Organisers of the Birdsville Big Red Bash have confirmed the 2026 event will not go ahead, with founder Greg Donovan announcing the festival will return in 2027 with much of the planned line-up intact.

SongHubs Academy will make its Townsville debut with Cameron Deyell leading a six week collaborative songwriting program in partnership with the North Australian Festival Of Arts.

NSW's premier state-wide live music initiative kicks off from 1 - 17 May with hundreds of performances and brand new regional activations

The Red Hot Summer Tour has once again expanded its footprint across Australia, confirming four new dates that will see the festival land in Mornington, Hervey Bay, Hillarys and Sandstone Point. The 2026 run will continue the event's long-standing tradition of delivering a star-studded, all-Australian bill across some of the country's most scenic outdoor venues, and this year's edition is anchored by one of the nation's most revered storytellers, Paul Kelly.

The Red Hot Summer Tour will once again light up Australia in 2026, with Batemans Bay now confirmed to join the run of shows. The much-loved outdoor festival continues its legacy of celebrating Australian music under the open sky, and next year’s event promises one of the strongest all-local line-ups yet. At the forefront stands the country’s most revered songwriter and storyteller, Paul Kelly, headlining a bill that also features Missy Higgins, The Cruel Sea, The Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers, and Jess Hitchcock.

Paul Kelly continues to cement his legacy as Australia's greatest living songwriter with the release of his moving new single The Body Keeps The Score, lifted from his forthcoming album Seventy, due 7 November. At the same time, Kelly has been unveiled as the headline act for the Red Hot Summer Tour 2026, joining an all-star bill that includes Missy Higgins, The Cruel Sea, The Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers and Jess Hitchcock.

The Red Hot Summer Tour is set to turn up the heat in 2026 with a scorching all-Australian line-up headlined by one of the nation's most iconic and enduring singer-songwriters, Paul Kelly.