Queensland Music Festival CEO Daryl Raven was about an hour from St George when he spotted a laminated sign bearing the organisation’s logo. Or a facsimile thereof, at least.
He was puzzled. He had just attended another successful stage of QMF’s Outback Trail with Hussy Hicks, Karl S. Williams and Jem Cassar-Daley playing.
“Then I was driving to Cunnamulla when I saw a home-printed laminated logo for QMF pinned to a post,” he recalls. “It was pointing to a post office and art gallery.”
He pulled over and found that the owners of the nearby Nullawokka First Nations Gallery and Tours – Gwamu/Kooma elder and traditional custodian Uncle Bill Speedy and his wife Judith – at the little settlement of Bollon, had put the sign up.
“They told me they heard the trail was coming through and wanted people to stop at the gallery,” Raven says. “I loved that sense of innovation.”
It may not have been officially part of the Outback Trail but, as Raven points out – it is now! For Raven it was a demonstration of what QMF’s Music Trails mean to people in regional Queensland.
Recently, The Tropics Trail entertained folk in Far North Queensland and Raven says the local communities got right behind the events. That trail included, for the second year, the Dream Aloud festival at Cairns/Gimuy, where an all-First Nations line-up performed in the lush surrounds of Munro Martin Parklands.
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Dream Aloud recently won gold for Best Tourism Initiative at the international 2025 Music Cities Awards in Arkansas, recognising its impact on artists, audiences and community in Cairns.
“Dream Aloud has captured the imagination of audiences across Queensland and now the world,” Raven says. “To be recognised on the global stage and to return to Gimuy for an even bigger second year recently is a privilege.”
Next is The Scenic Rim Trail, October 31 to November 9, back for the third year. It will unfold across three events that turn showgrounds of Boonah and vineyards and gardens into venues for unforgettable gatherings of music food and community.
At the heart of the Scenic Rim Trail is The Long Sunset, a three-day festival that will transform Boonah Showgrounds into a playground of live music, art and culture under open skies. Headlined by Indie heavyweights Boy & Bear and alt-pop powerhouse Vera Blue, the line-up spans favourites and rising stars including our own Jem Cassar-Daley.
Raven says the trail is hitting Boonah for the first time. “And the community has got right behind it,” he says. “They love it and it brings so much economic impact.”
People will camp out for the festival and there will be plenty of day trippers.
After that it’s all eyes on The Outback Trail next April/May. From Charleville to Mount Isa, the 2026 route charts a brand-new course through nine iconic Outback towns with music as the compass on a journey through country communities, cherished traditions and incredible landscapes.
Raven says The Outback Trail had captured the nation’s imagination by blending music, travel and adventure in a way that feels distinctly Queensland.
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“The Outback Trail is more than a festival, it’s an iconic Australian road trip,” he says. “At each stop, travellers can expect to swap city skylines for red dirt horizons, discovering unforgettable performances, heartfelt community moments and the kind of country hospitality that lingers long after the journey ends.
“The Outback Trail proves that music can be a powerful compass, guiding travellers into places they might never have ventured and creating moments they will never forget.”
The Outback Trail in 2026 offers a kaleidoscope of experiences, with each stop unveiling its own unique magic. Among the highlights:
Charleville Saddle Up kicks off the adventure with a lively mixer under the stars; Tambo Bush Dance invites generations to swing and stomp at the Tambo Racecourse, transforming the track into the town’s biggest dancefloor; Hughenden’s Festival of Outback Skies presents a lakeside evening of performance led by internationally acclaimed artist William Barton, complete with a lantern parade and the journey culminates in Outback Sounds in Mt Isa, a grand finale headlined by some of Australia’s biggest acts alongside emerging local talent.
Artist highlights include Kaylee Bell and The Wolfe Brothers, who will headline the Mt Isa finale, with Taylor Moss and Tori Darke announced as 2026 Trail Ambassadors.
It’s going to be big and it means Raven will be on the road again out west, which he loves. He’s from New Zealand originally and has worked in the past for Flight Centre and the NRMA Group in management positions. His background isn’t musical and he says when he was interviewed for the QMF gig he suggested to the panel – “don’t judge me on my musical prowess”.
But he loves music, has what it takes to run this vast enterprise and has now seen more of Queensland than most of us.
“We are now working across 28 locals government areas,” he says. “I have become such a lover of this state. I had never been west of Toowoomba before I got this job.”
For his first year in the job Raven hired a motor home and “drove the whole thing, which was an amazing experience. The road trips involved are long but often inspiring”.
“I love some of the conversations we have on those trips where you are driving for four or five hours on these narrow straight roads, solving the problems of the world and planning new trails along the way.”
Queensland Music Trails is a decade-long cultural tourism vision leading into Brisbane 2032 and a foundation of the coming Cultural Olympiad. State Arts Minister John-Paul Langbroek (a champion of the music trails, according to Raven) says The Outback Trail draws locals and visitors to extraordinary cultural experiences that celebrate uniquely Queensland landscapes with the very best music talent.
“Events such as the Charleville Saddle Up, the Festival of Outback Skies and Outback Sounds will enable homegrown and national artists to reach new audiences in iconic locations and generate economic benefits across regional Queensland,” says Langbroek.
This year The Outback Trail alone had around 4000 attendees and generated almost $2 million in visitor spend and Raven points out momentum is building with triple the attendance since its inception.
QMF’s QLD Music Trails are opening up this vast state and everyone wants a piece of the action. And if that means a dodgy laminated sign by the side of the road, so be it.
The Scenic Rim Trail, October 31 to November 9; The Outback Trail, April 24 to May 9, 2026.