Great Southern Nights again lights up venues, stages and communities with live music across NSW

With 320 gigs playing across 215 venues over 17 nights 

Plus four Gig Trails, two brand new Live Fest events, 

the return of Groovin the Moo and more

Live music has once again taken centre stage across New South Wales as Great Southern Nights delivered a vibrant 2026 program that brought communities together and energised venues, precincts and regional destinations across the state.

With more than 90,000 fans filling 215 venues,  audiences enjoyed over 320 gigs across New South Wales, celebrating the breadth and diversity of Australia’s live music tourism. Some of Australia’s biggest names in music including Paul Kelly, Missy Higgins, Peking Duk, Thelma Plum, Lime Cordiale and Genesis Owusu were among the artists to take to stages across the state.

The 2026 iteration of Great Southern Nights took place across Sydney, Western Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong, the South Coast, Northern Rivers and Central West regions transforming venues, streets and entertainment precincts into thriving hubs of live performance and cultural activity. With artists playing shows as south as Merimbula, as north as Kingscliff, as inland as Wagga Wagga and as remote as Boggabilla, this year’s program was the most expansive to date.

A total of 634 acts, up 43% on last year, saw approximately 2,000 individual performers and around 1,000 industry crew membersdirectly engaged across the program.

New initiatives introduced in 2026 expanded the footprint and impact of Great Southern Nights even further, with the debut of Live Fest Dubbo and Live Fest Tamworth, the return of Groovin the Moo and the inclusion of River Sounds Festival bringing live music to even more communities across regional NSW. Collectively, the new initiatives attracted more than 16,000 attendees.

Following on from the success of previous years, Great Southern Nights’ popular Gig Trails returned in 2026, activating once more in Midtown Newcastle, expanding into new Sydney precincts of  Chippendale and Newtown-Enmore and for the first time in Port Kembla.

An estimated 5,500 patrons moved from venue to venue across the four Gig Trails discovering live performances, street artists, buskers and pop-up entertainment, creating an immersive festival-like atmosphere throughout each district. Rooftops, laneways and unexpected corners came alive with surprise performances and intimate acoustic sets, while local businesses further contributed to the experience through workshops, art exhibitions and creative activations, with many offerings available for free.

Great Southern Nights also provided a significant boost to accommodation providers, restaurants, bars and cafes across participating locations, as local businesses capitalised on increased foot traffic, overnight visitation and heightened activity throughout the event period, reinforcing the important role live music plays in driving the state’s creative, visitor and night-time economies.

Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper said: “Great Southern Nights is a shining example of how we’re bringing entertainment precincts back to life. This year’s event delivered unforgettable live music experiences for local and visiting music fans right across our communities. Events like Great Southern Nights energise the nightlife of our cities and regions, providing vital support to local businesses and jobs. I congratulate the team at ARIA for delivering another incredible event, and thank all the artists, venues and fans who turned up the volume to create such a memorable experience for NSW.”

ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd said: “Great Southern Nights puts a live music soundtrack at the centre of incredible experiences across New South Wales, bringing great artists to stages right across the state while delivering real benefits to local communities. From booked-out accommodation and busy pubs, bars and restaurants to thriving small businesses and energised main streets, live music drives visitation and creates momentum wherever it goes. Audiences aren’t just going to gigs; they’re discovering new towns, exploring different parts of NSW and experiencing the culture and character that make each community unique. At the same time, the program supports the artists and venues that keep our music scene alive. When music gives people a reason to travel and explore their own backyard, everyone benefits.”

Performing at the inaugural Live Fest in Dubbo, Missy Higginssaid:“Initiatives like Great Southern Nights that bring music to regional areas as well as metro cities are just invaluable. It’s great for the locals, and it’s great for the musicians too, because we get to reach more people, and have these amazing shows like tonight, where everyone was just so excited that we’re here and everyone came out in droves”.

Performing at Great Southern Nights’ most remote location of Boggabilla, JK-47 said:“I think it’s very important that Great Southern Nights is doing this, especially in places like Boggabilla. What I learned in yarns talking to the uncles is that things like this don’t happen unless someone brings it here.”

Great Southern Nights was delivered by the NSW Government’s tourism and major events agency, Destination NSW, in partnership with the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), providing audiences with three memorable weekends of Australian live music experiences.

To recap, the Great Southern Nights 2026 line up featured in alphabetical order:

3% | AMBER LAWRENCE | ANGEL WHITE | AUGIE MARCH

AYESHA MADON | BAKER BOY | BALL PARK MUSIC

BEDDY RAYS | BLISS N ESO | BOY SODA

C.O.F.F.I.N | CLOUD CONTROL | DEAN TURNLEY

DENZEL CURRY (US) | DOPE LEMON | DRAPHT

DUNE RATS | ECCA VANDAL | ELECTRIC FIELDS

EMMA DONOVAN | GENESIS OWUSU | GOLDEN FEATURES

 GORDI | HANNAH JOY (Middle Kids) | HATCHIE | HELLIONS

JACK RIVER | JAGUAR JONZE | JAMES REYNE  | JESS HITCHCOCK

JESSICA MAUBOY | JET | JK-47 | JON STEVENS 

KAH-LO (Nigeria) | KASEY CHAMBERS

KATH EBBS presents COWBOY COUNTRY 

KELI HOLIDAY | KITA ALEXANDER | KLP | L.A.B 

LARISSA LAMBERT | LIME CORDIALE |  LISA SIMONE (USA) 

MADDY JANE | MAPLE’S PET DINOSAUR | MATT CORBY

MAY-A | MEG MAC | MEMPHIS LK | MISSY HIGGINS

NINAJIRACHI | OLD MERVS | PACIFIC AVENUE 

PANIA | PAUL KELLY | PEKING DUK | PETE MURRAY

PLAYLUNCH | REGURGITATOR | RHYTHM SECTION

SAN CISCO | SARA BERKI | SHADY NASTY  

SHANE HOWARD + SHANE NICHOLSON + SARA STORER 

SONS OF THE EAST | SOUL WUN | STEPH STRINGS

THE CAT EMPIRE | THE CHATS 

THE COLLIFLOWERS | THE CRUEL SEA | THE GROGANS 

THE JUNGLE GIANTS | THE LIVING END | THE RUBENS

THE TERRYS | THE VANNS | THE WHITLAMS (Orchestral)

THELMA PLUM | THEM & I | THUNDERCAT (USA)

TIGERLILY | TRIALS |  VV PETE | WAAX 

WADE FORSTER | WHAT SO NOT | WILSN | YOUNG FRANCO