2025 is serving a massive lineup of events and activities in Sydney/Eora to keep your calendar absolutely loaded.
Expect a jam-packed May in Sydney with heaps of food-filled experiences, unique events, bustling markets, theatre shows, a banging roster of live music, and the return of Vivid Sydney 2025.
Here are Urban List's picks for the best things to do in Sydney this week, the rest of May, and further into 2025.
- May 2025 Food Events And Markets
- May 2025 Art, Culture And Exhibitions
- May 2025 Music, Theatre And Film Events
- What's On And Coming Up Near Sydney
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May Food Events And Markets
Taco And Tequila Fiesta
SoCal, 1 Young Street, Neutral Bay | Until Saturday 31 May
Image credit: SoCal | Supplied
Neutral Bay’s groovy Mexican joint SoCal is hosting its beloved month-long Taco & Tequila Fiesta for a seventh spicy year. A boozy Fiesta Launch Party kicks things off on 3 May to celebrate the Cinco De Mayo weekend with flowing Flecha Azul margaritas, street-style tacos and live music all afternoon.
Then, SoCal’s cranking up the heat with a chilli eating contest on 15 May. Enter to win a $200 SoCal voucher or watch on as things get hotter and hotter. If spice ain’t your thing, enter the taco eating competition on 22 May.
Plus, take advantage of food specials every day like $4 taco Tuesdays, $10 wing Wednesdays, $35pp bottomless fajita Fridays and $99pp bottomless fiesta lunches Friday to Sunday. Check out more details and book a table online.
Fresh Harvest Beer Week
Frenchies Bistro and Brewery, 6/61–71 Mentmore Avenue, Rosebery | Monday 5–Saturday 10 May
Image credit: Fresh Harvest Beer Week | Supplied
The massive Fresh Harvest Beer Week is taking over Frenchies Brewing with something on every day. Two new brews are launching on Monday: The Cool Kids Vol. 34—Ryefield WCIPA and Double Phresh IPA, a collaboration with Bemboka-based hop farm Ryefield Hops, and Australia’s first co-op brewery, Hopsters. It’ll be available with matching hop-heavy dishes from Tuesday to Saturday, that you can enjoy with a schooner for $49pp.
Then, a free IPA tasting night offers complimentary beers on Thursday, including the two new brews, alongside the Cryo Nelson Hazy IPA, Giant Sequoia Dark IPA, No Flower West Coast IPA, Pale Ale and Hazy XPA, with a beer quiz and prizes up for grabs.
An IPA tap takeover is shaking things up on Friday, pouring all the aforementioned IPAs from 12pm onwards. It all finishes with a Raclette Night from 7pm on Saturday, where guests can melt premium Swiss cheese on a raclette grill and pour over house-smoked saucisson and cured chorizo, cooked potatoes and pickles for $89pp, including a schooner of the new drop. Tickets are limited, book online here.
Westside Vibe
Dural Lane, Hornsby | Friday 9 May, 4pm–9pm
Image credit: Hornsby Council | Supplied
Hornsby’s Dural Lane is getting a huge makeover with colourful decor, over 15 international food trucks, family-friendly activities, and free live music by local artists over five hours for the Westside Vibe festival. There’ll be a selection of global eats, including cheesy gozleme, plump dumplings, Chinese crepes, Japanese fried chicken, mochi doughnuts, African BBQ sandwiches, gourmet burgers and chilled drinks from a pop-up bar. And bring the kids along for face painting, fairy floss and snow cones. Check out more info here.
Cherry Bomb
Goros, 84-86 Mary Street, Surry Hills | Until Saturday 10 May
Image credit: Goros | Facebook
Cherry Bomb returns to late-night hotspot Goros, bringing Japan’s Cherry Blossom Festival to Sydney for six weeks, transforming the venue into a neon-lit, pink wonderland with Instagrammable sakura installations, glowing lanterns, and buzzing entertainment.
A limited-edition Cherry Bomb menu features pink-themed dishes like watermelon sashimi, tempura prawn bao and deep-fried strawberry ice cream, plus creative cocktails like a Momo Kitty mixing vodka, peach sake, yuzu and green apple.
There’ll also be free karaoke and DJ sets each night, plus the Goros Castle returns—a chaotic games night inspired by the popular Japanese game show Takeshi’s Castle, with wacky competitions, giant ramen-eating challenges, and sumo wrestling with prizes up for grabs. Book online here.
Pyrmont Festival
Pirrama Park, Pirrama Road, Pyrmont | Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May
Image credit: Pyrmont Festival | Tim Pascoe
A massive two-day festival is filling up Pirrama Park with gourmet food, over 100 NSW wines, artisan market stalls and live music across two festival stages. Feast on fresh seafood, fried chicken, dumplings, souvlaki, acai bowls and more from top vendors like Cheeky Naked Oysters and Mighty Bird. Sample vino from renowned winemakers like Petersons Wines and Savannah Estate, or try bold gins and real fruit-infused liqueurs from Scylla Distilling Co.
