Winter is no longer the off-season — it’s quietly becoming one of the most compelling times to be a live music fan in Australia.
In Sydney, Vivid Sydney continues to blur the lines between art, light and music with typically sharp programming, while RISING in Melbourne leans deeper into the left-of-centre, building a reputation for line-ups that feel as curated as they are unpredictable.
For the past few years, Brisbane’s Open Season has tapped into that same energy, pulling select names from those southern heavyweights and pairing them with its own run of bespoke shows to make sure Queensland isn’t missing out.
Now, the 2026 lineup is here.
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.
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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
