 40th Anniversary Tour began at Mount Duneed Estate near Geelong on Saturday 22 November 2025 and played Sirromet Winery, Bimbadgen Estate, the Sydney Opera House forecourt on Wednesday 10 December 2025, the Regatta Grounds in Hobart, Peter Lehmann Wines in the Barossa, Sandalford Winery, the Sandstone Point Hotel, Centennial Vineyards in Bowral and Rod Laver Arena on Friday 10 April 2026, before Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch on 17 April and Spark Arena in Auckland on 19 April 2026.

The table below lists 127 documented Australia/NZ concerts by Jimmy Barnes between 2012 and 2026, with the most shows in Auckland (11), Sydney (10), Christchurch (6), Melbourne (6), Perth (6), Adelaide (5). It is not exhaustive: it only includes documented shows.

Concert data: setlist.fm

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027 setlist: the songs played most often in Australia and New Zealand

Across the 15 most recent documented Australia/NZ concerts with a full song list (8 June 2025 to 17 April 2026), these are the songs that came up most often. Titles only — set lists change from night to night.

1. Flame Trees — played at 15 of 15 shows
2. I'd Die to Be With You Tonight — played at 15 of 15 shows
3. Khe Sanh — played at 15 of 15 shows
4. Lay Down Your Guns — played at 15 of 15 shows
5. No Second Prize — played at 15 of 15 shows
6. Ride the Night Away — played at 15 of 15 shows
7. Working Class Man — played at 15 of 15 shows
8. Defiant — played at 14 of 15 shows
9. Shutting Down Our Town — played at 14 of 15 shows
10. Beyond the River Bend — played at 12 of 15 shows
11. Driving Wheels — played at 11 of 15 shows
12. Good Times — played at 11 of 15 shows
13. American Heartbeat — played at 10 of 15 shows
14. Boys Cry Out for War — played at 10 of 15 shows

Before the Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: past Australia/NZ tours at a glance

• Working Class Man 40th Anniversary Tour (2025–2026): 12 Australia/NZ shows — Geelong, Mount Cotton, Pokolbin, Sydney, Hobart, Tanunda, Perth, Moreton Bay, Bowral, Melbourne, Christchurch, Auckland.
• The DEFIANT Tour 2025 (2025): 8 Australia/NZ shows — Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney, Canberra.
• Hell of a Time (2024): 14 Australia/NZ shows — Perth, Mandurah, Melbourne, Warragul, Shepparton, Sydney, Hobart, Tanunda, Adelaide, New Plymouth, Auckland, Christchurch….
• Soul Deep 30 Tour (2022): 6 Australia/NZ shows — Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Auckland.
• Big Red Bash 2022 (2022): 1 Australia/NZ show — Birdsville.
• Red Hot Summer Tour (2022): 5 Australia/NZ shows — Mornington, Pokolbin, Bendigo, Gold Coast, Canberra.
• Shutting Down Your Town Tour (2019): 17 Australia/NZ shows — Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland, Wollongong, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Toowoomba, Brisbane….
• Working Class Man: An Evening of Stories & Songs (2018): 1 Australia/NZ show — Wellington.
• This Is The Rock Show! (2017): 1 Australia/NZ show — Auckland.
• Working Class Boy: An Evening of Stories and Songs (2017): 9 Australia/NZ shows — Invercargill, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, New Plymouth, Mount Maunganui, Hamilton, Auckland.
• 30:30 Hindsight Tour (2014): 4 Australia/NZ shows — Hamilton, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027 and Australia/NZ festivals

Beyond his own tours, Barnes is a fixture of Australia's outdoor summer circuit, much of it under the Red Hot Summer banner. The archive includes Big Red Bash at Birdsville on Thursday 7 July 2022, a show on the Mundi Mundi Plains near Silverton in August 2022, the Adelaide 500 circuit in December 2022, Cockatoo Island in Sydney in October 2022 and racecourse, showground and winery dates from Cairns to Mildura.

