Nick DiDia

Andrew Farriss, Melanie Dyer, Allan Caswell, Dan Davidson, Tori Forsyth and The Pigs are among more than 30 artists added to the 2026 Groundwater Country Music Festival programme.

Australian artists including Troy Cassar-Daley, Clare Bowditch, Amy Sheppard, Busby Marou, Kasey Chambers and Russell Morris have remembered Dolly Parton following her death at 80, reflecting on her music, generosity and personal connection with Australian audiences.

Kasey Chambers, Kaylee Bell and The Wolfe Brothers will headline the 2026 Groundwater Country Music Festival as the free Gold Coast event returns to Broadbeach this October with a program spanning Australian country, Americana, bluegrass and folk.

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.

South Australia is about to turn up the volume and the revs, as The Bend Classic returns from October 24 to 26 at Shell V-Power Motorsport Park. Combining horsepower and homegrown hits, the festival brings together the best in Australian country music with a full-throttle celebration of cars, camping and culture that's shaping up to be one of the most uniquely Australian weekends of the year.

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.