There’ll also be art classes, outdoor games and face painting to keep the kids busy. And don’t forget to bring your pup along, entry is free for all.
Naturellement
Galleria Ettalong Beach, 189 Ocean View Road, Ettalong Beach | Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May
Image credit: Naturellement | Supplied
Naturellement is a huge food and bev fest that’s heading to the Central Coast with over 120 wine, beer, spirit and non-alc tastings, one-off experiences, live talks, music and masterclasses.
Launched to sell-out success by Mike Bennie (P&V Wine + Liquor Merchants) and Kristy Austin (We Are Neighbourgood) in Newcastle back in 2021, the two-day event brings together 30 small-scale, Aussie winemakers like Sabi Wabi and Majama Wines, plus drops from leading Sydney-based importers Giorgio de Maria and Andrew Guard.
The food lineup boasts names like Alanna Sapwell-Stone (Eltham Hotel, Saint Peter), Jake Kellie (Arkhe, Burnt Ends), Matt Stone (You Beauty, Ciao Mate) and some of the Central Coast's local faves serving up limited-edition dishes.
Three-hour entry tickets are $65, or all-day sessions are $80, and include unlimited wine tastings, and a PLUMM glass to take home. You can also add on masterclasses with Mike Bennie, including an intro to natural wine or a pet nat party. Get tickets online.
$2 Oysters
The Boathouse Group Venues | Throughout May
Image credit: The Boathouse Group | Supplied
Because of cozzie livs, oysters have become a luxe affair. But luckily for us, The Boathouse Group has partnered with Australia's leading producer of world-class Sydney Rocks, East 33, to serve ‘em up on a silver platter for just two bucks.
All month long you can grab $2 freshly shucked oysters from stunning waterfront venues like Manly Pavilion, The Mona Social, Barrenjoey House, The Boathouse Balmoral, The Boathouse Shelly Beach, The Boathouse Rose Bay (Restaurant only), The Boathouse Hotel Patonga and The Boathouse North Wollongong. View more info here.
Butter Ramen Club
6 Hunt St, Surry Hills | From Wednesday 14 May
Image credit: Butter | Supplied
Butter has revived its famed Butter Ramen Club in time for the chilly weather. Coming in hot is their fried chicken ramen, with a fragrant tonkotsu broth, crispy chicken tender, fresh thick-cut ramen noodles, a marinated egg and enoki mushrooms. Alongside the OG will be a host of spicy new flavours in collaboration with hot sauce and fermented condiment experts, The Fermentalists.
Butter's ramen is available for a limited time from Wednesday 14 May, with a limited number of bowls available in store each day for $25 each. We recommend getting in quick, as these are sure to sell out.
Winter Firepit Garden
World Square, 644 George Street, Sydney CBD | Friday 23 May–Saturday 14 June
Image Credit: Winter Firepit Garden | Supplied
World Square is transforming into a free, snow-dusted winter escape featuring firepit tables, a hot chocolate and mulled wine chalet bar, and more than 35,000 free marshmallows for roasting under twinkling fairy lights, right in the heart of the city.
You can cosy up by the fire with QR code ordering from World Square restaurants and retailers like Double Chin Eats, Grill'd and Gami Chicken and Beer, and enjoy the wintery vibes complete with a snow cannon and alpine-inspired decor. Keep the night going with live entertainment 4.30pm–7.30pm on Thursdays and Friday, and 1.30pm–7pm on Saturdays and Sundays. Entry is free, but there are only 10 firepit tables up for grabs, so get in early to experience the ultimate free winter hangout.
May Art, Culture And Exhibitions
Sydney Comedy Festival
Various locations | Until Sunday 18 May
Image credit: Sydney Comedy Festival | Facebook
Perusing the 270+ acts in the Sydney Comedy Festival 20th Anniversary lineup will have you feeling like a kid in a comedy store...
Catch Steph Broadbridge's Breaking in her musical tribute to controversial kangaroo RayGun, enjoy some hanky panky with up-and-comer Jarryd Prain who will break down 50 years of queer hanky codes, Rhys Nicholson and Ruben Kaye will serve homegrown hilarity, or check out the best of this years' international visitors together in one laugh-a-minute lineup at Bondi Pav.
If you're feeling too spoiled for choice, the End of Festival Gala presents the best of the fest wrapped up in a neat little package on the Enmore stage. See the fill lineup and get tickets online.
