Program Announcement
States’s best on the menu as Taste announces this year’s program, more live music and festival app
Taste of Summer will put Tasmanian produce at the heart of its food offering this summer, with more than 85+ food and drink stalls and 120+ live music on the line-up as the program is revealed.
The full program for Tasmania’s annual summer celebration has today (Thursday 15 October) been revealed, giving an early look at what’s to come across eight days of food, drinks, live music and entertainment – including Sneaky Sound System and Hot Dub Time Machine joining the lineup – when it returns to Hobart from 27 December to 3 January.
For the first time, Taste will have its own mobile app, making it easier than ever to explore the festival on the go. The app will be available for download in coming weeks and feature every stallholder, entertainment schedules across multiple stages and key festival locations, all pinned to an interactive map so attendees can easily find their way around the waterfront.
“We’re expecting around 100,000 people to attend Taste this year, and with so much to eat, drink and see across eight days, the Taste app gives people an easy way to explore what’s happening, find their favourite food and drink and navigate their way around the festival,” said Taste of Summer General Manager Katharine Dean.
“This year’s program really reflects what Taste is all about: bringing people together to enjoy summer in Tasmania, celebrating the people, businesses and producers who make this state such a great place to live, visit and eat.”
From the freshest seafood sourced from Tasmanian waters to both wild harvested and farmed meat raised by Tasmanian farmers and perfectly ripe summer fruits plucked out of Tasmanian orchards, this year's food and drink line-up will showcase the extraordinary breadth of Tasmania’s world class produce. Over 40% of the stallholders are from outside Greater Hobart, with regional Tasmania represented from the Huon and Derwent valleys to the East Coast, North and North West.
This year, Taste of Summer is putting greater focus on provenance and the local supply chains behind the food served at the festival through an initiative, Provenance Partnership, to recognise vendors that make a genuine commitment to sourcing Tasmanian ingredients and choosing local suppliers wherever possible and champion them through the dishes they serve.
There will be 22 Provenance Partner stalls – SEE HERE –, each of which proudly source more than 80% of their ingredients and produce from the island, with the stallholders provided with a two-year commitment at Taste and showcase the Tasmanian producers and suppliers behind their dishes on their festival menu, allowing visitors to discover exactly where the ingredients in their food have come from within the island.
“Most meat can't be traced past the processor. In the Provenance Partnership, we trace it to the farm and back that farm for at least two years, along with the growers and producers of our fruit, vegetables, nuts, oils, dairy, seafood and more. We are working together to build stronger links between stalls, producers and local food systems, which matters because our community relies on biodiversity, local knowledge and fair value chains, which we know are under pressure from climate change and market concentration,” said Taste of Summer Food & Drink Curator, Jo Cook.
The Provenance Partners are part of the line-up of more than 80 food and drink vendors across the festival, with the wider 2026 line-up featuring a mix of returning favourites, and 17 new stallholders.
The food and drink program will feature new additions including FLAKEY, a bakery showcasing baked goods from 11 Tasmanian bakers, and a dedicated Sparkling Wine Bar by BudBurst, celebrating Tasmania’s renowned cool-climate sparkling wine industry.
“With Flakey, I've curated a bakery that invites small business bakers of excellence into Taste of Summer, so they can concentrate on what they do best rather than manage a stall on their own,” Jo added.
Joining the Taste team as Assistant Food & Drink Curator, Sam Bray brings his extensive experience to the festival to produce a program of masterclasses and unique food and drink experiences, which will be announced ahead of the festival when single day tickets go on sale.
Joining the stacked line-up of 120+ live music and entertainment acts on from midday to late daily, Sneaky Sound System and Hot Dub Time Machine will bookend this year’s festival, with Sneaky Sound System closing out the first day of Taste on Sunday 27 December and Hot Dub Time Machine wrapping up the festival on Sunday 3 January.
Sneaky Sound System has been a fixture of Australia’s electronic music scene for more than two decades, with the Sydney duo behind hits including I Love It, UFO and Pictures kicking off the eight-day program, bringing their live show to the Taste main stage on opening day.
Hot Dub Time Machine, the DJ project of Tom Loud known for its chronological journey through decades of music, moving from classic tracks through to modern dancefloor favourites, will bring the festival to a close on 3 January, rounding out the summer program with a set built for the final night.
The full 2026 Taste of Summer program can be found https://www.tasteofsummer.com.au/
Taste of Summer is supported by the Tasmanian Government through Events Tasmania, and proudly brought to the life from the support of partners City of Hobart, TasPorts, Clover Hill, 7K Distillery, Hobart Airport, RACT, IGA Tasmania, e&s, Cascade Brewery Co., Derwent Estate, Willie Smiths, Hartz, Salters Hire, The Old Woolstore, 4ONE4 Property Co., TasmaNet and Steadfast Taswide.
Taste of Summer is held in Hobart, Tasmania on 27 December 2026 – 3 January 2027. Tickets are on sale and can be purchased, HERE.