Australian Music Festivals 2026: The Complete Guide

Music Festivals Australia 2026

Australian festivals in 2026 are split down the middle. On one side, Bluesfest has entered liquidation three weeks before gates, Splendour in the Grass remains on indefinite hiatus with its site listed for sale, and Falls Festival has not returned since 2022. On the other, Laneway sold out multiple cities, Golden Plains went in a ballot flash, Groovin the Moo is back from the dead, and a wave of artist-run and international-brand festivals are filling gaps the legacy names left behind. The mega-festival model is under severe pressure. Smaller, genre-focused events are not.

This guide covers every major Australian festival in 2026, from January through the New Year's Eve camping stretch. We will update it as lineups and dates are announced throughout the year.

Already Happened: January to March

The year opened strong. Laneway Festival celebrated its 21st anniversary with a six-city run (February 5 to 15) headlined by Chappell Roan on her first Australian national tour, alongside Wet Leg, PinkPantheress, Wolf Alice, Alex G, and Cavetown. Sydney and Melbourne sold out. Tickets ran $229.90 (first release) to $259.90, with VIP at $359.90. The Gold Coast replaced Brisbane as the Queensland stop.

Golden Plains (March 7 to 9) sold out via ballot as usual, with Basement Jaxx, BADBADNOTGOOD, Marlon Williams, Ty Segall, and Cut Copy playing the single stage at Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre. The flat $514 ticket covers entry plus two nights of bush camping. No tiers, no VIP. The 19th edition is already announced for March 2027. Pitch Music and Arts ran concurrently (March 6 to 10) at Grampian Plains near Moyston, with Charlotte de Witte headlining four days of techno and house across three stages. Four-day GA with camping was $599.99.

WOMADelaide (March 6 to 9) drew over 90,000 people to Botanic Park in Adelaide, headlined by Grace Jones, Iron and Wine, and Baker Boy. It became the first South Australian festival to run all stages on 100% renewable energy. Four-day passes were around $220 to $250. Port Fairy Folk Festival (March 6 to 9) brought Iron and Wine and The Swell Season to Southcombe Park for its 49th edition, building toward a 50th anniversary in 2027. Party in the Paddock (February 5 to 8) hosted Ocean Alley, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, and SOFI TUKKER across six stages at Quercus Park in Tasmania, with camping passes from roughly $230 to $360. CMC Rocks QLD (March 20 to 22) at Willowbank covered the country music end with Jordan Davis and Old Dominion. Field Day kicked off New Year's Day in Sydney's Domain with Carl Cox and Jamie Jones. And Wildlands ran Brisbane (January 1) and Perth (January 3) with Dom Dolla, Addison Rae, and Kid Cudi; Adelaide was paused for 2026 due to viability concerns.

Coming Up: April to June

Ability Fest

Date: Saturday April 11. Location: The Timber Yard, Port Melbourne (new venue). Price: $60 GA (sold out; resale via Tixel). Camping: No.

Australia's first fully accessible and inclusive festival, founded by Dylan Alcott AO, has shifted to an all-electronic format for 2026. PNAU (DJ set), Logic1000, Kito, and Blusher are confirmed. Companion cards are free. Features include elevated viewing platforms, sensory zones, Auslan interpreters, and live captioning. All proceeds fund the Dylan Alcott Foundation, which has raised over $1.5 million to date.

Gather Sounds

Date: April 10 to 11. Location: Adelaide University Cloisters and UniBar. Camping: No.

An inaugural festival put together by Adelaide rock band Bad//Dreems, featuring Beddy Rays, West Thebarton, and Phil Jamieson of Grinspoon. One to watch as an example of the artist-run festival trend.

Ultra Australia

Date: April 11 to 12. Location: Melbourne and Gold Coast. Camping: No.

The international EDM brand returns for its Australian edition. Lineup and pricing TBA at time of writing. Website: ultraaustralia.com

FISHER's Out2Lunch

Date: May 2 (Melbourne), May 3 (Gold Coast), May 9 (Sydney), May 10 (Perth). Camping: No.

