If you’ve been missing the buzz of a festival crowd – heck, maybe you’ve even missed the portaloo queues – it’s time to once again crack out the live-music head nod and whack on a wristband. Spanning Brisbane, the Gold Coast and the Sunshine Coast, these events will bring punters the live tunes we have so dearly missed.
Feedback Festival
Strap yourselves in for ten nights of live and loud music from December 3–13 when Feedback Festival hits the Gold Coast. Venues including HOTA, Miami Marketta, elsewhere and Vinnies Dive Bar will play host to more than 50 bands and artists, from Tim Freedman, Karl S. Williams and Trichotomy to The Dreggs, Peach Fur, The Chats and Lastlings. Check out our picks for the festival’s five must-see gigs and find the full line-up here.
Factory Summer Festival
We’ve been hearing good things about the Perth event formerly known as the Ice Cream Factory Summer Festival and trying to stave off the jealousy for three years, but now it’s Brisbane’s turn to get in on the action when the Factory Summer Festival rolls in to Brisbane Showgrounds. Delivering a series of gigs on the green for three melodious weeks from December 11–31, visitors can nab tickets to see Anna Lunoe, Cosmo’s Midnight, Northeast Party House, Confidence Man, Vera Blue, The Presets, Illy and many more. Find more information and buy gig tickets online.
So Freshtival
There’s a lot about the 2000s that we miss – and you can bet that some of those hugely entertaining hits are on the list. Think Usher, Pitbull, Smash Mouth, Flo Rida and Shaggy, to name an exceptional few. If you’ve been pining for some of that Noughties magic, head along to Eatons Hill Hotel on December 12 and relive your youth with a jumping castle, fairy floss, glitter face painting, silent disco and a DJ playing some of the musical standouts of the decade. Find more details and buy final release tickets here.
Mountain Goat Valley Crawl
If you’ve been missing live local music, this festival is set to be an absolute cracker. An impressive 42 acts will perform across ten iconic Brisbane venues on February 6, 2021, bringing live tunes back to Brisbane streets. Trusty locals Black Bear Lodge, Ric’s Bar, The Zoo and more will welcome our favourites back to the stage, including Velociraptor, George Alice, Concrete Surfers, Heaps Good Friends and many other acts. Entry is free but make sure you register online and get in early on the night as each venue has limited capacity and will therefore operate on a first-in-best-dressed basis.
This That
Newcastle’s This That festival will be making a long-awaited appearance in Queensland for the first time next year. The ever-hospitable Sandstone Point Hotel will host popular acts across two stages, including Allday, Client Liaison, Dune Rats, Hayden James, Mallrat, San Cisco, The Rubens and many more on February 13, 2021. Check out line-up details and get in quick to nab final release tickets online. In the event of any additional government restrictions, the event will be postponed to October 30, 2021.
Big Pineapple Music Festival
Many punters were disappointed when the beloved Sunshine Coast music festival was postponed due to the COVID-19 situation, but with a sparkly new date of May 22, 2021 locked down, preparations are underway and gig-goers can rejoice once again. All 2020 festival tickets will be automatically valid for the 2021 event but of course there will be some inevitable tweaks to the line-up – stay tuned for more details.
