Dust off the flannie. Find that Odyssey Number Five CD you swore you’d never part with (check the glovebox, under the parking fines). The Powderfinger Encore Run has just been announced, featuring nine extra shows across Melbourne, Hobart, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane in November and December 2027.
And Adelaide? Hold that thought.
If you missed out the first time, you had plenty of company. More than 300,000 tickets for the first 26 shows sold out in just six days. Every city. Every show. Gone. A lot of us lost a week of our lives staring at a queue page and muttering at a little walking-person icon. This is the second chance, and the band have made it clear it’s the last one. The Encore Run is the final batch of Powderfinger tour locations to be announced for 2027.
What is the Powderfinger Encore Run?
It’s the cherry on top of a reunion that kicked off with cryptic billboards and giant light projections popping up at landmarks around the country. Fans cracked the code fast (we’re nothing if not dedicated when early-2000s nostalgia is on the line) and the tour news went off like a frog in a sock.
The Encore Run adds nine shows. Hobart and Canberra are brand new, and locals there were, let’s say, quite vocal about being left off the first run. Melbourne gets two more nights at Melbourne Park Oval, where the band’s stadium-sized tent is going back up. Perth gets two at Sandalford Estate, which is a winery, so plan your designated driver now. Then Brisbane closes it out with two festival-style shows at the Brisbane Showgrounds.
The very last show, Saturday 11 December, is an all-Brisbane lineup. Powderfinger, Violent Soho, Ball Park Music, Thelma Plum and Full Flower Moon Band, all Brissy acts, all on one bill. A proper hometown send-off. If you’ve got a drop of Queensland blood in you, that’s the one I’d be fighting for.
When do Powderfinger Encore Run tickets go on sale?
Set your alarms. This is happening next week.
- PRESALES: Wednesday 4 November, 10am local time. You need to sign up at powderfinger.com to get access.
- GENERAL PUBLIC ON-SALE: Thursday 5 November, 11am local time.
Tickets are available until allocation runs out. Going by round one, that won’t take long.
Here’s the bit that’ll catch people out. On-sale times are local to each show. So if you’re in Adelaide buying for Melbourne, 10am AEDT is 9:30am our time. Brisbane’s 10am AEST is 10:30am here, because Queensland still refuses daylight saving. And Perth’s 10am AWST? That’s 1:30pm in Adelaide. Nobody wants to log in at 10am for Perth and find a locked page … or log in for Melbourne at 10 and realise half of Victoria got a 30-minute head start.
Powderfinger Encore Run dates and support acts
The band have hand-picked an all-Aussie support lineup, mixing big names with some excellent up-and-comers. Here’s who’s playing where.
Melbourne, Melbourne Park Oval
Friday 5 November and Saturday 6 November
Something For Kate and The Belair Lip Bombs
Hobart, Cornelian Bay Oval
Saturday 13 November: DMA’S, Thelma Plum and Full Flower Moon Band
Sunday 14 November: John Butler Trio, The Preatures and Luca Brasi
Perth, Sandalford Estate
Saturday 20 November: Ocean Alley, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers and Carla Geneve
Sunday 21 November: Ocean Alley, South Summit and Banjo Lucia
Canberra, Stage 88
Saturday 4 December: Violent Soho, Something For Kate and Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers
Brisbane, Brisbane Showgrounds
Friday 10 December: The Living End, You Am I and Special Features
Saturday 11 December: Violent Soho, Ball Park Music, Thelma Plum and Full Flower Moon Band
Hobart’s Sunday is sneakily brilliant, by the way. John Butler Trio, The Preatures and Powderfinger, by the water in Tassie, in late spring. Someone book me a flight.
If you scored tickets to one of the original 26 shows, you’re still waiting on your support acts. Those are still being finalised and will be announced soon. In the band’s words, “it’s a lot!”
Already bought tickets interstate? Hobart and Canberra, this one’s for you
Plenty of Tassie and ACT fans already bit the bullet and booked a show on the mainland. Flights, accommodation, someone to feed the dog. The works.
If that’s you, and you manage to get tickets to your hometown show, you can request a refund on your original event tickets. The band will share how to do that once the new shows are on sale, so keep an eye on powderfinger.com and the updated FAQs. Just note it covers your original event tickets. Your Qantas booking is between you and Qantas.
Can kids go to Powderfinger concerts?
Yes. All shows are all ages, which is great news if you’ve raised a teenager on These Days in the car. There are a few rules, though.
- We strongly recommend that anyone 14 and under buy a seated or Rear GA ticket, subject to availability. So maybe don’t launch your 12-year-old into the front section.
- All patrons under 18 must be with a responsible adult aged 18 or over.
- That adult needs their own valid ticket. Don’t drop them at the gate and head to the pub. Tempting, I know.
Honestly, there’s something gorgeous about a 16-year-old hearing My Happiness live next to a parent who first heard it on a Discman. They’ll act embarrassed. They’ll know every word by the second chorus.
Adelaide, hang in there
Mum Central HQ is in Adelaide, so we read this announcement with one eye squinting. Our Adelaide shows from the first run sold out like everywhere else, and I’m one of the lucky ones holding tickets (yes, I’m smug, no, I won’t stop). But plenty of you missed out, and the Encore Run doesn’t add a single extra Adelaide date.
Then you get to the P.S. of the band’s note to fans. “Adelaide fans, you haven’t been forgotten. Hang in there!” Followed by the side-eye emoji.
Are we reading too much into a side-eye emoji? Probably. Are we going to stop? Absolutely not. If you missed out the first time round, sign up at powderfinger.com and keep your phone charged. We’ll be watching it like it’s the last Kmart air fryer on special.
How to give yourself the best shot at tickets
Going by the official FAQ from the first run, here’s how to play it.
- Sign up at powderfinger.com today. One sign-up covers every show, and doubling up won’t help (they filter duplicates).
- Set up your My Ticketmaster account now, with email, phone and billing details current. Ticketmaster is the only authorised seller, so ignore anything you see on Facebook Marketplace or resale sites before Wednesday.
- Join the waiting room up to 30 minutes early. One browser, one device. Multiple tabs for different shows is fine. Multiple tabs for the same show is not.
- Do not refresh. I know. It goes against every instinct you have. But it can boot you out of the queue or get you flagged as a bot.
- Give your bank a heads-up so they don’t decline a big concert purchase as fraud.
- Maximum of 8 tickets per show. Sort out the group chat before Wednesday so nobody gets cancelled for going over.
- Double-check the time zone. Adelaide, I’m looking at you (and me).
Tickets are mobile-only, and your barcode won’t show up until 7 days before the show, so don’t panic if the app looks empty.
Also worth knowing for the families angle: there’s an Auslan interpreter, a quiet space at the medical tent, and the tour’s charity partner is Mission Australia. Happy to add a line on any of those if you want it.
Right. I’m off to find the flannie. If you spot a mum at the Brisbane Showgrounds crying through Sunsets with her teenager pretending not to know her, mind your business.