Expanding from one city to four in 2026. FISHER, Gorgon City, and Skream headline house and dance sets at racecourses and parks. Pricing TBA.

Groovin the Moo

Date: Saturday May 9. Location: Oakes Oval, Lismore, NSW. Price: GA from $125 (first release) to $155 (final); "Cream of the Crop" VIP $190; Youth (12 to 17) $90; MobTix/Affordability $90. Camping: Yes (Friday and Saturday nights).

After two years of cancellations, GTM returns in a radically different shape: a single day, single stage, single city. Denzel Curry headlines alongside Baker Boy, Dope Lemon, Matt Corby, Tones And I, The Chats, and Ninajirachi. The regional focus is deliberate; the event is backed by the NSW Government and Destination NSW. Website: gtm.net.au

BASSINTHEGRASS

Date: Saturday May 16. Location: Mindil Beach, Darwin. Price: GA from $99; children 13 and under free. Camping: No.

Now in its 23rd year, BASSINTHEGRASS has sold out every edition from 2021 to 2025. Denzel Curry and Galantis headline the 2026 bill alongside G Flip, Peking Duk, The Teskey Brothers, The Living End, Mallrat, and Anna Lunoe b2b Nina Las Vegas. Delivered by the NT Government. The $99 entry price remains one of the best value propositions in Australian festivals. Website: bassinthegrass.com.au

Blues on Broadbeach

Date: May 2026 (exact dates TBA). Location: Surf Parade stages, Gold Coast. Price: Free. Camping: No.

The 25th anniversary edition features Charlie Musselwhite, Robert Finley, and Ruthie Foster. Entirely free to attend.

Lime Green: A Climate Action Festival

Date: April 18. Location: Point Malcolm Reserve, Adelaide. Camping: No.

A new climate-focused event put together by Lime Cordiale, with The Dreggs confirmed.

Dark Mofo

Date: June 11 to 22. Location: Across nipaluna/Hobart, Tasmania. Camping: No (Hobart accommodation essential).

The 12-day winter solstice festival run by MONA has confirmed its 2026 dates, with the full programme dropping March 27. Signature events include Night Mass (first release already sold out), Winter Feast, the Ogoh-Ogoh burning, and the Nude Solstice Swim. Ticket prices vary by event; many installations are free, concerts typically $20 to $100+. The 2025 edition drew 119,196 attendees and delivered an estimated $67 million to the Tasmanian economy. Website: darkmofo.net.au

Second Half: July to December

Big Red Bash

Date: July 7 to 9 (confirmed, but see note below). Location: Simpson Desert, near Birdsville, QLD. Price: Historically $200 to $300 GA with separate vehicle entry passes. Camping: Yes (self-sufficient camping is the only option).

The world's most remote music festival returns after a voluntary 2025 gap year, headlined by Missy Higgins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Teskey Brothers, The Living End, Birds of Tokyo, Jessica Mauboy, and Troy Cassar-Daley. Note: Major outback flooding has inundated the festival site. Organisers are assessing relocation within the Birdsville region. The event has not been cancelled. Caravans, motorhomes, and dogs are welcome. Website: bigredbash.com.au

Mundi Mundi Bash

Date: August 20 to 22. Location: Mundi Mundi Plains, near Broken Hill, NSW. Camping: Yes (available August 18 to 25).

The Teskey Brothers, John Butler, Boy and Bear, Jessica Mauboy, and Baby Animals are confirmed. Pricing TBA.

Harvest Rock

Date: Expected October 2026 (unconfirmed). Location: Rymill and King Rodney Parks, Adelaide. Price: Based on 2025: GA $189 to $209 (single day), $311 to $413 (two-day). Camping: No.

Ticketmaster has confirmed a return, but 2026 dates and lineup have not been announced. The 2025 edition was headlined by The Strokes, Jelly Roll, and The War on Drugs. Backed by Secret Sounds and the SA Tourism Commission. Website: harvestrock.com

Strawberry Fields

Date: November 20 to 22. Location: Tocumwal, NSW (on the Murray River). Price: Early Bird $368, Round 1 $398, Round 2 $438, Round 3 $458. All tickets include camping. Camping: Yes (included and essential).