Australian Heritage Festival
Various locations | Until Sunday 18 May
Image credit: Australian Heritage Festival | Supplied
In its 45th year, the Australian Heritage Festival returns with a massive lineup of over 150 free and ticketed events to celebrate the theme Unearthed, through Australia’s natural, historic and Indigenous heritage. There are exhibitions, food experiences, walking tours, performances, and heaps more to check out across Sydney and beyond.
Highlights include the free family-friendly Cockatoo Island Open Day on 3 May, haunted Sydney pub tours on Thursday 1, 8 and 15 May, the Fashionable Silhouettes exhibition at Parramatta Park, Aboriginal bush tucker tours around the Cadi Jam Ora garden at the Royal Botanic Garden every Thursday to Saturday, and spooky ghost tours around The Rocks. View the full event program here.
Vivid Sydney 2025
Various locations in Sydney | Friday 23 May–Saturday 14 June
Image credit: Vivid Sydney | Supplied
Vivid Sydney returns for its 15th magical year of light shows, immersive art, live music, food and ideas, with the theme of dream. As per usual, vibrant light installations will cover iconic locations around the city, including Circular Quay, Sydney Opera House, Barangaroo, and beyond, with the return of Martin Place (whose last Vivid stint was 2018), and all completely free to attend.
Major highlights include First Nations storytelling at First Light, fiery feasts at the Vivid Fire Kitchen, concerts by Japanese Breakfast and Sigur Rós with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, thought-provoking panels featuring cooking queen Martha Stewart, curated dining experiences by Nigella Lawson, a Stranger Things experience at Luna Park and a 4-metre-long Starscape Tunnel taking over The Goods Line with over 700 stars. Find out more here.
Titanic. The Human Story
Walsh Bay Pier | Until Sunday 6 July
Image Credit: Titanic. The Human Story | Fever Media
After sold-out shows across America, the UK, and Brisbane, Titanic. The Human Story has docked in Sydney. This exhibition commemorates the human experiences aboard the infamous sunken ship. Visitors should expect a unique narrative experience, following the anecdotes of both passengers and crew through original, handwritten letters, photographs, keepsakes, and personal belongings.
Suitable for all ages, this is the perfect rainy-day outing for families and history buffs alike. Tickets start at $49 for adults and $39 for children, and bookings are available here.
May Music, Theatre And Film Events
Young Henrys Presents Rock & Roll Circus
Vic on the Park, 2 Addison Road, Marrickville | Friday 9 May, 7pm
Image credit: Rock & Roll Circus (Body Type) | Supplied
Not only do Young Henrys serve us some of the best brews, but now they're serving an enviable lineup of Aussie musos performing classic covers. A relic of Frankie's Basement, Young Henrys has resuscitated the Rock & Roll Circus formula to give us a night of live music, drag and comedy.
Catch Ruby Fields, Pacific Avenue's Harry O'Brien, The Grates' Patience Hodgeson and many more performing that classic rock number that they've always wanted to sing, backed by the Young Henrys House Band, True Vibenation. It's no three-ring circus, but it will be a five-star Friday. RSVP here to attend.
Red Bull Symphonic with RUEL
Sydney Town Hall, 483 George Street, Sydney | Friday 16 May, 7pm
Bringing together a modern musical artist, a classical music director and a symphonic orchestra sounds like a combination of ingredients that might not work. But if previous iterations of Red Bull Symphonic with Genesis Owusu and rapper Lisi are anything to go by, we can tell you now: it really does.
The latest artist to get the Red Bull Symphonic treatment is dance pop sensation RUEL. With billions of streams, platinum records, and a rap sheet of sold-out world tours, you can expect a performance that combines sonic, visual and conceptual brilliance. Tickets are available online.
In The Next Room, Or The Vibrator Play
New Theatre, 542 King Street, Newtown | Until Saturday 17 May
A new bill in Texas is poised to potentially make it harder to purchase an “obscene device” than a gun. It seems there’s still controversy around our bestie on the bedside table, as sexuality remains a prominent political playing chip. But where did all this buzz begin?
Head to the New this month for Sarah Ruhl’s historical fiction about the early cure for female “hysteria” and the role of personal massagers in male-centric medicine. Without giving too much away, actor Sarah Greenwood assures us: "it's definitely a vibe." Tickets from $25.
Various Characters
Flight Path Theatre, 9/142 Addison Road, Marrickville | Wednesday 7 May-Friday 17 May
Šime Knežević's Various Characters takes us back to western Sydney in 2003, a time that was culturally fraught, especially if you were trying to grow up and find your place in a shifting cultural climate.
Running with similar themes to Aussie favourites like Looking For Alibrandi, the play follows six emotionally isolated characters struggling with their own growing pains, giving us a complex coming-of-age drama that speaks to the lost soul in all of us. Tickets are on sale online.
