General public tickets for the Australian debut of Park Waves festival go on sale this week, and it could be the start of an exciting new chapter for Australia’s festival scene.
Founded by Australian metalcore heavyweights Parkway Drive and launched in Dresden, Germany, last year, the inaugural local shows will kick off February 14th, 2026, in Perth before heading through Adelaide, Geelong, Wollongong, Maitland, and Parkway’s hometown of Byron Bay, wrapping up on March 15th on the Sunshine Coast.
The events will be headlined by Parkway Drive and boast a stacked local lineup including The Amity Affliction, Northlane, Alpha Wolf, and US outfit Story of the Year.
Speaking with Rolling Stone AU/NZ, Parkway Drive frontman Winston McCall said Park Waves has been in the works for many years, and while launching it internationally was a big step, the band have always wanted to bring it home.
“Being able to take it regional is really important,” McCall said. “This is the first Byron show we’ve been able to play in 12 years, because regional places, a lot of the time, they don’t have an entertainment centre to put on an arena-sized act. And if you don’t have that, you’re playing a 1000 cap club and thousands of people are missing out.”
The event ensures that Parkway Drive fans all around the country will have the chance to see the band — particularly hometown fans — which is a major factor for McCall. As he explained, “It’s the access we never had as kids.”
“I’m stoked to be able to be doing something like this… and for people to be able to have jobs… and for there to be a good news story, and to be able to represent heavy music still crushing it. It’s fucking rad.”
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It’s also not lost on McCall or Parkway Drive that the Australian festival market is enduring an incredibly difficult period. Major festivals like Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, and more recently Listen Out are just a few to have called off 2025 events due to many different factors – rising costs, artist fees and regulation.
McCall admitted it’s still unclear how long Park Waves will be around. Pending the demand and success of the 2026 shows, he wants the festival to be a staple of the scene.
“We’re not aiming to just go like, ‘This is the biggest thing ever’… It’s not Good Things part two and Knotfest or something like that, but… we’re gonna step into that space because it’s needed, and we want to do it.”
He continued: “I would fucking love for this to be something which sticks around. I’d love for it to be something where we can create a culture around it and continue forward. Right now, I just want to be able to provide something for people and it to be rad.”
General public tickets go on sale Thursday, July 24th at 10am local time via parkwavesfestival.com. Check out all of the dates below.
Park Waves Festival 2026
Saturday, February 14th
Langley Park, Perth, WA
Friday, February 20th
Adelaide Showground, SA
Sunday, February 22nd
Geelong Showgrounds, VIC
Saturday, February 28th
Caribbean Gardens, Scoresby, VIC
Sunday, March 1st
Bendigo Jockey Club, VIC
Thursday, March 5th
Thomas Dalton Park, Wollongong, NSW
Saturday, March 7th
Sydney Dragway, Eastern Creek, NSW
Sunday, March 8th
Maitland Showground, NSW
Thursday, March 12th
Queens Park, Toowoomba, QLD
Saturday, March 14th
Cavanbah Centre, Byron Bay, NSW*
Sunday, March 15th
Sandstone Point Hotel, QLD
*Subject to final council approval
