Open Season 2026 Strengthens Brisbane’s Position in Australia’s Winter Festival Circuit

Winter is increasingly becoming a key window for live music in Australia, with major city-wide programs continuing to drive touring activity during the traditionally quieter months.

In Sydney, Vivid Sydney continues to present a broad cross-section of music alongside its wider cultural offering, while RISING in Melbourne has built a reputation for more curated, left-of-centre programming.

Brisbane’s Open Season has, in recent years, aligned itself with that national touring circuit, leveraging overlap with these major events while developing its own identity through standalone shows and venue-based programming.

The 2026 lineup has now been unveiled.

Among the acts filtering up from Vivid and RISING this year are the razor-sharp, genre-defying Kae Tempest, post-rock mainstays Mogwai, and a heavyweight hip-hop pairing in Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE. There’s also the singular Welsh songwriter Cate Le Bon, plus Yasiin Bey and Brian Jackson revisiting the work of Gil Scott-Heron.

Elsewhere, art-pop legends Sparks and fast-rising UK vocalist Clara La San round out the international draw.

Beyond those imports, Open Season’s broader program digs in locally and across genres, balancing big names with cult favourites and one-offs. Eddy Current Suppression Ring return to Brisbane for the first time in 16 years, while indie lifers Stereolab headline the multi-venue Against The Grain block party alongside Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Hatchie. Matt Berninger steps out for a pair of intimate shows, and recent critical favourites like Wednesday and Sorryslot neatly into the mix.

There’s weight on the heavier end too, with Deafheaven joined by Nothing and SPY, while returning favourites like Ben Kweller and The Black Angels add a sense of long-overdue comeback energy.

Closer to home, the line-up doesn’t skimp. Full Flower Moon Band, Mulga Bore Hard Rock and Beddy Rays all feature, alongside a new wave of names like Skin on Skin and Shady Nasty.

Open Season runs across multiple Brisbane venues from May 25th to July 25th — two months that make a strong case that winter, at least in this part of the country, is where things are heating up.

The full lineup, as it currently stands: Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Stereolab, Matt Berninger, Mogwai, Dry Cleaning, Gil Scott-Heron by Yasiin Bey & Brian Jackson, Hiatus Kaiyote, Kae Tempest, Peach PRC, Deafheaven, Wednesday, Silversun Pickups, Sparks, Ben Kweller, The Black Angels, Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE, Cate Le Bon, Alison Wonderland, Saint Levant, Shady Nasty, Skin on Skin, Ben Gerrans, Clara La San, Beddy Rays, Sorry, Jem Cassar Daley, RONA., Bradley Zero and Das Druid, C.Frim, Damleeeela, nikitasilly, Cruisin For A Bruising, Current Joys, Full Flower Moon Band, Mulga Bore Hard Rock, SPY, Rum Jungle, Nothing, Artificial (live), Speeding Vehicle, Scraps, Nowhere Fast: Photo Exhibition (John Wilstead & Robert Forster), SKIN (VOiiiD Collective) and Assembly Vol 2 — ADC.

Head to the official Open Season website for more details, or check put the full program below.

Open Season 2026

Gil Scott-Heron by Brian Jackson and Yasiin Bey Monday, May 25th — The Tivoli

Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE Wednesday, May 27th — The Tivoli

Current Joys Wednesday, May 27th — The Princess Theatre

Mogwai Wednesday, May 27th — Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC

Dry Cleaning Thursday, May 28th — The Princess Theatre

Ben Gerrans Friday, May 29th — The Princess Theatre

Bradley Zero and Das Druid Friday, May 29th — Echo and Bounce

Mulga Bore Hard Rock Friday, May 29th — Vent Space, South Brisbane

Artificial (live) Saturday, May 30th — Quivr

Sparks Saturday, May 30th — Glasshouse Theatre, QPAC

Matt Berninger (The National) Sunday, May 31st — The Princess Theatre

Cate Le Bon with Hana Stretton Tuesday, June 2nd – The Princess Theatre

Alison Wonderland Thursday, June 4th — The Tivoli

Wednesday Thursday, June 4th — The Princess Theatre

Sorry Friday, June 5th — St. Andrew's Church Hall, South Brisbane

Centrefold ft. C.Frim, Damleeeela, nikitasilly and more Saturday, June 6th — Quivr

Kae Tempest Sunday, June 7th — The Princess Theatre

Saint Levant Monday, June 8th — The Princess Theatre

The Black Angels Tuesday, June 7th — The Princess Theatre

Nowhere Fast Photo Exhibition 9-22 June — Woolloongabba Art Gallery

ACD's Assembly Vol. 2 Friday, June 12th— The Princess Theatre

Clara La San Saturday, June 13th— The Princess Theatre

Rum Jungle Friday, June 19th — The Princess Theatre

Against The Grain Festival ft. Stereolab, RBCF, Hatchie and more Saturday, June 20th — The Princess Theatre / Clarence Corner Precinct

South System Vol. 2 ft. RONA. Saturday, June 27th — Fish Lane Arts Precinct

Shady Nasty Friday, July 3rd— The Tivoli (intimate mode)

Ben Kweller Wednesday, July 8th— The Princess Theatre

Hiatus Kaiyote Friday, July 10th— The Tivoli

Deafheaven, Nothing and Spy Sunday, July 12th — The Princess Theatre

Kiosk Films: Crusin' For A Brusin' Tuesday, June 14th— The Princess Theatre

VOiiiD Collective and Bcharre بشرّي: SKIN Thursday, 16th and Friday, 17th June — The Princess Theatre

Peach PRC Thursday, June 16th — Secret Venue TBA

Skin on Skin Friday, June 17th — Secret Venue TBA

Full Flower Moon Band Saturday, July 18th — The Tivoli

Silversun Pickups Friday, July 24th — The Tivoli

Blak Day Out ft. Beddy Rays, Jem Casser-Daley and more Friday, July 24th — The Princess Theatre

Eddy Current Suppression Ring, Speeding Vehicle and Scraps Saturday, July 25th — The Princess Theatre