The Best Music Festivals in Sydney and NSW
Music festivals in Sydney are back on the agenda, in fact, Sydney and regional NSW has a pretty good share of music Festivals spread throughout the year. If you are someone who loves loud spaces cramped with people in various of stages of consciousness, this article is for you. While some prefer to see magnificent buildings steeped in history or absorb the natural world in quiet contemplation, others like a little more spice in our lives.
If you’re one of these kinds of people, read on and start buying tickets early… these music festival sell out fast!
The festivals we have listed below are for those of us with more contemporary tastes and lean heavily towards hip hop and electronic music. Some of them have already been held for this year and others require a bit of a drive into the lovely New South Wales hinterland. That said, if you’re a music fan who’s young or young at heart, here are ten music festivals that you simply must put on your calendar.
Field Day
Getting up on New Year’s Day is a hard task for most of us, but if you can manage it, then make your way down to the Domain in the heart of Sydney for Field Day. A primarily hip and electronic music festival, Field Day has been running since all the way back in 2002 and has recently featured world-famous hip-hop artists such as Chance the Rapper and Childish Gambino along with electronic favourites like RL Grime and Disclosure.
Follow the Field Day Instagram account for new of next year’s event.
Where: The Domain Sydney
When: 1st January
Full Details Here
Electric Gardens
The Electric Gardens started from Perth’s Damian Gelle and Sydney’s Anton Marmot’s backyard party in 2001, that evolved into a brand new music festival in 2004, that was first held in the UK.
Then Electric Gardens, with its founders, returned to Australia to become one of the most memorable occasions of Australian summer.
Where: The Domain Sydney
When: Between late January and early February
Full Details Here
Laneway
What started as a tiny indie music event in the laneways of Melbourne, St Jerome’s Laneway Festival, has now become one of the most loved music festivals in Australia.
The Laneway Festival started in Melbourne in 2004 and has now expanded to include shows in Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Fremantle, Auckland, Singapore and Detroit.
Where: College of Arts
When: 5 Feb 2023
Full Details Here
Touch Bass
Touted as Australia’s “annual breakbeat showdown” Touch Bass is not for the faint of heart. And with international blockbusters like Borgore, Excision and Sub Focus headlining this year’s event, it’s a good idea to book your tickets before it’s too late.
Usually held on the Easter Long Weekend) at the Hordern Pavilion, Touch Bass might not be for everyone, but if it’s for you then it is certainly for you.
Where: Hordern Pavilion
When: 2025 TBC
Full Details Here
Ultra
A now worldwide phenomenon, Ultra is an EDM or electronic dance music festival that originally began in Miami in 1999 but has since branched out to Australia and across the globe.
So I’m sad to say that if you’re keen on seeing Ultra this year you will have to head to Melbourne. But with headliners including Darren Styles, Deborah De Luca, Hardwell, and Sub Zero Project on the list this year, EDM fans should definitely keep this one on the radar and consider a trip south.
Where: Myer Music Bowl in Melbourne this year
When: 13-14 April 2024
Full Details Here
BluesFest
Bluesfest is an Easter weekend institution. This award-winning music festival is held just outside Byron Bay on the north coast of NSW. Now in its 30th year and attracting 100k people get in early to book one of the 6000 campsites or nearby accommodation. Five stages, 12 hours a day, for four days you will need to pace yourself here!
Where: Byron Events Farm (Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm)
When: 17-20 April 2025
Full Details Here
Groovin the Moo
Unlike most of the other festivals on this list, Groovin the Moo is not held in capital cities but across regional Australia. Nearing on fifteen years old now, its NSW venue has primarily been at the Maitland Showground just outside of Newcastle.
Where: Maitland Showground
When: Sadly cancelled for the foreseeable future
Full Details Here
Splendour in the Grass
The other non-Sydney festival on this list, Splendour in the Grass has been held in the hippy heartland around Byron Bay since 2001, becoming a rite of passage for a generation of young Australians. Featuring what could loosely describe as alternative music and growing to encompass hip hop and electronic, Splendour offers something for everyone.
Running this year from the 22th to 24th of July, this festival’s headliners will be local favourite Flume, classic indie rock band the Strokes, and the dynamic and unpredictable Tyler the Creator.
Where: North Byron Parklands
When: 2024 cancelled, 2025 TCB
Full Details Here
Burning Seed
The event is dedicated to creative practice, celebrates community, fosters Radical Self Expression and is founded on Radical Self Reliance. The community exists and grows through Communal Effort, is commerce free, and relies on the participation of all community members to achieve its needs, goals and dreams.
The experience of positive interactions and ‘Radical Inclusion’ nurtures every participant and the ‘Gifting Economy’ provides insight into how it truly is joyful it is to share and share alike.
Where: Red Earth City, Matong State Forest
When: TBC
Full Details Here
Listen Out
A hip hop and electronic music festival, Listen Out has been held in major cities across Australia since 2013. Typically held in Sydney’s Centennial Park around late September or early October.
You can also catch Listen Out in Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth.
Where: Centennial Park Sydney
When: 6 October 2024
Harbourlife
Since 2003 Harbourlife has become Sydney’s premiere dance music event. This spectacular Sydney party will return to its spectacular waterside venue at Mrs Macquarie’s Point in Sydney.
You can celebrate the start of summer in beautiful green surroundings, the perfect view of the Sydney harbour/skyline and party with a carefully hand-picked selection of quality house acts providing the perfect soundtrack.
Where: Sydney Botanical Gardens
When: Mid-November TBC
Full Details Here
Festival X
Just one year old and acting as a kind of replacement for the now-cancelled and much loved Stereosonic, Festival X has a similar focus on EDM music that also branches out into hip hop.
Where: Sydney Showgrounds
When: TBC
Full Details Here
Good Things
Beginning only in 2018, Good Things is a festival that primarily features metal, alt-rock and punk acts. In its short history, Good Things has hosted metal and punk legends such as Parkway Drive, the Offspring and A Day to Remember, along with acts more associated with the pub rock scene, such as the Dropkick Murphys and the Smith Street Band.
Expect 2024’s Good Things to come way off in December right in the middle of the city in Centennial Park.
Where: Centennial Park
When: 7 December 2024
Full Details Here
Feature image: Bluesfest Credit: Bluesfest Byron Bay (via Destination NSW)