In New Zealand he has played summer events at Matakana Country Park, Brewers Field in Mount Maunganui, the Station Village in Lower Hutt and the Riwaka Hotel over New Year 2012-13, two nights at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland in March 2014, Lincoln Domain in March 2018 and the Hutt Recreation Ground in February 2019.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: career and records

James Dixon Barnes was born James Dixon Swan in Glasgow on 28 April 1956 and emigrated to Australia with his family in 1962, growing up in Elizabeth, north of Adelaide. Encouraged by his older brother John Swan, he sang briefly with Fraternity and in 1975 joined the band that became Cold Chisel, with Don Walker, Ian Moss and Steve Prestwich. Between 1978 and 1984 they released five studio albums.

His solo debut Bodyswerve (1984) went to number one, as did For the Working Class Man (1985), which stayed at the top for seven weeks and gave him the anthems 'Working Class Man' and 'I'd Die to Be with You Tonight'. Freight Train Heart (1987), Two Fires (1990) and the soul covers album Soul Deep (1991) followed it to number one, and duets with INXS, John Farnham, Tina Turner and Joe Cocker made him a household name.

After a difficult mid-1990s spent partly in France, Barnes returned with Cold Chisel's reunion in 1998 and kept recording: Double Happiness (2005), The Rhythm and the Blues (2009), 30:30 Hindsight (2014), Soul Searchin' (2016), My Criminal Record (2019), Flesh and Blood (2021) and the Christmas album Blue Christmas (2022) all reached number one. His memoirs Working Class Boy (2016) and Working Class Man (2017) won consecutive Biography of the Year awards.

In 2023 he formed the rockabilly supergroup the Barnestormers with Chris Cheney, Slim Jim Phantom, Jools Holland and Kevin Shirley. His 21st studio album, Defiant, was released in June 2025 and became his 16th solo number one album, giving him 22 number ones including Cold Chisel, the most by any artist in Australian chart history. He was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame with Cold Chisel in 1992 and as a solo artist in 2005.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: a summer of Saturdays in the regions

Every 2027 Red Hot Summer date falls on a Saturday, and every one is in a regional centre or on the edge of a city: the Murray River town of Mannum, Warrnambool on Victoria's south-west coast, Lake Macquarie, Southport, Port Macquarie, the Yarra Valley, Launceston and Wodonga on the Victoria-NSW border.

That is very much Barnes territory. Over the past decade he has played Coffs Harbour, Toowoomba, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Mildura, Shepparton, Warragul, Mandurah, Bendigo, Bowral and Tullamore, often more than once. The 2027 run continues a habit of taking big rock shows to towns that arena tours skip.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: Tasmania and the Launceston date

Tasmania has been a regular stop. The archive shows the Country Club in Launceston in March 2021 and April 2024, the Royal Tasmanian Botanical Gardens in Hobart in March 2021, Wrest Point in Hobart on the Hell of a Time tour in June 2024 and the Regatta Grounds in Hobart on Saturday 17 January 2026, during the 40th anniversary tour.

The Red Hot Summer Tour returns to Launceston on Saturday 27 February 2027, on the Country Club Lawns. It is the only Tasmanian date of the 2027 run.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: New Zealand and the trans-Tasman tours

Barnes has toured New Zealand more thoroughly than most Australian rock acts. The 30:30 Hindsight tour of November 2014 played Claudelands Arena in Hamilton, the ASB Theatre in Auckland, Horncastle Arena in Christchurch and Dunedin Town Hall. In February 2017 the Working Class Boy shows of stories and songs went from Invercargill to Auckland, via Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, New Plymouth, Mount Maunganui and Hamilton.

