Experience Laufey live in concert in Sydney on 7 August 2026 at Qudos Bank Arena. Expect jazz-pop, bossa nova, string arrangements and songs from A Matter Of Time, with Leonie Biney opening the evening. Plan your ticket purchase and arrive early for the full program
Laufey in Sydney: jazz-pop in an arena format
Laufey is coming to Sydney with the "A Matter Of Time" tour at a moment when her combination of jazz harmonies, classical music, bossa nova and contemporary pop storytelling has grown from theatre halls into large arenas. The concert at Qudos Bank Arena, a venue now operating under the name Afterpay Arena, takes place on Friday, 7 August 2026, and is the first of two consecutive evenings in Sydney.
The current production has been conceived as a stage world in which orchestral scenes, more intimate jazz-club moments, ballet inspiration and visual motifs of time alternate. At its centre remain Laufey's deep, soft vocal and her ability to reduce a song in a large arena back to the feeling of a conversation with the audience.
Tickets for this event are in demand. During her previous visit to Australia in 2024, Laufey sold out the tour, including a performance at the Sydney Opera House, and her return in 2026 brings her largest performances in this part of the world.
A tour accompanying a new phase of her career
"A Matter Of Time" is Laufey's third studio album and a work that has further expanded her musical language. The album was released in August 2025, and at the 2026 Grammy Awards it won the award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. This marked Laufey's second victory in the same category, following the album "Bewitched".
Her music continues to begin with standards, string arrangements and melodies reminiscent of classical Hollywood, but the new material sounds more emotionally unsettled. Alongside romantic warmth, anger, anxiety, doubt and fear of the passage of time appear. In songs such as "Silver Lining", "Lover Girl", "Tough Luck" and "Snow White", the elegant surface often conceals sharper lyrics.
In April 2026, the expanded edition "A Matter Of Time: The Final Hour" arrived. It brings four new songs and a total of 19 tracks, and thematically closes the album cycle with a story about accepting uncertainty and finding peace after emotional turmoil. "Madwoman" and "How I Get" belong to this later phase of the project.
The songs for which Laufey is best known
The wider audience most often associates Laufey with the song "From The Start", a bossa nova pop single that became one of her strongest connections with younger listeners. Long-time fans respond just as strongly to "Valentine", "Promise", "Let You Break My Heart Again", "Bewitched", "Falling Behind" and "Goddess".
Performances so far on the "A Matter Of Time" tour have combined songs from the new album with selections from "Bewitched" and the debut album "Everything I Know About Love". The exact setlist in Sydney may change, so it is not reasonable to promise any individual song in advance. Nevertheless, the course of the tour so far shows that the new album carries the evening's dramatic structure, while older compositions serve as emotional points of recognition.
What the concert looks like live
Reports from performances in Houston, London, Berlin and Perth describe a production divided into several acts. The opening uses motifs of a clock, a castle and a fairytale stage, after which the concert moves closer to the audience through a jazz-club segment on an extended section of the stage. Later sections use motifs of a carousel, an old film musical and classical ballet.
Such a framework suits Laufey well because she is not a performer who relies only on her voice and pre-recorded accompaniment. During concerts, she plays guitar, piano and cello, while string players, the band and dancers change the colour of the songs. Some compositions receive broad, almost cinematic arrangements, while others are reduced to a few instruments and a vocal.
At a recent performance in Perth, a large part of the audience consisted of younger listeners and members of Generation Z, but Laufey's repertoire is not limited to a single age group. Fans of traditional pop, jazz standards, film music and classical instruments can recognise a familiar musical grammar, while younger audiences respond to contemporary lyrics about falling in love, insecurity and growing up.
Seats are disappearing quickly, especially when the tour brings together long-time fans and an audience that discovered Laufey through "From The Start" and the new album.
Leonie Biney opens the evening
Leonie Biney has been confirmed as the opening performer for the Australian and New Zealand leg of the tour. She is an alternative singer-songwriter whose sound moves between bedroom pop, dream pop and gentler indie pop. Her lyrics focus on falling in love, breakups and the insecurities of growing up, so they naturally connect with Laufey's repertoire.
Biney attracted attention with the song "Beach Song (Demo)" and the EP "It Could Have Been Nice". For audience members who arrive earlier, she provides an opportunity to hear a performer with a more intimate singer-songwriter approach before the stage opens up to a larger orchestral production.
The starting time of her set has not been published in the sources used for this guide. For that reason, it is worth arriving sufficiently early rather than relying only on the time Laufey is expected to take the stage.
Who will find the concert particularly interesting
The concert will most directly appeal to fans who have followed Laufey since the EP "Typical Of Me" and the album "Everything I Know About Love". For them, the arena will offer an opportunity to see how chamber-like songs have been reworked for a larger stage.
It is equally interesting for audience members who rarely attend jazz concerts but enjoy classic film ballads, bossa nova or contemporary pop with prominent instrumental arrangements. Laufey does not reconstruct a jazz club from the past. She connects the harmonies and elegance of older styles with the language of modern relationships and the internet generation.
At previous performances, fans arrived wearing dresses, bows, lace, floral details and handmade crowns. Dressing according to that aesthetic is not a requirement, but it shows how actively the audience participates in the world of the tour.
