Open Season will return for its sixth year with a line up featuring Brian Jackson, Yasiin Bey and more
Winter in Brisbane is about to get a whole lot cooler. The Tivoli Group has announced that Open Season will return for its sixth edition this year, bringing more than 100 artists together across more than ten venues around the city, from theatres and clubs to galleries and public spaces. The 2026 iteration is set to be bigger and bolder than ever, creating musical experiences that are as distinct as they are daring. Here’s what you can look forward to …
Open Season has built its reputation as Brisbane’s defining winter music and culture program by showcasing the best local, national and international artists while embracing the city’s boldly independent creative spirit. What began as a one-venue, four-week event in the wake of the pandemic has evolved into a city-wide takeover that lights up Brisbane each year, expanding to an eight-week run in 2026. This year’s program spans The Tivoli, The Princess Theatre, QPAC’s new Glasshouse Theatre, South Brisbane’s Fish Lane, the Clarence Corner Precinct in Woolloongabba, the historic St Andrew’s Church, QUIVR in Winn Lane and various public spaces across the city.
Creative director Dave Sleswick describes the 2026 program as the most expansive iteration of Open Season yet, with a program that belongs to the city and people who live here.
“It’s rough around the edges, full of bite and big ideas, and driven by people who genuinely care about making Brisbane a more interesting and culturally rich place to call home,” says Dave.
The 2026 lineup will unite musical icons, pioneers and voices across a cross-genre collision of punk, indie, electronic, jazz, hip-hop, psych and more. Most notably, the program will highlight the world premiere of jazz and soul luminary Brian Jackson and hip-hop legend Yasiin Bey, as they honour the revolutionary artistry of the American jazz poet and singer Gil Scott-Heron on Monday May 25 to open up the program.
In the same vein, the poetic conviction of rappers Earl Sweatshirt and MIKE will bring sharp, introspective lyricism to the Open Season lineup, while R&B heartthrob Saint Levant will bring his trilingual love songs to The Princess Theatre.
Representing post-rock in all its forms will be Glasgow-born-and-raised Mogwai (celebrating 30 years), American blackgaze pioneers Deafheaven, rock-metal-pop all-rounders Nothing, and DIY hardcore riffers Spy.
For a dose of electronic, Open Season has rallied high-energy techno DJ Skin on Skin, electropop princess Alison Wonderland, the Indigenous storytelling and house music of RONA., tech-house mixer Ben Gerrans, as well as Bradley Zero, dameeeela and C.Frim.
They’re joined by London four-piece avant-garde outfit Dry Cleaning, North Carolina indie-alt-country rockers Wednesday, Brisbane-based gritty rockers Full Flower Moon Band, lo-fi genre-blenders Current Joys, and the shoegaze and psych rock sounds of The Black Angels and Silversun Pickups. Welsh singer-songwriter Cate Le Bon, British poet and musician Kae Tempest, UK producer and vocalist Clara La San, and The National’s legendary baritone frontman Matt Berninger will also join the city-wide takeover. View the full line up here.
Subscribe for updatesIn 2026, Open Season will move beyond the stages and into the city’s streets, galleries and other unexpected spaces to celebrate the program’s expansion. The program will also feature keystone event Against The Grain Festival, celebrating the 10-year anniversary of Brisbane-based event promoters GRAIN. The one-day, multi-venue block party will bring more than 30 artists together to transform The Princess Theatre and surrounding Clarence Corner precinct, with performances by Stereolab, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Hatchie – the full program announcement will drop on April 1.
Blak Day Out, co-presented by Blak Social, will also return for its annual celebration of Blak talent and First Nations voices, stories and sound, featuring performances from Beddy Rays, Jem Cassar-Daley and more.
South System will also return to Fish Lane for its second year with Vol. 2, taking the dance party to the back street with free performances from RONA., while QUIVR co-presents Centrefold for a celebration of women and GNC creatives and electronic artists including C.Frim, dameeeeela, nikitasilly, Peachtings, Squidgenini and more.
The photographic exhibition Nowhere Fast will take over the Woolloongabba Art Gallery, while events like the Australasian Dance Collective’s dance piece Assembly Vol. 2 – Dull Boy, Kiosk Film’s dance/film event Cruisin’ For A Bruisin’ and VOiiiD Collective and Bcharre’s live music project SKIN will bring interdisciplinary collaborations to the forefront.
Pre-sale tickets to Open Season open on Thursday March 26, and general on-sale on Friday March 27.
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