More recent visits came with Shutting Down Your Town in 2019, Soul Deep 30 in 2022, Hell of a Time in 2024 and the 40th anniversary dates at Wolfbrook Arena in Christchurch on Friday 17 April and Spark Arena in Auckland on Sunday 19 April 2026. No New Zealand concert is announced for 2027.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: South Australia, where it began

Barnes grew up in Elizabeth and Cold Chisel started in Adelaide, so South Australian shows carry weight. Recent visits include the Adelaide Entertainment Centre in 2019 and 2022, Her Majesty's Theatre and the Barossa in July 2024, the AEC Theatre in June 2025 and Peter Lehmann Wines at Tanunda in January 2026.

The 2027 Red Hot Summer Tour opens in South Australia, at Mannum Golf Club on the Murray on Saturday 9 January, as part of Sounds By The River. Barnes played the same golf club in March 2021.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: what to expect live

A full Jimmy Barnes headline show runs to about 22 to 25 songs. At Rod Laver Arena on 10 April 2026 he opened with 'I'd Die to Be With You Tonight' and 'Ride the Night Away', played 'No Second Prize', 'Working Class Man', 'Lay Down Your Guns' and 'Too Much Ain't Enough Love', and closed with Cold Chisel songs including 'Flame Trees', 'Khe Sanh' and 'Goodbye (Astrid Goodbye)'. The Soul Deep 30 shows of 2022 stretched to 28 or 29 songs of soul covers, from 'Hold On, I'm Comin'' to 'River Deep, Mountain High'. Festival and package-tour sets, like those of Red Hot Summer, are usually shorter than his own headline concerts.

Family members have often joined him on stage, including his children Mahalia, Eliza-Jane, Elly-May, Jackie and David Campbell. The list of most-played songs below is drawn from the most recent Australian and New Zealand shows with full set lists.

Exact set lists for the 2027 dates will only be known once the tour begins at Mannum on 9 January 2027.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027 tickets and presales

Tickets for the Red Hot Summer Tour 2027 are sold per date for the whole line-up, through the tour's own official outlet. Member presales ran on 7 and 8 October 2026, and the general sale opened at noon local time on Friday 9 October 2026.

Buy only through the official tour outlet or the outlets it names, expect name-linked mobile tickets, and never pay for a 'presale code'. No solo Jimmy Barnes tour and no New Zealand date is on sale for 2027.

Sign up below for the alert to be told if Barnes adds headline concerts in Australia or New Zealand.

Jimmy Barnes Australia Tour 2027: questions and answers

Is Jimmy Barnes touring Australia in 2027?

Yes, as headliner of the Red Hot Summer Tour 2027: eight Saturday shows from 9 January to 6 March 2027.

Where does the 2027 Red Hot Summer Tour play?

Mannum, Warrnambool, Lake Macquarie (Speers Point Park), Southport (Broadwater Parklands), Port Macquarie, the Yarra Valley (Rochford Wines), Launceston and Wodonga.

Who else is on the Red Hot Summer Tour 2027?

Jon Stevens, Baby Animals, Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe, Chocolate Starfish and Sarah McLeod.

Is Jimmy Barnes playing Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane in 2027?

Not on the announced dates. The nearest are Lake Macquarie (30 January), the Yarra Valley (20 February) and Southport on the Gold Coast (6 February).

Is Jimmy Barnes playing New Zealand in 2027?

No New Zealand date is announced. His last NZ shows were Christchurch on 17 April and Auckland on 19 April 2026.

When are Red Hot Summer 2027 tickets on sale?

The general sale opened at noon local time on Friday 9 October 2026, after member presales on 7 and 8 October.

When did Jimmy Barnes last play Melbourne?

At Rod Laver Arena on Friday 10 April 2026, on the For the Working Class Man 40th anniversary tour.

How many number one albums does Jimmy Barnes have?

Sixteen solo number ones, and 22 including Cold Chisel, an Australian record.

Is there a Jimmy Barnes presale code?

The 2027 presales have already run, so no code is needed now: tickets are sold through the official outlets.