This Winter Music Series Returns For Its Sixth Year With A Stacked Lineup
AMPED UP
By Cali Westmoreland | 27th March 2026There’s something in the air right now. Maybe it’s a collective craving for culture, for something a little more alive than another night scrolling. An undeniable shift is happening in the Brisbane scene: people are getting out and about, dressing up, trying new things, and right on cue, Open Season is returning with a bigger, louder, and more jam-packed schedule for 2026.
Running from May 25 to July 2025, Open Season isn’t just a program; it’s a full-blown city takeover. Think late nights in moody theatres, unexpected gigs in unexpected places, and music and art bleeding together into movement. No longer any need to consider Brisbane in winter as drab and sleepy, it is now electric.
The city, reimagined
Open Season has always been about Brisbane finding its voice, but this year they have taken care of the discovering, and are leaving the viewing up to us.
What evolved in 2020 as a modest, post-pandemic experiment has evolved into a sprawling, eight-week cultural moment, stretching across the city’s most iconic and unexpected venues. From The Tivoli to Princess Theatre, the brand-new Glasshouse Theatre at QPAC, and even churches, laneways, and parking lots, this is Brisbane reimagined as a living, breathing stage. It’s edgy in places, polished in others, and completely unafraid to blur the lines between high art and underground cool.
The lineup everyone will be talking about
Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty details.
Open Season 2026 delivers a truly stacked lineup, where global icons sit comfortably alongside cult favourites and local heroes. To kick off, there’s the world premiere of Gil Scott-Heron by Brian Jackson & Yasiin Bey: a poetic, powerful tribute that feels destined to be one of those “you had to be there” type of nights.
From the powerful voices of Mogwai, who are celebrating 30 years, to two of hip-hop’s most distinctive voices, Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE, and the pop sounds of Peach PRC, this lineup will not just cater to your taste, it will expand it.
- Gil Scott-Heron by Brian Jackson & Yasiin Bey – May 25
- Mogwai – May 27
- Earl Sweatshirt & MIKE – May 27
- Current Joys – May 27
- Dry Cleaning – May 28
- Ben Gerrans – May 29
- Bradley Zero – May 29
- Mulga Bore Hard Rock – May 29
- Sparks – May 30
- Artificial (Live + AV) – May 30
- Matt Berninger (The National) – May 31
- Cat Le Bon – June 2
- Alison Wonderland – June 4
- Wednesday – June 4
- Sorry – June 5
- Quivr Laneway Party: Centrefold – June 6
- Kae Tempest – June 7
- Saint Levant – June 8
- The Black Angels – June 9
- Nowhere Fast: The Photograph of Paul O’Brien – June 9-22
- Assembly Vol. 2 – June 12
- Clara La San – June 13
- Rum Jungle – June 19
- Against The Grain Festival – June 20
- South System Ft. Rona – June 27
- Shady Nasty – July 3
- Ben Kweller – July 8
- Hiatus Kaiyote – July 10
- Deafheaven – July 12
- Cruisin’ For A Bruisin’ – July 14
- Skin – Voiid Collective & Bcharre – July 16
- Peach PRC – July 16
- Skin On Skin – July 17
- Full Flower Moon Band – July 18
- Silversun Pickups – July 24
- Blak Day Out – July 24
- Eddy Current Suppression Ring – July 25
The final word
Open Season 2026 isn’t just an event you attend. It’s one you bounce between, venue to venue, genre to genre, iconic moment to the next iconic moment. It’s where Brisbane will feel bold, winter will feel warm, and where the city will get a little louder and a little more alive. And right now? There’s nowhere else we’d rather be.
