Queensland festival guide
The Queensland Music Festivals Guide rounds up music festivals across the state, 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 your region.
When is festival season in Queensland?
Queensland’s festival calendar runs year-round, but the busiest stretch usually falls between autumn and spring, when touring festivals, regional events and multi-day destination weekends are most active. Summer still delivers 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 festivals, 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 brings 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 all in the mix.
BIGSOUND — Brisbane
Brisbane Festival — Brisbane
Groundwater Country Music Festival — Gold Coast
Savannah in the Round — North Queensland
Big Pineapple Festival — Sunshine Coast
Mitchell Creek Rock ’N’ Blues Fest — Gympie region
Summer (December / January / February)
Summer is festival-heavy in Queensland, with large-scale gatherings, national touring brands and holiday-season events drawing strong crowds.
Woodford Folk Festival — Woodford
Good Things Festival — Brisbane
Spilt Milk — Gold Coast
Quick read
Queensland’s festival calendar is busiest from autumn through spring, while summer still delivers some of the state’s largest holiday-season events.
Major Queensland music festivals
Punters soak up the sun at Big Pineapple Festival on the Sunshine Coast. By Ben Russoniello for YELO.
Major festivals
This section highlights some of Queensland’s most established and most searched festivals. These are the events that regularly draw audiences from across the state and beyond.
Sunshine Coast
Big Pineapple Festival — November
Big Pineapple Festival is one of the Sunshine Coast’s signature music festivals, bringing together major Australian artists and crowds from across the state. The Woombye event is also known for its distinctly local character, from fancy dress to 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 cultural gatherings, blending music, arts, ideas and community across six days and nights each summer.
Website → Woodford Folk Festival
Brisbane
CMC Rocks — March 20–22
CMC Rocks is one of Australia’s biggest country music festivals, bringing leading international and Australian acts to Ipswich each year. Over nearly two decades, it has built a reputation for huge line-ups and camping festival scale.
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 Fortitude Valley. It remains one of the country’s key discovery events.
Website → BIGSOUND
Brisbane Festival — September 4–26
Brisbane Festival is one of Queensland’s biggest arts and cultural events, bringing large-scale live performance, music, spectacle and city-wide programming to Brisbane each spring. Riverfire helps launch one of the busiest cultural periods on the calendar.
Website → Brisbane Festival
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.
Website → Good Things Festival
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 city’s more notable festival additions.
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 turns Broadbeach into a multi-stage country music hub across three days. With a strong mix of established and emerging artists, it has become one of the Gold Coast’s defining music festivals.
Website → Groundwater Country Music Festival
Spilt Milk — December
Spilt Milk lands at the Gold Coast Sports Precinct in Carrara as part of its national run. Known for youth-focused line-ups and major touring acts, it remains one of the state’s biggest summer music events.
Website → Spilt Milk
Also worth exploring
For smaller campouts, destination weekends and regional favourites, keep scrolling to the boutique and regional festival section below.
Regional and boutique Queensland music festivals
Not every great Queensland festival is a massive touring event. This section highlights smaller-scale, niche and destination festivals across the state, including campouts, local favourites and arts-led events that give Queensland’s live music culture its range.
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
Festival of Outback Opera — Winton and Longreach
Queensland festival FAQs
What are the biggest music festivals in Queensland?
Some of Queensland’s best-known music festivals 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 stretch is usually autumn through spring, though summer still brings some of the state’s biggest events around the holiday period.
Are there camping festivals in Queensland?
Yes. Queensland has several camping-style and destination festivals, including Woodford Folk Festival, CMC Rocks, Gympie Music Muster, Big Red Bash and smaller regional campouts.
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 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.
Listen to the Pineapple State
Tune into the Pineapple State playlist to hear local artists from across Queensland. It is a good place to keep exploring music from the same state that hosts many of the festivals featured in this guide.
Keep exploring
Looking for more than festivals? Explore venues, gig guides and local music stories across Queensland on YELO.
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