Strawberry Fields sells out before announcing its lineup. Tickets are allocated via ballot. Free tickets are available for Yorta Yorta community members and people celebrating birthdays during the event. Swimming in the Murray is part of the deal. Website: strawberry-fields.com.au

Queenscliff Music Festival

Date: November 27 to 29. Location: Princess Park, Queenscliff, VIC. Price: Three-day adult passes historically around $339; youth $169. Camping: Yes.

Lineup not yet announced. Artist applications are open. Website: qmf.net.au

CORE Festival

Date: November 28. Location: Melbourne. Price: TBA. Camping: No.

The first Australian edition of CORE, a techno and alternative house event born from Tomorrowland's CORE stage. Pre-registration is open. Website: core.world

Earth Frequency Festival

Date: October 23 to 26. Location: TBA, QLD (previously Sunshine Coast hinterland). Camping: Yes.

Psytrance, electronic, and world music. Lineup and pricing TBA. Website: earthfrequency.com.au

Good Things Festival

Date: Expected early December 2026 (unconfirmed). Location: Melbourne (Flemington), Sydney (Showground), Brisbane (Showgrounds). Price: Based on 2025: GA single-day roughly $270. Camping: No.

Organiser Destroy All Lines confirmed in December 2025 that Good Things will return in 2026. The 2025 edition was headlined by TOOL, Weezer, and Garbage. Rock, metal, punk, and emo across three cities. 2026 lineup and dates TBA. Website: goodthingsfestival.com.au

Spilt Milk

Date: Expected December 2026 (unconfirmed). Location: Ballarat, Perth, Canberra, Gold Coast. Price: Based on 2025: GA from $194.95 (first release) to $259.95 (fifth release) plus $10 booking fee. Camping: No.

All four 2025 cities sold out. Organisers confirmed a 2026 return. Run by Live Nation ANZ. 2026 lineup TBA. Website: spilt-milk.com.au

Meredith Music Festival

Date: December 11 to 13. Location: Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, VIC. Price: Estimated $500+ (single all-inclusive ticket). Camping: Yes (included; no tiers, no VIP).

The 34th edition of this fiercely independent, non-commercial, single-stage festival. Lineup is typically announced around September or October. Tickets sell out instantly and are allocated by ballot. Meredith has run every year since 1991 (excluding COVID). Website: mmf.com.au

Beyond the Valley

Date: Expected December 28, 2026 to January 1, 2027 (based on annual pattern). Location: Barunah Plains, Hesse, VIC. Price: Based on 2025/26: 4-Day GA $479; NYE single-day $279; camping $164 to $329; glamping from $1,600+. Camping: Yes (essential).

The 2025/26 edition sold out in under an hour with 40,000 attendees. Lineup and dates for the next edition TBA. Website: beyondthevalley.com.au

Lost Paradise

Date: Expected December 28, 2026 to January 1, 2027 (based on annual pattern). Location: Glenworth Valley, NSW. Price: Based on 2025/26: 4-Day GA $479 (camping included); 3-Day $419. Camping: Yes (mandatory).

A camping festival with a strong wellness and arts programme alongside the electronic music. The 2025/26 edition featured Underworld, Duke Dumont, and Maribou State. Website: lostparadise.com.au

Subsonic Music Festival

Date: Expected December 2026 (based on annual pattern). Location: Riverwood Downs, Monkerai, NSW. Price: Based on prior years: $314 to $502. Camping: Yes (included; luxury cabin options also available).

Deep house, techno, psytrance, and experimental electronic on a 750-acre riverside property. Website: subsonicmusic.com.au

New and Emerging Festivals

The defining trend of 2026 is the artist-run festival. FISHER expanded Out2Lunch from one city to four. Lime Cordiale launched the climate-focused Lime Green in Adelaide. Bad//Dreems created Gather Sounds. Ocean Alley's SummerSalt toured five coastal venues. These events tend to be smaller, cheaper, and more genre-coherent than the mega-festivals they are gradually replacing.

