The Queensland Music Festivals Guide is your shortcut to the state’s biggest and best music festivals, from major touring events in Brisbane and the Gold Coast to boutique campouts, regional favourites and destination festivals across the Sunshine Coast and beyond.

Browse by Region

Looking for upcoming Queensland music festivals? Jump straight to the region that suits you.

• Brisbane music festivals
• Sunshine Coast music festivals
• Gold Coast music festivals
• Regional Queensland music festivals

When is festival season in Queensland?

Queensland’s music festival calendar stretches across the year, but the busiest run usually falls between autumn and spring, when major touring festivals, regional events and multi-day destination weekends are most active. Summer still brings some of the state’s biggest events, especially around the holiday period and New Year’s.

Autumn (March / April / May)

Autumn brings a strong mix of country, electronic and blues events, especially across South East Queensland.

CMC Rocks — Ipswich
Ultra Beach Gold Coast — Broadwater
Blues on Broadbeach — Gold Coast

Winter (June / July / August)

Winter is quieter overall, but it still delivers one of Queensland’s most iconic camping festivals.

Gympie Music Muster — Amamoor

Spring (September / October / November)

Spring is one of the state’s busiest festival periods, with industry events, country festivals and regional destination weekends on the calendar.

BIGSOUND — Brisbane
Groundwater Country Music Festival — Gold Coast
Savannah in the Round — North Queensland
Big Pineapple Festival — Sunshine Coast

Summer (December / January / February)

Summer is festival-heavy in Queensland, with major interstate touring brands, large-scale gatherings and holiday-season events drawing strong crowds.

Woodford Folk Festival — Woodford
Good Things Festival — Brisbane
Spilt Milk — Gold Coast

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Major Queensland Music Festivals

Punters soak up the sun at Big Pineapple Festival on the Sunshine Coast. By Ben Russoniello for YELO.

This section of the Queensland Music Festivals Guide highlights some of the state’s biggest, most established and most searched music festivals. These are the major events that regularly draw crowds from across Queensland and beyond.

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Sunshine Coast

Big Pineapple Festival — November

Big Pineapple Festival is one of the Sunshine Coast’s biggest music festivals, spotlighting major Australian artists while drawing visitors from across the state. The Woombye event has become known for its distinctly local flavour, including its fancy-dress tradition and The Great Australian Pineapple Toss.

Website → Big Pineapple Festival

Woodford Folk Festival — December 27–January 1

Held at Woodfordia, Woodford Folk Festival is one of Australia’s best-known music and cultural gatherings. The six-night event blends music, arts, ideas and community experiences, drawing large crowds each summer from across Queensland and beyond.

Website → Woodford Folk Festival

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Brisbane

CMC Rocks — March 20–22

CMC Rocks is one of Australia’s biggest country music festivals, bringing leading international and Australian artists to Ipswich each year. Over nearly two decades, it has built a reputation for blockbuster line-ups and large-scale camping festival energy.

Website → CMC Rocks

BIGSOUND — September 1–4

BIGSOUND is the southern hemisphere’s biggest music industry gathering, combining a major conference with a live showcase festival across Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. It has helped launch the careers of many major Australian artists and remains one of the country’s key discovery events.

Website → BIGSOUND

Good Things Festival — December

Good Things is one of Australia’s biggest travelling alternative music festivals, bringing major rock, punk and heavy acts to Brisbane as part of its national run. Its scale and line-ups have made it a fixture on the Australian festival calendar.

Website → Good Things Festival

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Gold Coast

Laneway Festival — February

Held at Southport Sharks, Laneway Festival is one of Australia’s best-known touring festival brands. Its move to the Gold Coast made it one of the most notable additions to the city’s festival calendar.

Website → Laneway Festival Gold Coast

Blues on Broadbeach — May 14–17

Blues on Broadbeach brings major blues, roots and soul acts to venues and outdoor spaces across Broadbeach. The free festival has become one of the Gold Coast’s signature live music events, drawing audiences from across Australia.

Website → Blues on Broadbeach

Groundwater Country Music Festival — October 16–18

Groundwater Country Music Festival transforms Broadbeach into a multi-stage country music hub across three days. With a strong mix of established and emerging artists, it has grown into one of the Gold Coast’s defining music festivals.

Website → Groundwater Country Music Festival

Spilt Milk — December

Spilt Milk is held at the Gold Coast Sports Precinct in Carrara as part of its national festival run. Known for major youth-focused line-ups and big touring acts, it remains one of the state’s biggest summer music events.

Website → Spilt Milk

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Regional and boutique Queensland music festivals

Not every great Queensland festival is a massive touring event. This part of the guide highlights smaller-scale, niche and destination music festivals across the state, including campouts, local favourites and arts-led events that help give Queensland’s live music culture its range and personality.

Sunshine Coast

Boutique campouts, arts festivals and local favourites across the Coast and nearby hinterland.

Pranafest — Woodford
Horizon Festival — Sunshine Coast
NOOSA alive! — Noosa
Coondoo Mountain Campout — Gympie region
Island Vibe Festival — Gympie region
The Big Weekend — Coolum
Mitchell Creek Rock ’N’ Blues Fest — Gympie region

Brisbane

Smaller community-focused festival events in and around Brisbane.

Where We Belong — Redcliffe

Gold Coast

A mix of niche, arts-led and lifestyle-focused festival events.

Cooly Rocks On — Coolangatta
Zen Festival — Gold Coast
BLEACH* — Gold Coast

North & Regional Queensland

Destination festivals spanning outback, coastal and Far North Queensland settings.

Wallaby Creek Festival — Rossville
Agnes Blues, Roots & Rock Festival — Agnes Water
Big Red Bash — Birdsville
Savannah in the Round — Mareeba
Airlie Beach Festival of Music — Airlie Beach

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Queensland festival FAQs

What are the biggest music festivals in Queensland?

Some of the biggest and best-known music festivals in Queensland include Woodford Folk Festival, CMC Rocks, BIGSOUND, Big Pineapple Festival, Blues on Broadbeach, Groundwater Country Music Festival, Good Things Festival and Spilt Milk.

What time of year is best for Queensland music festivals?

The busiest time for Queensland music festivals is usually autumn through spring, with summer also delivering some of the biggest major events around the holiday period.

Are there camping festivals in Queensland?

Yes. Queensland has several camping-style and destination festivals, including events such as Woodford Folk Festival, CMC Rocks, Gympie Music Muster, Big Red Bash and various boutique regional campouts. This guide includes both major and smaller regional options.

Are there music festivals near Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast?

Yes. Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast all host major music festivals across the year, and this guide breaks them down by region so it is easier to plan around where you live or where you are travelling.

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Listen to the Pineapple State

Tune into the Pineapple State playlist to hear local artists from across Queensland. It is a good place to discover new music from the same state that hosts many of the festivals featured in this guide.

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