Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets performs at The Big Weekend at Blackflag Coolum in 2024. Photo: Dameeka Middleton.
The Screaming Jets will headline The Big Weekend when the independent Sunshine Coast music festival makes a surprise return to Blackflag Brewing Coolum on November 28.
The fifth-anniversary edition marks a major shift for the homegrown festival, which has traditionally been held in the middle of winter. After four consecutive editions, including July events at Blackflag in 2024 and 2025, this year’s late-November date takes The Big Weekend into summer for the first time.
The announcement is also a welcome one after uncertainty around whether the festival would return this year, with organisers now unveiling what they describe as their biggest lineup to date.
Joining the Australian rock veterans are Beddy Rays, Pricey, Powerhuff, Drop Beers, Johnny & The C Sections and Whiplash.
Pricey performing with Dave Gleeson of The Screaming Jets in Coolum in 2024. Photo: Dameeka Middleton.
Dave Gleeson returns to The Big Weekend
The Screaming Jets already have history with the festival. Frontman Dave Gleeson appeared at The Big Weekend in 2024, joining Pricey on stage for the Jets classic “Better”.
That sold-out 2024 edition drew about 600 people to Blackflag and also featured The Bennies, Brixton Alley and a strong run of emerging Sunshine Coast acts.
Gleeson has also become a supporter of younger Sunshine Coast artists, later bringing Pricey and teenage rockers Wave Raiders onto shows with The Screaming Jets.
Pricey’s festival keeps backing local artists
The Big Weekend is the project of Coolum musician Josh “Pricey” Price, formerly of The Chats, and has grown into one of the Coast’s most recognisable grassroots music events.
Since leaving The Chats, Pricey has built his own solo career while continuing to create opportunities for local and emerging musicians through The Big Weekend and the wider Coolum music scene.
YELO’s coverage of the festival has followed that thread from the start, with The Big Weekend pairing established Australian names with younger acts and homegrown artists. In 2025, Pricey described the festival as being about supporting the local community and “giving musicians a go”.
YELO’s 2025 review and photo gallery covered an edition headlined by Goons of Doom, with local and emerging acts including The Lipsticks, Whitt’s End and The Phosphenes. During his own set, Pricey pulled Wave Raiders frontman Pete from the crowd to play guitar with him, continuing the festival’s habit of putting younger musicians alongside established performers.
This year’s bill keeps that mix in place, with The Screaming Jets at the top and a broader lineup spanning established, emerging and local acts.
The Big Weekend 2026
Blackflag Brewing Coolum
November 28, 2026
The Screaming Jets, Beddy Rays, Pricey, Powerhuff, Drop Beers, Johnny & The C Sections and Whiplash
Tickets and more information: The Big Weekend.
