Forget The Domain, Barunah Plains, and Willowbank, Australia’s next red-hot festival is taking place in the reddest and hottest parts of the country.
Two major outback events, The Birdsville Big Red Bash and Mundi Mundi Bash, which take place in winter (that’s a small mercy) in the Simpson Desert and Broken Hill, and their stacked 2026 lineups have just landed. Whether you’re after the tunes or the expansive outback settings, you’ve got plenty of time to start planning.
Head to Big Red Bash and you could see Missy Higgins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Living End and Tokyo Birds, while Mundi Mundi stars exclusive shows from Jon Stevens and John Butler. Then there’s the shared artists for both, including Troy Cassar-Daley, The Whitlams and Jessica Mauboy.
These outback music festivals represent the cultural pinnacle of Australia’s remote festival circuit, offering experiences that cannot be replicated anywhere else in the country.
Returning favourite Missy Higgins expressed her excitement in headlining again at Birdsville, saying, “My band and I absolutely love playing in the desert for The Big Red Bash. Surrounded by giant sand dunes and people having travelled miles in their dusty caravans to get there… it’s so unique and so Australian.”
View this post on InstagramLove Music?
Get your daily dose of metal, rock, indie, pop, and everything else in between.
The Teskey Brothers are making their Bash debut, but the festival’s reputation precedes itself for Josh Teskey, who said, “We’ve heard a lot about these desert shows from our friends and we can’t wait to get out there in the red dust and see what it’s all about.”
Hoodoo Gurus are also returning to the Big Red Bash after their memorable 2023 performance, with Dave Faulkner declaring, “Our first-and only-time there in 2023 was one of the most memorable gigs of our lives! What an insane idea: gather a motley crew of merry misfits and savvy self-starters and head out to the back-of-beyond to enjoy a few days of music, mirth and merriment?!”
Greg Donovan, founder of the Outback Music Festival Group, which organises both events, emphasises the impact these events have on the Australian music scene. “Watching families dance in the shadow of the 40-metre-high Big Red sand dune as the sun sets behind it, or seeing thousands on the Mundi Mundi Plains under that endless sky with the Barrier Ranges behind them is pure magic,” he explains.
Both camping-based festivals are expected to attract big crowds, with an expectation of around 10,000 attendees at Big Red and 15,000 at Mundi Mundi. Both events remain all-ages and dog-friendly, and maintain a reputation as highly accessible despite the remote locations.
The Birdsville Big Red Bash runs from July 7–9, 2026, tickets go on sale October 23 at 10am AEDT. Mundi Mundi Bash will runs from August 20–22, 2026 and tickets go on sale on October 24.
2026 BIRDSVILLE BIG RED BASH LINEUP
Missy Higgins
Hoodoo Gurus
The Teskey Brothers
The Living End
Birds of Tokyo
Jessica Mauboy
Shannon Noll
Kate Ceberano
The Whitlams
Tim Finn
Troy Cassar-Daley
Chocolate Starfish
Ross Wilson
Furnace and the Fundamentals
50 Years of Fleetwood Mac
Shane Howard
Wes Carr
Jem Cassar-Daley
Tom Busby
Gypsy Lee
2026 MUNDI MUNDI BASH LINEUP
The Teskey Brothers
Jon Stevens
John Butler
Boy & Bear
Baby Animals
Jessica Mauboy
The Whitlams
Leo Sayer
Tim Finn
Richard Clapton
Troy Cassar-Daley
Chocolate Starfish
Furnace and the Fundamentals
Wendy Matthews
The Radiators
Shane Howard
Fanny Lumsden
19-Twenty
50 Years of Fleetwood Mac
Hot Potato Band
Tom Busby
Wes Carr
