Savannah In The Round ProfileTropical North Queensland’s premier music and camping festival, Savannah in the Round, has wrapped up another stellar four-day run at the Mareeba Rodeo Grounds, drawing 8,290 music lovers and racking up more than 23,405 attendances across the weekend.
Held from 8–11 October, the festival delivered a genre-spanning bill celebrating country, rock and Australian music royalty. One of the definitive highlights came courtesy of legendary US singer-songwriter Don McLean, who sparked a spine-tingling mass singalong of his timeless anthem American Pie.
"It has been a great weekend. We were blessed with the weather, everything ran really smoothly and most importantly we had happy patrons," festival director James Dein said.
"The programme was incredibly diverse. We had Don McLean and I couldn't believe the number of young people lining up to hear American Pie. To have around 7,500 people singing that song together was amazing.
"Then there was ICEHOUSE. Their music really is the soundtrack to Australia in so many ways, and they certainly didn't disappoint.
"Friday night was huge for country music as well, with Lee Kernaghan, Tyler Braden and The Wolfe Brothers, along with some fantastic emerging Australian artists including Max Jackson."
Beyond Friday's boot-scooting momentum—anchored by Nashville riser Tyler Braden, country powerhouse Lee Kernaghan and a huge late-night set from The Wolfe Brothers—the weekend featured more than 60 artists performing across multiple stages. The stacked line-up included powerhouse pairings and heritage favourites like Ian Moss and Troy Cassar-Daley, Mental As Anything, Dragon, Busby Marou, San Cisco, Hindley Street Country Club, and Brooke McClymont and Adam Eckersley.
The party rolled right through to Sunday, culminating in standout closing sets from Missy Higgins and rock stalwarts Chocolate Starfish.
Camping once again anchored the true Savannah experience, transforming the grounds into a thriving outback community with more than 5,500 campers pitching across 1,600 sites.
"Some people like to keep it laid-back with a swag or tent, while others arrive with the big rigs, but they are all here for the same reason, to have a great time," Dein noted, emphasising the festival's economic role across the Far North.
"Savannah was always established as a tourism event. We are in the business of event tourism, bringing people to the region and encouraging them to stay and explore, with the average extended visit around four nights.
"That is a significant boost for the local economy, and it puts Mareeba on the map," he added. "People are staying here, buying fuel, eating locally and spending money throughout the region."
Closing out the festivities, Dein paid tribute to the collaborative effort behind the event's continued success.
"It takes a huge number of people to put Savannah together and we couldn't do it without the support we receive from Mareeba and across Tropical North Queensland.
"Most importantly, thank you to everyone who bought a ticket, rolled out a swag, brought their family and mates and joined us for four days. We know they are going home with a few stories to tell."
