Beyond mere tales of fable and fantasy, the next chapter of heavy music folklore is already waiting to be told. Australia’s largest travelling music celebration, Good Things Festival, is back once again for another round of alternative myth-making, bringing along a stellar roster of international legends, local heroes, and budding dreamweavers. With all three East Coast event dates 16+ and up, punters of all generations have the chance to chase their sonic dragon, find their stage unicorn, or solve the minotaur’s crowded maze.
As one of the world’s most idiosyncratic heavy music acts, TOOL are a genre unto themselves as they mark their 35th year of existence. Fusing metal, rock, and alternative sounds through gargantuan grooves, heady instrumental runs, and the hypnotic vocal refrains of enigmatic frontman Maynard James Keenan, the group’s intimidating back catalogue features five studio albums: Undertow (1993), Ænima (1996), Lateralus (2001),10,000 Days (2006), and Fear Inoculum (2019). With each offering raising the band’s—Danny Carey (drums), Justin Chancellor (bass), Adam Jones (guitar)—conceptual pedigree to dizzying new heights, their storied career includes numerous world tours and four GRAMMY® Award wins. TOOL’s coveted appearance as part of Good Things Festivalin 2025 will be their first Australian festival headline since their Big Day Out performance in 2011, and their first Australian tour in over five years.
It’s hard to think of other contemporary rock acts with as many accolades to their name as WEEZER. Whether it’s airwave megahits like “Buddy Holly,” “Undone (The Sweater Song),” “Say It Ain’t So,” “El Scorcho,” “Hash Pipe,” or “Island In The Sun”; classic records like their seminal, multi-platinum ‘Blue Album’ (1994), cult-favourite follow-up Pinkerton (1996), or worldwide career record sales in the multi-millions; industry nods in the form of GRAMMY® Award and MTV Video Music Award wins; sold-out stadium tours, and even a fav-inspired cover of Toto’s iconic “Africa”—WEEZER have truly done it all, guiding the trajectory of indie rock, emo, and power-pop for decades.
Returning to Australia for the first time in nearly a decade, GARBAGE aren’t ones to rest on their laurels. Led by vocalist, guitarist and bonafide ‘90s icon, Shirley Manson, the Wisconsin rockers—rounded out by Duke Erikson, Steve Marker, and drummer/famed producer Butch Vig—will delight Aussie crowds by roaring through classic cuts like “Stupid Girl” and “Only Happy When It Rains” from their iconic, double-platinum 1995 self-titled debut, alongside 2000’s radio smashes “Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!),” “Why Do You Love Me,” and others.
Pop-punkers ALL TIME LOW will be pulling from their multi-platinum catalogue and unfurling hits for their ever-devoted fanbase. From Warped Tour anthems like “Dear Maria, Count Me In” and their smash cover of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” to recent commercial highs like 2020’s “Monsters” (featuring Demi Lovato and blackbear), the Maryland chart-toppers have one hell of a catchy arsenal at their disposal. Oakland groove metal titans MACHINE HEAD return for their first Australian Festival appearances in 13 years, and their career-spanning set is sure to include pit-starters from landmark records like 1994’s Burn My Eyes, 2007’s The Blackening, and much more. With a slew of Billboard hits to their name, it’s remarkable that 2000s rock staples THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS can still find time to play house party pop-up shows in 2025. And while Good Things Festival can’t offer that kind of intimacy, there’s still plenty of room for radio anthems like “Swing, Swing,” “Dirty Little Secret,” and “Gives You Hell,” and to wash over Aussie crowds for the first time in sixteen years!
With a coveted late-night talk show performance and Grammy nomination under their collective belt, punters will finally get to see Kentucky juggernaut KNOCKED LOOSE in devastating final form. As one of heavy music’s most uncompromisingly aggressive acts, this is destined to be an unmissable set. After selling out their first-ever Australian headline tour in just 10 days earlier this year, New Jersey quintet LORNA SHORE are coming back to raise hell once more. While 2022’s Pain Remains LP set the bar for deathcore extremity through the inhuman utterings of frontman Will Ramos, recent singles like “Unbreakable” and “Oblivion” showcase the group folding in anthemic stadium-worthy hooks among their pitch black brand of sonic chaos. But alas, all *ahem* good things must come to an end, and that’s why “REFUSED Are Fucking Dead.” For their final ever Australian shows, the Swedish hardcore legends will deliver a bittersweet farewell to their forward-thinking catalogue, including 1998’s trailblazing The Shape of Punk to Come.
Floridian pop-punkers NEW FOUND GLORY don’t know how to stop. Fast approaching three decades as a unit, their influential style of hardcore-adjacent pop-punk can be found in the sonic DNA of countless groups across the world. With 11 studio albums, one live album, one Christmas album, one acoustic album, two EPs, and four cover albums in the tank, their 2025 Good Things appearance will be all hits and no misses. After conquering the world off the back of 2024’s monstrous, self-produced and self-titled LP, Perth metalcore quintet MAKE THEM SUFFER will return home with a battle-tested set of ferocious breakdowns, insane vocal dexterity, and futuristic synth sounds. California post-hardcore genre-benders DAYSEEKER will be eager to play a slew of new material for dedicated Aussie fans, with their long-awaited sixth studio album, Creature in the Black Night, set for release in October. As one of the country’s finest singer-songwriters, Australian Crawl frontman JAMES REYNE will turn the nostalgia up to 11, as the ARIA Hall of Famer and Order of Australia recipient performs iconic pub anthems like “The Boys Light Up,” “Hammerhead,” and more.
