Red Hot Summer Tour 2026: Barnesy hits Newcastle

The Red Hot Summer Tour is back on the Newcastle calendar, and the 2026 stop is shaping up to be a big one. Jimmy Barnes headlines the bill, and the Newcastle show is locked in for Saturday 28 November at Speers Point Park in Lake Macquarie. Gates open at 12:30 pm and the music kicks off at 1:15 pm, so it's a full day out rather than an evening gig. The one thing worth knowing early is that the Newcastle show is already sold out, so if you haven't got a ticket, you'll be keeping an eye on the secondary market rather than the box office.

Barnes is the obvious draw. He's been singing since his Cold Chisel days and has since built a solo career that's hard to top, with 48 platinum certifications for his solo work and another 20 for Cold Chisel as of 2019. He also holds the record for the most number-one albums in Australia, at 16. The rest of the line-up reads like a who's who of Australian music: Australian Crawl, Men at Work, Birds of Tokyo, Vika & Linda, Eskimo Joe, Boom Crash Opera, and Ella Hooper. There's a bit of history tucked in there too, because James Reyne, Simon Binks, and David Reyne are all performing, marking the first time in more than 40 years that three original members of Australian Crawl share the stage. Australian Crawl formed in Melbourne around 1978 or 1979 and were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 1996. Men at Work, also from Melbourne, are best known for 'Down Under', while Birds of Tokyo bring the Perth alternative rock sound.

Because it's a sold-out show, it's worth knowing how the day works. It's strictly 18 plus, so no under-18s on site. The line-up runs through the afternoon and evening: Dragon from 2:20 pm to 3:10 pm, Choirboys from 3:30 pm to 4:15 pm, Rose Tattoo from 4:45 pm to 5:30 pm, Baby Animals from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, Jon Stevens from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm, and Suzi Quatro closing things out from 9:00 pm onwards. On price, other 2026 shows sit between A$159 and A$249, though the specific price for the sold-out Newcastle show isn't listed.

Getting in and out is the part that needs a bit of planning. Pattern Parking runs shuttles from the Park Road and Macquarie Fields car parks, and there's limited parking at the boat ramp car park reserved for disability access, with an accessible viewing area about 40 metres from the stage. Shared transport pick-up and drop-off points are also at the boat ramp car park. On what you can bring, camping chairs, sealed non-carbonated water bottles, rain ponchos, and non-professional cameras are fine. Picnic blankets, alcohol, umbrellas, glass, metal cutlery, shade structures, tents, bicycles, scooters, trolleys and pets are not. There's a 'no Pass Out' policy, and bags get inspected at the gate. It's an outdoor event and goes ahead rain or shine, so a poncho is a smart thing to pack.

If you're chasing a ticket, the tour's other dates are filling fast. The Australian Crawl and Men At Work edition plays Roche Estate in the Hunter Valley on Saturday 31 October, and other stops like Toowoomba, Sandstone Point, Berry, Manly, Coolangatta, Ballarat, Mornington and Sandalford Wines are either sold out or selling fast. A Paul Kelly edition of the tour ran earlier in the year across a long list of regional towns, and the 2027 edition is already taking shape with Jon Stevens, Birds of Tokyo, Eskimo Joe, Baby Animals, Chocolate Starfish and Sarah McLeod.