The immersive concert will debut in August, part of a milestone program that marks a decade of Beaker Street Festival.

Each winter, Hobart reminds us that the so-called “off-season" is anything but dormant. When Beaker Street Festival returns this year, the city will once again transform into a playground for curious minds – blending science, art and big ideas.

The 12-day program is enough to compel even the Vitamin D-deficient down south. But leading the charge is VAST – Where Sound Meets the Cosmos, a boundary-pushing concert that may just become the festival’s most talked-about event of 2026.

What is VAST?

Created exclusively for Beaker Street Festival, VAST is a concert experience unlike anything you’ve seen before. The immersive work forgoes the structure of a traditional performance, transforming Hobart’s Theatre Royal into a 360-degree sonic universe of live sound using a bespoke spatial‑audio system.

Upon entering the heritage building, guests will be instantly surrounded by more than 120 voices and 80 instrumentalists that swirl invisibly through the air. The experience is guided entirely by sound, with audiences encouraged to follow their auditory intuition. What you hear depends on where you’re positioned in the theatre, from the dress circle to the gallery and stalls, meaning no two seats will sound the same.

VAST is the brainchild of Tasmanian composer Constantine Koukias, who has developed the show alongside Dutch sound designer Willem van Erven Dorens and an international ensemble of musicians and vocalists. Each member is a master of their craft – from piano and violin to soprano and tenor – creating a truly powerful performance.

“I imagine the audience hanging weightless in the dark, drifting between unseen galaxies while their own heartbeat quietly locks into the music’s undertow. It isn’t a spectacle to look at, but a vastness you disappear into," says Koukias.

Inspired by dark energy, the multi-layered experience summons similar vibes to Dark Mofo, another beloved staple of Tasmania’s booming cultural calendar. These winter festivals are all about embracing what many Aussies label as “the off-season", proving time and again that the absence of sunshine doesn’t equal social shutdown. Here, the cooler months are not just part of the experience; they shape it.

More about Beaker Street Festival

VAST is just the beginning of Beaker Street’s expansive and mind-bending 2026 program. After 10 years of operation, this year’s ‘Second Act’ theme indicates a bold new chapter for the festival.

“A decade in, we’re redefining and reimagining," says founder, creative director and CEO of Beaker Street Festival, Dr Margo Adler. “At a time of reckoning and reinvention for humanity, this year’s theme is a provocation to interrogate our assumptions, invite debate, ask harder questions and reaffirm our connection with each other in real life. Oh, and have some fun too."

While the official program is yet to be released, previous years hint at a schedule that is sure to please. In 2025, over 70 events unfolded across venues throughout Hobart, from pub trivia and panel talks to immersive field trips and after-dark adventures.

Arguably the biggest highlight was Hobartica, an immersive polar precinct that transformed the city’s waterfront. Those in attendance were treated to night markets, ice pits, polar plunges, food trucks, art installations, live music performances and more. Loyal festivalgoers are keeping everything crossed for its return in 2026.

Guests will also have the opportunity to speak with experts from the fields that fascinate them most. Think astrophysicists, biologists, photographers, computer scientists and naturalists, as well as local Palawa who hold deep cultural knowledge and connection to Country.

“Events will unfold in theatres, museums, bars, nightclubs and public spaces," says Dr Adler. “Expect dark-energy music experiments, Antarctic encounters, conversations on psychedelics and neuroplasticity, cold case criminology, fermentation feasts, music, markets and late-night moments that stretch well beyond the lecture hall."

The details

Keen to get amongst it? I thought so. VAST – Where Sound Meets the Cosmos lands at Hobart’s Theatre Royal on 12 August 2026, with the immersive concert experience kicking off at 8pm. Tickets are on sale now, priced between $30–$80 depending on where you choose to sit.

Beaker Street Festival will take over the city from 6–17 August, with satellite events also staged around Tasmania. As for the rest of this year’s program, you’ll have to wait until May – but like any scientific endeavour, a little bit of theorising is always encouraged.

In Dr Adler’s words, “It’s about staying curious, staying brave and inviting audiences from across Australia to experience something they can’t find anywhere else. In Tasmania in winter, science isn’t something you observe, it’s something you step inside."