I still can’t shake the thrill of seeing and hearing the Hoodoo Gurus with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra play together under the stars at Melbourne’s iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl on Thursday 29 January 2026. It was one of those performances you end up telling people about long after the encore fades: a rare collision of classic Aussie rock grit with orchestral splendour that felt perfectly suited to a summer evening in Melbourne.
From the moment the lights dimmed and the first sweeping strings opened the show, I knew this wasn’t going to be your standard rock gig. The MSO played a medley of some of the Gurus’ classic hits, before the band themselves came out on stage.
What followed was almost 90 players from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra joining Hoodoo Gurus on stage to play some deep cuts and rarities that had been reworked to include the orchestra, alongside classics like My Girl, Bittersweet, Come Anytime, Death Defying, Like Wow – Wipeout! and 1000 Miles Away, The songs were given new life, as the familiar riffs and hooks were reimagined with depth and drama that only a full symphony can provide.
I had seats towards the front which provided a great view and no problems with hearing the band and the orchestra at the same time (some reports on social media indicated the orchestra drowned the band out for some people, I suspect this is dependent on where you are seated at the Bowl). Towards the back there were a few thousand people chilling on picnic rugs with cold drinks, and the atmosphere was as relaxed as it was electric.
It was evident to me that the band and orchestra had found their groove together, and the result was pure magic. By the second half, the arrangements really opened up, with the brass and strings lifting every chorus to epic heights and giving the songs a cinematic sweep that suited the Bowl’s open-air setting.
The Gurus themselves were in their element, frontman Dave Faulkner’s voice cutting through the lush orchestration with ease, while bassist Rick Grossman and guitarist Brad Shepherd locked in tight with the orchestral swells rather than competing with them.
As the night wound toward a finale, it was easy to forget you weren’t at a classical concert or a rock show, but somewhere in that beautiful boundary between the two. The Bowl’s iconic canopy framed the stage perfectly, and the city lights twinkling beyond made it feel unmistakably Melbourne.
If you’ve ever wondered what it might sound like to hear legendary Aussie rock anthems dressed in symphonic glory, this was the night that answered the question in full. I left buzzing, already hoping this isn’t the last time the Gurus and the MSO share a stage like that.
