The Queensland Music Festivals Guide is your shortcut to the state’s best festival season, spanning major touring events, boutique campouts and regional favourites across Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast, the Gold Coast and beyond.

Browse by Region

Looking for upcoming Queensland music festivals? Browse major events by region below.

• 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 is spread across the year, with the busiest period typically running from autumn through spring. Major events also land during the summer holiday period and over New Year’s.

Autumn (March / April / May)

CMC Rocks — Ipswich
SummerSalt — Sunshine Coast
Ultra Beach Gold Coast — Broadwater
Blues on Broadbeach — Gold Coast
Horizon Festival — Sunshine Coast
Open Season — Brisbane

Winter (June / July / August)

Pranafest — Woodford
Coondoo Mountain Campout — Gympie region
Gympie Music Muster — Amamoor
NOOSA alive! — Noosa

Spring (September / October / November)

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

Summer (December / January / February)

Woodford Folk Festival — Woodford
Good Things Festival — Brisbane

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Major Queensland Music Festivals

Korn perform at Good Things Festival in Brisbane. By Dameeka Middleton for YELO.

This section of the Queensland Music Festivals Guide features some of the state’s biggest and best-known music festivals.

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Sunshine Coast

Gympie Music Muster — August 27—30

First held in 1982, Gympie Music Muster is one of Australia’s most iconic country music festivals. Held in Amamoor State Forest near Gympie, the event draws tens of thousands of fans each year and has raised more than $20 million for community charities.

Website → Gympie Muster Festival

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 Festival

Open Season — 25 May—25 July

Presented by The Tivoli Group, Open Season is an annual Brisbane winter program bringing together music, art and contemporary cultural events across multiple venues and public spaces. What began as a response to the shutdown of the live music industry has grown into one of the city’s defining seasonal programs.

Website → https://openseason.live/

Good Things Festival — December 2026

Good Things is Australia’s largest travelling alternative music festival, 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

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 & Boutique 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 smaller-scale, niche and destination festivals across the state.

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Brisbane Region

Minden Music Festival — April 17

Held in the Lockyer Valley, Minden Music Festival is a relaxed indoor event that pairs local music with a scenic regional setting. Its smaller scale and community atmosphere make it a very different experience from Queensland’s major touring festivals.

Website → Minden Music Festival

Where We Belong — June 27

Where We Belong is a community fundraising event held at Redcliffe, combining well-known Australian acts with strong local support. It has built a reputation as a grassroots live music event with a strong community focus.

Website → Where We Belong

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Gold Coast Region

Ultra Beach — April 11—12

Held at Broadwater Parklands, Ultra Beach brings large-scale EDM production and international festival energy to the Gold Coast. The event centres on dance music, big stages and a beachside setting.

Website → Ultra Beach Gold Coast

Cooly Rocks On — June 3—7

Cooly Rocks On celebrates rock ’n’ roll, swing, rockabilly and vintage culture across Coolangatta. While broader than a straight music festival, its live performance program makes it a standout event on the Gold Coast calendar.

Website → Cooly Rocks On

Northern Queensland Region

Savannah in the Round — October 8—11

Held in Mareeba, Savannah in the Round is a large-scale regional festival combining camping with a line-up that spans country, rock and Australian favourites. Its size and location make it one of Queensland’s clearest examples of festival culture beyond the south-east corner.

Website → Savannah in the Round

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Listen to music from across Queensland

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