Heaven
The Loading Dock Theatre, Qtopia Sydney, 301 Forbes Street, Darlinghurst | Wednesday 14-Saturday 31 May
Following sell-out seasons in Dublin, New York, Edinburgh and London, Eugene O'Brien's award-winning Heaven is set to follow suit in its Australian premiere season. A repressed queer desire in husband Mal threatens to unravel an already shaky marriage, and the return of 'the one who got away' prompts a soul-searching struggle for wife Mairead.
Director Kate Gaul says of this complicated portrayal, "I was struck not only by its compassion and laugh-out-loud humour but the dignity with which it presents the lives of people over a certain age…it’s an edge-of-your-seat adventure as the wine and Guinness starts flowing". Tickets are on sale online.
Snarky Puppy
State Theatre, 49 Market Street, Sydney | Friday 16 May, 7:30pm
Five-time Grammy-winning jazz collective Snarky Puppy are celebrating the 10th anniversary of We Like It Here. Amassing over 160 million streams since its release, it's obvious that it's not just a cute name - everyone really likes to hear their unique blend of rhythm & blues, gospel and jazz.
From their formation as a group of friends studying jazz at the University of Texas, to becoming major players at the world's best jazz and blues festivals, the chart-topping troupe has grown into a puppy everyone wants to play with. So grab your tickets early, this will surely be a sell-out sensation. Tickets are available online.
Manon
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House, Bennelong Point, Sydney | Until Saturday 17 May
Image credit: The Australian Ballet | Facebook
Choreographed by Sir Kenneth MacMillan during his tenure as artistic director of The Royal Ballet, Manon is based on Abbé Prévost's 1731 novel about desire, love and betrayal.
Giving this ballet the lavish treatment it deserves, this production features The Australian Ballet's full company and the Opera Australia Orchestra in a feat of technical mastery, opulent staging and raw emotion. Despite critics of the original production decrying its controversial themes, Manon remained a favourite with audiences since its inception, and there's no doubt this latest production will have the same effect on the Sydney/Eora stage. Tickets are available online.
Kofi Stone
Oxford Art Factory, 38/46 Oxford Street, Darlinghurst | Friday 30 May, 7:30pm
Inspired by his grandad's poetry and taking cues from hip hop greats like Lupe Fiasco, UK rapper Kofi Stone has been freestyling since way before his breakthrough 2019 album, Nobody Cares Till Everybody Does.
Now, Stone is stopping in Sydney/Eora as part of his first ever global tour. Audiences at his These Years Are Golden Tour will be treated to tracks from his latest and most vulnerable album, A Man After God's Own Heart. The album has cemented Stone as a storyteller to watch, weaving in themes of love, race, fear and faith. Tickets are available online.
The Wrong Gods
Belvoir St Theatre, 25 Belvoir Street, Surry Hills | Saturday 3 May-Sunday 1 June
Off the back of the overwhelming success of Counting And Cracking, the world premiere of S. Shakthidharan's The Wrong Gods belongs on everyone's 'must-see' list.
Examining the effects of capitalism and the uncomfortable collision of old and new worlds, The Wrong Gods tells the story of a young girl seeking to leave her village, the arrival of a stranger, and familial bonds under pressure. Though epic in its proportions and the issues it tackles, this play uses only four actors and ninety minutes of stage time, condensing world-shifting themes but losing none of the nuance. Tickets are on sale online.
The Lover & The Dumb Waiter
Ensemble Theatre, 78 McDougall Street, Kirribilli | Friday 2 May-Saturday 7 June
Step into a world that blurs the lines between memory and reality, tinged with suspense and a shot of dark humour from Nobel Prize-winning writer, Harold Pinter.
The Lover is a psychological drama that gives conventional marriage a reality check as a couple attempt to reignite their passions. To cleanse the palate, The Dumb Waiter tells the story of two men who can't get their work done because of extravagant demands that come from on high. Together, this double bill of one-act works will be the perfect double dose of Pinter's trademark humour, tension and intrigue. Tickets are available online.
MJ The Musical
Sydney Lyric Theatre, 55 Pirrama Road, Pyrmont | Until Sunday 22 June
Image credit: Sydney Lyric Theatre | Website
Legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson, is brought back to life in the four-time Tony Award-winning MJ The Musical. After mesmerising audiences on Broadway the musical finally arrives at Sydney Lyric Theatre, where MJ’s moves and vocals are flawlessly captured by theatre star Roman Banks in an incredible depiction of the 1992 Dangerous World tour on and off-stage.
Packed with hits like Thriller, Smooth Criminal and Billie Jean—plus plenty of moonwalking and hehes—the musical feels like attending an actual Michael Jackson concert. With tickets starting from $70, you just can’t beat it. Book online here.
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Main image credit: Destination NSW | Henry Li
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