Qudos Bank Arena and the feeling of a large stage
The venue in Sydney Olympic Park opened in 1999 for the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Today, it can accommodate up to 21,000 visitors, depending on the event configuration, and is the largest indoor arena for entertainment and sporting programmes in Australia.
For Laufey, the transition into such a venue is important because it shows how much her audience has grown since her earlier theatre tours. The "A Matter Of Time" production uses an extended stage and smaller performance sections to bring part of the programme closer to the centre of the floor. Reviews from other arenas particularly emphasise that the jazz-club segment retains a feeling of closeness even when the stands are full.
- Name used in the event announcement: Qudos Bank Arena
- Current name of the venue: Afterpay Arena
- Address: 19 Edwin Flack Avenue, Sydney Olympic Park NSW 2127
- Maximum capacity: up to 21,000 visitors, depending on the configuration
- Distance from Sydney's central business district: approximately 17 kilometres west
- Nearest railway station: Olympic Park, about a five-minute walk from the arena
Ticket sales for this event are ongoing. When choosing a seat, it is useful to consider whether you want a more direct view of the performer and instrumentalists or a broader view of the set design, dancers and projections.
Arriving by train, bus, ferry or car
The simplest public transport option for many visitors is the train to Olympic Park station. The arena states that trains between Lidcombe and Olympic Park run at intervals of approximately ten minutes under the regular timetable, and the station is about a five-minute walk away. For the return journey after the concert, the timetable should be checked on the same day because finishing times and additional services may change according to events taking place within the complex.
Bus routes also operate to Sydney Olympic Park. Passengers using the ferry can travel to Wentworth Point, from where bus route 526 connects the wharf with the Olympic Park area. A taxi rank is located on Herb Elliott Avenue near the Pullman hotel.
For those arriving by car, the complex has more than 10,000 parking spaces. The P1 car park is located beside the arena and accommodates more than 3,300 vehicles, while other car parks are generally within a ten-minute walk. The arena recommends reserving parking by midnight on the day before the event. On days with multiple events, free buses may operate between active car parks and the arena.
Sydney Olympic Park is a large complex, so the final few hundred metres may take longer than the map suggests. Congestion forms at security checks, at car park entrances and after the programme ends. Arriving earlier leaves enough time to find the entrance, check the seating section and listen to the opening performer.
Starting time and entry into the arena
The event announcement lists an 8:00 p.m. start, while the arena's page for both evenings lists 7:30 p.m. as the time printed on the ticket. Because of this 30-minute difference, visitors should follow the time shown on their own ticket and check updated information immediately before arriving. The door-opening time and the precise schedule of individual performances have not been confirmed in the sources used.
The arena requests early arrival because of security screening. Visitors aged 15 or younger must be accompanied by an adult. Backpacks are not permitted, and strict size restrictions apply to bags. Because the dimensions listed on the current pages differ, the safest option is to bring a very small bag and check the entry conditions again before departure.
The venue is cashless, so a card or phone is used to purchase food, drinks and other products. Re-entry is not permitted after leaving. Strobe lighting, artificial fog and laser effects have been announced for this concert, which is important for visitors who are sensitive to such stimuli.
Practical preparation before departure
- Check the exact time on your own ticket because of the difference between 7:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m.
- Plan to arrive sufficiently early for the security screening and Leonie Biney's performance.
- Do not bring a backpack and limit yourself to a very small bag.
- Prepare a card or contactless payment because the arena does not accept cash.
- Share tickets with members of your group before arriving.
- For the return journey by public transport, check the evening timetable on the day of the concert.
- If you are arriving by car, arrange parking in advance and note the car park designation.
Sydney as the final stop of the Australian leg
The concert on 7 August comes after performances in Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne and Brisbane. Sydney receives two consecutive evenings, 7 and 8 August, before the tour concludes in Auckland on 12 August. Friday is therefore the beginning of the final weekend of the Australian leg of the tour, rather than an isolated one-off performance.
For visitors who are travelling, Sydney Olympic Park functions as a separate destination west of the city centre. Accommodation within the complex itself simplifies departure after the concert, while staying in the central business district provides more city amenities but requires planning the evening return journey. The key consideration is not only the distance, but also the schedule of the final services and the time needed to leave a full arena.
Sources:
- Laufey - tour schedule, Sydney dates and confirmation of Leonie Biney.
- Afterpay Arena - date, time printed on the ticket, entry rules, effects, address and information about the arena.
- Afterpay Arena Getting Here - distance from central Sydney, railway station and travel options.
- Afterpay Arena Parking - car park capacities and reservation recommendation.
- Recording Academy - Grammy Awards for the albums "Bewitched" and "A Matter Of Time".
- Laufey Music - information about the release of "A Matter Of Time: The Final Hour".
- Associated Press and TIME - musical direction and thematic context of the album "A Matter Of Time".
- Houston Chronicle, Taped Magazine, The Unseen and Sheldon Ang Media - descriptions of the production and experiences from previous tour performances.
- Vogue - stage outfits, ballet inspiration and the jazz-club section of the production.
- Frontier Touring - progression of the Australian and New Zealand leg of the tour.
- YouTube Music and When The Horn Blows - Leonie Biney's musical profile and releases.