Country road 🎵 take me to QLD for these rockin’ country music festivals
Pack your RV, tell the boss you’ll be sick and get ready to kick up your heels in the dust at these QLD country music festivals.
By Jessica Palmer,
June 27, 2023
QLD has a whip-crackin’ calendar of country music festivals for 2023, but can you believe the year is halfway over? It should come as no surprise that we’re starting to get some serious FOMO. It kicked off in March with the hugely popular CMC Rocks festival in Brisbane and this was quickly backed up by Winton’s Way Out West Festival.
Now with less than six months to go until the year’s end, we have five fantastic QLD country music festivals to choose from. So pack your RV, tell the boss you’ll be sick on these dates and get ready to kick up your heels in the dust for these rockin’ QLD country music festivals in the last half of 2023.
#1🎵 Birdsville Big Red Bash, Outback QLD
When: 4th – 6th July, 2023
Tickets have officially sold out for the Big Red Bash for 2023. However, all hope is not lost, as you can access resale tickets when available from the ticket button above.
Hailed as the most remote festival in the world, the Birdsville Big Red Bash is a bucket-list event for any live music fan. Located west of Birdsville on the edge of the Simpson Desert, festival-goers make the annual pilgrimage to “Bashville” for four days of music, camping and adventure.
This year the iconic Outback QLD music festival celebrates ten years of “rockin’ the Simpson”. And as such, there is a big-hitting lineup that includes country music favourites John Williamson and Troy Cassar-Daley as well as rockers Hoodoo Gurus, The Angels, Ice-House and more.
This event is dog friendly and raises money for the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
#2 🎵 NQ’s Rock’n Country Music Festival, Mackay QLD
When: 18th – 20th August, 2023
NQ’s Rock’n Country Music Festival in Mackay, QLD, is a three-day event that will raise funds for Variety, a children’s charity that supports kids who are sick, disadvantaged or living with a disability.
With a lineup that includes Aussie country favourites like Troy Cassar-Daley, Kasey Chambers, Adam Brand, Shannon Noll, The Wolfe Brother and many more, this QLD country music festival brings the party vibes and an abundance of good old-fashioned country hospitality.
#3 🎵 Gympie Music Muster, Sunshine Coast Hinterland
When: 24th – 27th August, 2023
The legendary Gympie Music Muster returns in 2023 with some of the biggest names in Australian country music. Boasting over 100 performers taking the stage across the four-day festival, headliners include Troy Cassar-Daley, Adam Brand, Kasey Chambers, Busby Marou, Casey Barnes and more.
First held in 1982, the festival was initially intended as a one-off event. However, it has since grown to become one of Australia’s largest country and western celebrations, raising millions for local charities. There’s a bunch of other stuff to do at this QLD country music festival too. Join in some dance lessons, get hands-on with a bush-style workshop or gather around for a bush poets’ breakfast.
#4 🎵 Savannah in the Round, Atherton Tablelands
When: 6th – 8th October, 2023
Held over four nights at the Mareeba Rodeo Arena in the Atherton Tablelands, Savannah in the Round is gaining speed as one of the must-see QLD country music festivals. This year’s lineup is sure to blow a few boots off! Expect to see Jimmy Barnes, Kasey Chambers, Daryl Braithwaite, The Black Sorrows, Kate Ceberano and more.
#5 🎵 Groundwater Country Music Festival, Gold Coast
When: 20th – 22nd October, 2023
This free country music festival in QLD’s beachfront hub of Broadbeach on the Gold Coast spans across three chilled-out days. This year marks ten years since the inaugural event (then known as the Broadbeach Country Music Festival) and has a country street fair atmosphere. It brings the whole community together with cornhole games, country karaoke, arts and crafts markets, carnival rides and more.
An impressive lineup includes Lee Kernaghan, Jackson Dean, Casey Barnes, Amber Lawrence, Asleep at the Wheel, Blake O’Connor, Melody Moko and more.
Which QLD country music festival will you be heading to?
It doesn’t get much better than this. Five sensational QLD country music festivals to get you rockin’ and rollin’ across the Sunshine State. Or at least tappin’ your toes until the cows come home.
