Maleny Music Festival has picked up a major Queensland music win, after being named Festival of the Year in the People’s Choice Awards at the 2026 Queensland Music Awards.
The Sunshine Coast Hinterland event was recognised at this year’s awards, announced on the Gold Coast on Wednesday, April 22.
The win puts one of the Coast’s best-loved grassroots festivals in the statewide spotlight, alongside some of Queensland’s biggest artists, venues and music industry names.
For a festival built around community, live music, camping, volunteers and the slower rhythm of the hinterland, the award is a reminder that big music culture does not only happen in big rooms.
For the Sunshine Coast, the win lands as a strong reminder that grassroots music still has weight beyond the big-city rooms.
Read more Sunshine Coast music festivals.
A win for the Sunshine Coast Hinterland
Maleny Music Festival has long been part of the Sunshine Coast’s grassroots music fabric.
Held at Maleny Showgrounds, the festival brings together live music, camping, workshops, food, markets and community programming across a weekend in the hinterland.
It is the kind of event that feels less like a one-night show and more like a temporary village. People arrive for the music, but they stay for the campgrounds, the conversations, the small stages, the familiar faces and the feeling that something local is being held together by many hands.
That makes the Festival of the Year recognition feel significant for the Coast.
At a time when live music is often measured by ticket counts, touring schedules and major-city rooms, Maleny Music Festival has been recognised for something more grounded: a community-led model that continues to draw people back.
Maleny Music Festival returns in November
Maleny Music Festival returns from Friday, November 6, to Sunday, November 8, 2026.
Previous editions have included live music, camping, workshops, food, markets and family-friendly programming, with the 2026 program still to be announced.
For the Sunshine Coast, the award is another reminder that the region’s music culture is not sitting in one neat box.
It lives in beachside venues, hinterland festivals, local halls, community stages, radio segments, tiny gigs and the people who keep turning up.
Maleny Music Festival being named Festival of the Year is a strong moment for the Coast, but it is also a nod to the people, volunteers, musicians and audiences who keep the grassroots scene alive.
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