After 20 years, the team behind Western Australia’s annual Wave Rock Weekender has announced that the 2026 edition of the festival will be its last.
Taking place during the King’s Birthday long weekend from Friday, 25 to Monday, 28 September, the line-up for the final, 21st edition of the Wave Rock Weekender will be revealed later this month. And for the very last Wave, organisers are teasing a line-up that will feature “old Wave Rock favourites, some hot new acts, and a couple of appropriately big surprises.”
“It has been a wild and beautiful ride, but we love a happy ending and have decided we want to end it on a total high like it deserves,” organisers commented in a statement.
They added, “The Weekender is too special to us for it to end like so many other festivals seem to do… stiffing audiences/artists/suppliers, complaining about costs, blaming fans, becoming irrelevant blah blah blah.
“Although letting things go when they feel great is hard, ending on a high will let the Weekender have the legacy & legend it deserves as one of the most kind, loving, respectful, comfortable, personal, diverse, sustainable, fun and unique festivals in the world and that music events can actually treat everyone right.”
General tickets for the final event will be available from 9 am AWST today at the Wave Rock Weekender website.
Throughout its 20-year history, the festival has hosted incredible acts that went from WA to dominating the world stage, such as Tame Impala, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, The Cat Empire, Spacey Jane, Pond, The Teskey Brothers, The Drones, Methyl Ethel, Aldous Harding, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Stella Donnelly, Harvey Sutherland, The Jezabels, and many others.
Don't miss a beat with our FREE daily newsletter
In addition to music, the festival is home to a great bar and food, camping, being in nature, a cinema, a yoga retreat, dancehall, speakeasy projections, and much more.
“Our business (Supersonic/Billions) has delivered more than 10,000 shows around Australia with some of the absolute best artists since 1993, but the 20 Wave Rock Weekender events so far are really some of the best we have ever done with the best people, and they hold a very, very special place in our hearts,” the statement continued.
“We’ve never done this show for commercial reasons; it was always a passion project, and we simply tried our best to bring adventurous people together and be respectful and kind to everyone in an amazing setting with great music aided by a fantastic regional community.
“It has always reminded us of the power and beauty of music and people when you bring them together with simple things like freedom, respect and comfort. We also know, as do you, that it has been one of the best festival experiences in the world because of that.
“If, like us, you’ve had some of the times of your life, you’ve met the love of your life or made friends for life at the Weekender, then let’s gather round the big, beautiful rock one more time.”