International brands are also entering Australia for the first time. Tomorrowland's CORE Festival debuts in Melbourne in November. Thailand's S2O Songkran launched in Brisbane. Malta's Glitch Festival returned for a second Australian edition, and the UK's Mighty Hoopla debuted in Sydney. The regional space is active too, with Good Gumnuts (Burnie, TAS), Kalbarri Open Air (WA), and Lasso (Eagleby, QLD; country) all confirmed for 2026.

What We Lost

Bluesfest Byron Bay was cancelled on March 13, 2026; three weeks before its scheduled April 2 to 5 dates. The company has entered liquidation under Jason Bettles of Worrells. Debts exceed $23 million. Over 20,000 ticket holders are unsecured creditors, meaning refunds are unlikely. The 2026 edition had announced Split Enz, Earth Wind and Fire, Erykah Badu, and The Black Crowes across 35+ acts. Owner Peter Noble had reversed the 2025 "farewell" decision to stage one more edition with NSW Government backing. The company collapsed anyway. After 36 years, this is a significant loss to the Australian live music industry and to Byron Bay specifically.

Splendour in the Grass has not run since its troubled 2023 edition and cancelled the 2024 event weeks after announcing headliners Kylie Minogue, Future, and Arcade Fire. The festival's 229-hectare North Byron Parklands site was listed for sale at approximately $35 million in March 2025. Co-founder Jessica Ducrou has left Secret Sounds Group. Live Nation has said the festival "needs more time to recharge." No 2026 or 2027 dates have been announced, and the sale of the purpose-built site suggests a return to North Byron is unlikely.

Falls Festival has not returned since the 2022/23 New Year's season. The Lorne site has also been listed for sale. Operated by the same Secret Sounds/Live Nation group as Splendour, there is no indication of a return. Rolling Loud Australia was cancelled approximately one week before its scheduled March 7 to 8 dates in Sydney and Melbourne, with the international brand blaming local promoter Primuse Entertainment for unmet deadlines. Mountain Sounds has been permanently defunct since 2019, when NSW authorities demanded $200,000 for user-pay police a week before gates; the company entered liquidation owing $1.58 million. Caloundra Music Festival was permanently cancelled in 2025 after the Sunshine Coast Council withdrew funding.

How to Choose

Single-day, no camping: Laneway, BASSINTHEGRASS, Ability Fest, Good Things, Spilt Milk, Harvest Rock, Wildlands, Out2Lunch, CORE Festival, Ultra Australia.

Multi-day camping: Golden Plains, Pitch Music and Arts, Party in the Paddock, Big Red Bash, Mundi Mundi Bash, Strawberry Fields, Queenscliff, Meredith, Beyond the Valley, Lost Paradise, Subsonic, Groovin the Moo (limited camping), CMC Rocks QLD, Earth Frequency.

Electronic-focused: Pitch, Strawberry Fields, CORE, Ability Fest, Subsonic, Ultra Australia, Out2Lunch, Wildlands, Earth Frequency.

Rock and indie: Good Things (rock, metal, punk), Harvest Rock (multi-genre with rock focus), Meredith (eclectic), Golden Plains (eclectic).

Country and folk: CMC Rocks QLD, Port Fairy Folk Festival, Big Red Bash, Mundi Mundi Bash, Blues on Broadbeach.

Free options: Blues on Broadbeach (entirely free), BASSINTHEGRASS (children 13 and under free; GA from $99), St Kilda Festival (free).

Accessibility-focused: Ability Fest (purpose-built accessible infrastructure, companion cards free, all-electronic format).

Festivals announce lineups and dates throughout the year, so bookmark this page and check back. If you are heading to any of these and want to find people going to the same shows, Muse connects you with others who share your music taste. It works for festivals the same way it works for gigs.