Ocean view from the secret Coolum rooftop location where The Potbelleez will perform. Photo: Supplied.
The Potbelleez will take over a secret Coolum rooftop this Halloween, performing a sunset set that will be broadcast live into venues across the beachside town.
The inaugural CoolumLive: Rooftop Sessions will be held on October 31 as part of a new tourism and community initiative designed to draw people into Coolum for dinner, drinks and music while a two hour live broadcast unfolds around them.
The Potbelleez. Photo: Supplied.
Australian electronic favourites The Potbelleez, known for hits including “Don’t Hold Back”, will perform a dusk to dark set from a private rooftop being used for the event.
Instead of bringing thousands of people to one concert site, the concept will spread the action across Coolum, with live crosses connecting the rooftop performance to participating restaurants, bars, cafes, community activities and people out enjoying the night.
How the town takeover will work
Coolum Business & Tourism president Paul Miley said the aim was to create something people could experience wherever they chose to spend the evening.
“This isn’t about putting an event in one location and asking everyone to come and watch,” Miley said.
“We want the whole town to come alive.
“We want people out on the streets, in the restaurants, at the cafés, on the beach, and in the venues, socialising, meeting people and enjoying Coolum together.”
The broadcast will capture more than the headline performance, with cameras moving around Coolum to showcase the town, its businesses and the people taking part.
Organisers hope locals and visitors will make a night of it, whether that means grabbing a table somewhere, meeting friends for a drink or finding one of the participating locations showing the performance.
A beachside Silent Disco for up to 500 people near Coolum Surf Club is also proposed, subject to final approvals and agreements.
A reason to get out of the house
CoolumLive is an initiative of Coolum Business & Tourism, with organisers saying music will provide the soundtrack while community connection sits at the heart of the event.
CoolumLive also arrives as the Coolum and Yaroomba communities continue to mourn local surfer Matthew “Matty” Hill, a founding member of Yaroomba Boardriders, who died in April. According to the Sunshine Coast Daily, organisers hope community events such as CoolumLive will give locals space to gather, support one another and celebrate the town’s spirit.
Event partner Project Olympus 2032 will involve young people in the planning, production and delivery of the night, offering practical experience behind the scenes of a large live event.
Organisers are also working towards a partnership with Sunrise Sisterhood for the proposed Silent Disco, with a focus on connection, movement, resilience and wellbeing.
Miley said people would not necessarily need a ticket to feel part of the night.
“You can be sitting in a café, having dinner with your family, enjoying a drink with friends, dancing at the Silent Disco or watching The Potbelleez from somewhere around town and you’ll be part of CoolumLive,” he said.
“We want people to look around and think, ‘Wow, Coolum is alive tonight.’
“That’s the feeling we’re trying to create.”
Participating venues, broadcast details, community activities and further ways to get involved will be announced closer to the event.
CoolumLive: Rooftop Sessions
Saturday, October 31, 2026
Coolum Beach
The Potbelleez
Participating venues and further details to be announced