With quaking grooves and rowdy pit-calls ready to roll, Lone Star State veterans KUBLAI KHAN TX are sure to get the moshers out in full force, especially when they drop “The Hammer” with new cuts from 2024’s punishing Exhibition of Prowess LP. New York City rockers COBRA STARSHIP will bring back the hallowed glory of the MySpace Top 8, as Gabe Saporta & Co strut through dancefloor anthems from 2007’s iconic ¡Viva La Cobra!. Known for fusing skate-worthy pop-punk tunes with ‘90s ska-revival sounds, California’s GOLDFINGER will barrel through a fun, upbeat set of horn-blazing, arm-in-arm sing-a-longs for young and old alike. Following their comeback at last year’s When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas, Aussie pop-punk mainstays TONIGHT ALIVE are bringing the reunion vibes back home for Good Things Festival in 2025, rolling through classic belters from their seminal LP, 2013’s The Other Side.
Calling themselves the “bastard child of a Ramones/Strokes one-night stand,” BAD NERVES play angsty pop songs with plenty of distortion and a feisty punk rock spirit. Fresh off touring their third LP, Chrome Dipped, for international audiences, Melbourne post-punkers CIVIC are no doubt eager to get back and feed off some hometown energy. After selling out 1000+ venues across the world, L.A.-based rockers DEAD POET SOCIETY will bring their “heavy indie rock” sound to Australia, full of down-tuned riffs and pop-adjacent hooks. No one does it quite like FEVER 333. Helmed by live-wire frontman Jason Aalon Butler, the group’s trademark blend of incendiary punk rock, hardcore, and hip-hop style will captivate Good Things Festival attendees with themes of resistance, social justice, and unflinching honesty.
GWAR are not of this earth, and neither is their liveshow. Be prepared for heavy metal insanity that will scatter your brain to the furthest reaches of deep space, one gnarly riff and cosmic spray of goo at a time. Back once more following a 2024 run with Aussie sensation SPEED, HIGH VIS are proudly leading the UK hardcore vanguard off the back of their third studio album, the Madchester-aping Guided Tour. Sydney-siders INERTIA are at the forefront of Australia’s heavy music community, with their debut LP, Second Shadow, blending metalcore and post-hardcore with progressive tendencies and alternative visions. Vegas outfit PALAYE ROYALE take brotherly love and turn it into high-octane art, peddling a glam rock sound indebted to the fashion, lifestyle and neon-lined strip of their hometown. While she might be dressed in pink, SCENE QUEEN is more than just an aesthetic. After opening for BABYMETAL in 2024, her blend of crushing breakdowns and catchy emo anthems has garnered a fervent fanbase with headline tours across the US and UK.
Proving that online virality can have real staying power, SOUTH ARCADE will bring their unique blend of pop-punk and alt-rock Down Under for fans of Pale Waves, Avril Lavigne, and Bring Me the Horizon. UK provocateurs WARGASM have never had trouble standing out, and the 2025 line-up for Good Things is no exception. Metallic mayhem, layered harmonies, crunchy cyber synths, and a prickly ‘take no prisoners’ attitude–what else might they have in store for us? After crushing their Knotfest appearance earlier this year, Aussie metalcore progressives WINDWAKER will gladly make their HYPERVIOLENCE set a Good Thing affair—witness at your own risk. After the whirlwind success of their second studio album, TOXIC, Aussie rockers YOURS TRULY are stepping up to the festival stage to show off how their relentless touring schedule has sharpened their already hook-laden songwriting.
After a wild 2024 appearance, the stunt crew on STAGE 666will unveil their “Oozing Future Freakshow” for this year’s Good Thing Festival, with a shocking slate of pole dancers, live bands, and competitions. Billed as the “world’s most modified marvel,” gaze upon the teflon horns and tattooed scales of Austin’s Lizardman as he pulls off the touted ‘Cranial Corkscrew’! Be amazed as Brisbane’s own burlesque seductress, Jacqueline Furey, takes to the stage to breathe fire, swallow swords, and do unspeakable things with an angle grinder. There’s also the straitjacket escapades of Captain Ruin, the punk rock clown, and rock karaoke with Kill Your Pop Stars, including a tribute to the late great Ozzy Ozborne!
GOOD THINGS FESTIVAL LINE UP:
TOOL
Weezer
Garbage | All Time Low | Machine Head | The All-American Rejects
Knocked Loose | Lorna Shore | Refused | New Found Glory | Make Them Suffer
Dayseeker | James Reyne | Kublai Khan TX | Cobra Starship | Goldfinger | Tonight Alive
In Alphabetical Order:
Bad Nerves | Civic | Dead Poet Society | Fever 333 | Gwar | High Vis | Inertia
Palaye Royale | Scene Queen | South Arcade | Wargasm | Windwaker | Yours Truly
Plus the chaos of Stage 666!
DATES AND VENUES:
Friday 5 December – Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne (16+)
Saturday 6 December – Sydney Showground, Sydney (16+)
Sunday 7 December – Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane (16+)
Pre-sale tickets on sale Tuesday 19 August @ 10am AEST Time
Sign up now for pre-sale tickets at www.goodthingsfestival.com.au
General Public tickets on sale Thursday 21 August @ 10amAEST Time
https://www.oztix.com.au/
