Airlie Beach Festival Reveals First Artist Line-up Starring Xavier Rudd, The Whitlams & More

Mary Varvaris

The Airlie Beach Festival of Music has confirmed another impressive line-up for 2026, continuing its reputation as Queensland’s “ultimate music holiday.”

Airlie Beach Festival of Music(Credit: Summer Rain Photography)

Xavier Rudd

The Airlie Beach Festival of Music has unveiled the first batch of artists to be announced for this year’s event, confirming that homegrown favourites will head to Queensland this November.

Taking over the Whitsunday Sailing Club from Friday, 6 November, to Sunday, 8 November, this year’s festival will once again be home to three days of headliners on the Main Stage, the Welcome Party on Thursday, 5 November, and the beloved After Party on Monday, 9 November.

Currently a finalist in the 2026 Queensland Music Awards for the People’s Choice Award for Festival of the Year, the long-running event is a major contributor to the local economy and consistently books impressive line-ups.

Xavier Rudd is one of this year’s headliners, coming home after a European festival tour for Queensland’s “party in paradise” and “ultimate music holiday.”

Having previously played shows in Airlie Beach, he’s familiar with the region’s scenic beauty and is already hinting at new music being played. “There will be some new music at this show, which will be played for the first time in Australia,” he remarked in a statement.

Rudd added, “From the photos I’ve seen, the festival setting is amazing. My music is definitely a celebration of our natural world, so a place like Airlie feels especially aligned with songs like ‘Follow the Sun’.

“These are the kinds of shows I love, and hopefully, weather permitting, we can actually pull down the tent and play under the stars!”

Continuing their mammoth 50th anniversary tour, Mental As Anything will also appear at this year’s festival. “We’re known for being a party band, so the Airlie Beach Festival of Music is a perfect fit,” said original member Reg Mombassa.

The Whitlams’ Tim Freedman has expressed delight at the band being one of the headliners of this year’s Airlie Beach Festival of Music. “I’ve been wanting to return to the Whitsundays for decades, and now we have the chance,” he said. “It’s a great line-up, music lifts the soul, and we rock!”

Also appearing at this year’s festival are rock, indie, and country acts such as The Radiators, Adam Harvey, 19-Twenty, the UK’s Skinny Living, Little Quirks, The Mason Rack Band, The Wayward Suns, Loonaloop, Salt & Steel, and last year’s Airlie Beach Festival of Music’s Passport to Airlie competition winners, Monroe.

Tickets for this year’s event – its 14th edition – are available now via the Airlie Beach Festival of Music website.

Festival Founder, Gavin Butlin, believes this year will be one of the event’s best to date.

“Mental As Anything has the highest number of hit songs of any Australian band, so every single person in the main tent will be singing along,” he said. “And Xavier Rudd’s live shows are the stuff of legend; I absolutely cannot wait.”