National festival of barbershop harmony with a national competition, Harmony Academy workshops and the Pan Pacific Youth Dream Chorus.
Barbershop Harmony Australia is bringing the Barbershop Harmony Festival to NEX in Newcastle West from Wednesday 21 October to Wednesday 28 October 2026. It's the national festival for BHA, the body that looks after barbershop harmony across the country, and it's built around a national competition that pits choruses and quartets against one another at regional and national levels, with gold medallists moving on to the international stage. The contest itself runs from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 October, so that's the main event if you're coming for the singing.
There's more to it than just the competition, though. Alongside the contest, the festival runs Harmony Academy, an education programme led by guest educators, and the Pan Pacific Youth Dream Chorus. BHA describes the whole thing as a celebration of live a cappella that brings together performers, music lovers and curious newcomers from across Australia, with workshops and the energy of close-harmony singing at its core. If you're not competing, you can still get involved with the workshops and the academy side of things.
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It's a full week of singing, so you can drop in for the contest days or stick around for the workshops and the academy sessions. The whole thing is held at NEX, 309 King St, Newcastle West NSW 2302, and runs from Wednesday 21 October to Wednesday 28 October, with the National Contest taking place from Thursday 22 to Saturday 24 October.
