The Avalanches are heading back to the Sydney Opera House, and this time they’re taking over the Forecourt.
The Australian electronic pioneers will play beneath the sails on Sunday, March 7, 2027, bringing a career-spanning set to the Opera House’s biggest outdoor stage with Australian-born, London-based producer HAAi joining as special guest.
The Sydney show forms part of a six-date Australian tour across February and March 2027, including a hometown appearance at Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens on Friday, March 5 as part of Live at the Gardens. It marks a major return to Australian stages for a band entering another particularly busy chapter.
For Sydney, though, the Forecourt debut carries some history. The Avalanches previously played the Opera House Studio for Vivid LIVE in 2011 before returning to the Northern Broadwalk in 2017. A decade later, they’re stepping onto one of the city’s most spectacular outdoor stages.
They arrive with new music too. Fourth album No Bad Memories lands October 16, their first album in six years and the latest mutation of a sound built from samples, fragments and unlikely collisions.
The sprawling 31-track record brings another formidable guest list into The Avalanches’ orbit, including Jamie xx, Karen O, John Glacier, Rivers Cuomo, Panda Bear, Barry Can’t Swim, Ryoji Ikeda, Haruomi Hosono and Mike Patton. Recent singles have already paired the band with Jamie xx on Every Single Weekend and Karen O on Blue Shadows, alongside collaborations with Nikki Nair, Jessy Lanza, Prentiss, Portraits of Tracy, John Glacier and Khadija Al Hanafi.
More than 25 years have passed since Since I Left You turned thousands of samples into one of Australian electronic music’s defining records. Wildflower followed in 2016 and We Will Always Love You in 2020, with The Avalanches continuing to stretch sampling across hip hop, disco, psychedelia and pop rather than attempting to recreate their debut.
Their live activity has been ramping up too, with appearances at Primavera Sound Barcelona and two sold-out shows at London’s Roundhouse. Back in Sydney, a surprise Club 77 appearance had fans lining the Darlinghurst street hoping to squeeze into the tiny venue. The Opera House Forecourt presents the opposite proposition.
HAAi should prove a potent addition to the Australian dates. Her collision of club music, experimental electronics and shifting tempos has taken her from Coachella and Glastonbury to dancefloors around the world, while new club record DIGITiSE arrives October 9.
The six Australian shows put The Avalanches firmly back on home ground in 2027, but Sydney gets something that hasn’t happened before: the band, the harbour and the Opera House sails towering above them.
For music built by pulling sounds apart and assembling them somewhere unexpected, it’s a fitting place for The Avalanches to make some new memories.
THE AVALANCHES – SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE
Sunday 7 March 2027
Sydney Opera House Forecourt, Sydney
Gates: 6pm
Tickets: $122.90 + booking fee
Insiders pre-sale: Tuesday 29 September, 9am AEST
What’s On pre-sale: Wednesday 30 September, 9am AEST
Artist pre-sale: Friday 2 October, 9am AEST
General public on sale: Tuesday 6 October, 9am AEST
MELBOURNE
THE AVALANCHES
with special guest HAAi
Friday 5 March 2027
Live at the Gardens
Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne, VIC
Licensed All Ages
Pre-sale: Friday 2 October, 9am local time
General public on sale: Tuesday 6 October, 9am local time
Tickets HERE
OTHER AUSTRALIAN DATES
Saturday 27 February – Perth Festival, East Perth Power Station, Perth – NEW SHOW
Sunday 28 February – Perth Festival, East Perth Power Station, Perth – SOLD OUT
Thursday 4 March – Hindley St Music Hall, Adelaide
Saturday 6 March – On The Banks, Brisbane
Tickets HERE
