Your Guide To Australian Music Festivals

Your Guide To Australian Music Festivals Aussies know how to party and have a good time. It’s not surprising that they have the party scene covered on their home front, after all, they are the only standalone country and continent in the entire world. They love a good music festival, so no matter what you like, there’s bound to be a perfect musical event Down Under that you’ll surely enjoy. Here’s your guide to Australian music festivals, so you can plot them in your calendar and plan a trip to where the party is. 

Your Guide To Australian Music Festivals Here’s Your Essential Guide to Australian Music Festivals

The Big Pineapple Music Festival

This is an annual music festival at the iconic Big Pineapple near the Sunshine Coast. They have a variety of great bands lined up for you to enjoy right smack on the pineapple fields. There is no parking or drop off at this festival because the organizers want to ease traffic congestion, help the environment by promoting ride sharing, and encourage you to make travel friends. You can opt to ride a free shuttle service to and from designated locations in the city, which you must book in advance. The other option is to use their park and ride service. Drive to a car park that’s nearest to the festival site and catch a free shuttle service that will run throughout the day. Parking charges apply.
Noteworthy: bags bigger than 40x40cm will not be allowed inside for security purposes. Other than that, don your most comfortable get-up, wear a hat, slap on your sunblock, and prepare to party on. If the forecast says it is going to rain, then prepare your rain coats because umbrellas are not allowed. Don’t worry about bringing food because there will be food stalls in the festival serving a wide array of food, including vegetarian choices.

The Woodford Folk Festival

This is a 6 day and night mashup of music, dance, theater, and other forms of entertainment, which takes place over the Christmas and New Year holidays in a vast parkland called Woodfordia. This is an hour North of Brisbane, which you can reach by car or your own RV (recreational vehicle). You can park your RVs near designated camping grounds. However, the best way to immerse yourself in Woodfordia’s love, peace, and tie-dye kind of vibe is to stay on site at their own camping grounds. They have a comfortable Tent City set-up for the festival, and they easily turn camping into glam-ping. This is equipped with roll up windows and comfy beds, along with plenty of hot showers and clean toilets.
Remember to pack comfortable clothes, if you’re not doing a day trip. You can stay here for one night or the rest of the week. Pack loose comfortable clothing like flowy dresses and tanks,  chinos, and polos as it’s in the peak of summer. There will be many more than twenty food stalls selling coffee, Brazilian BBQ, fish and chips, Asian delicacies, vegan food, etc. Food is also something to look forward to in Woodford and they refer to this as their Festival of Food.

The Soundwave Festival

If heavy metal is your thing, then you will love the loud and heavy vibe of the Soundwave Festival. Metalheads can look forward to it near the end of January, and it usually happens near major cities like Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne. This festival spans two days to accommodate a long line up of rock royalty, who want you to bang your heads to their jam. Tickets fly pretty fast, so book early to ensure you have a rock and rollin’ good time. Don’t worry about going hungry while jamming because there will be various food stalls and food trucks in the venue. Just wear your heavy metal best outfit from black grunge to punk rock with ripped jeans, and prepare to bang your head.

The Melbourne Jazz Festival

This is Down Under’s biggest salute to old soulful musical styling that touches the heart. This is an 11 day annual event that focuses on jazz, rhythm and blues, which happens every April/May in the cosmopolitan city of Melbourne. There are a series of events that showcase top notch talent in a variety of venues from concert halls, clubs, and art galleries. This is perfect for the quieter and low-key bunch, who does not enjoy combating massive crowds in large fields, but who prefers a laid back atmosphere with a chilled bottle of wine, paired with a decadent charcuterie board. Think classy outfits and food served by waiters in their various locations.

The St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival

A small festival that started out in 2005, this has grown into massive proportions with other countries like Singapore, New Zealand (Auckland), and the USA (Detroit) holding their own versions of the Laneway Festival. This celebration of music and arts started in the hidden laneways of Melbourne, and has moved onto concurrently hold festivals in other towns like Adelaide, Brisbane, Freemantle, and Sydney. Laneway festival goers can come in their best and comfiest clubbing outfits; and graze on tasty delights from various restaurants they have partnered up with that have pop up booths set-up in the venue. The Laneway is proud to support not only emerging artists but leading talent in the food industry at each of their events. With its more than a decade history of bringing good music, championing self-expression, fostering collaborations, and promoting a sense of community, it is no wonder why the Laneway continues to thrive in the domestic and international arena.
These are only five among the many festivals that occur in Australia. There are certainly a lot more happening in this giant continent, even in the far-flung Outbacks. Come on over and prepare to dance all day and night to good music, eat delicious food, drink spirits to unwind, and listen to your favorite bands.