Thousands of fans rally in the valley as BIGSOUND 2025 puts all eyes on Australian music
2026 to mark 25 years of BIGSOUND, next year’s dates confirmed: 1 -4 SEPTEMBER 2026
Showcasing a surplus of talent with no end in sight, BIGSOUND 2025 arrived with a bang - proving once again that it is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest and most vital music industry gathering.
Fortitude Valley became the centre of the music universe from 2 - 5 September with 4200 festival goers including more than 1700 official delegates participating in over 500 events, featuring 138 speakers and 130 bands. All while up to 10,000 fans attended the free all-ages stages in the Brunswick St Mall and Goolwal Garden (Sound Garden) daily.
Across its 18 stages BIGSOUND platformed new talent to the world and invited fans, industry and change makers to discover the future of music.
Built around a central idea of connection that counts, BIGSOUND 2025 nurtured and encouraged a diverse lineup of artists to express their exciting new sounds in front of packed rooms of delegates who represented all areas of the music industry from Australia and abroad.
Focused on delivering invaluable and unmissable opportunities to both international and domestic music industry players, BIGSOUND partnered with organisations like Sounds Australia to put our over 500 artists in front of movers and shakers across the music-bizz.
“For over 15 years, Sounds Australia has been collaborating with BIGSOUND to deliver premier export pathways for the Australian showcasing artists,” said Esti Zilber, Executive Producer of Sounds Australia.
“Through 625 tailored one-on-one meetings this year, 35 influential international music industry professionals were connected with 66 emerging Australian acts. This highly curated experience opens doors to global opportunities, with tangible outcomes already being reported from both sides.”
Kicking off with a traditional welcome to Magandjin (Brisbane), Yuggera Country from Aunty Sandra and Native Born, BIGSOUND wasted no time in delivering a series of impactful and memorable moments, early in the program. Australian industry heavyweights from organisations like ARIA/PPCA, UNIFIED, Rolling Stone AU/NZ and Warner Music, delivered key insights into the current music climate, the emergence of new trends, and their predictions for the near-future of live music and support for Australian talent.
Featuring on the opening panel for 2025’s conference was President of Warner Music Australasia, Dan Rosen. Reflecting on this year's event, Rosen comments that “BIGSOUND is an important platform for our industry — it allows us to come together and share ideas to strengthen and support the future of Australian music. In the opening panel, I shared my perspective on Australia’s music export story. Australia is already punching above its weight at eighth globally — and with our artistic talent, infrastructure, and industry focus, we can position ourselves to break into the top five within the next few years. When Australian artists are adequately backed and strategically developed, the industry positions them for global impact and long-term success.”
The 2025 Conference Program featured keynotes delivered by some of Australia’s powerful artistic voices including BRIGGS, Mallrat and Tash Sultana.
International heavyweights included Blur drummer and author, Dave Rowntree – who shouted out Northern Rivers/Melbourne-based alt-rock group Loose Content as his favorite BIGSOUND act - and renowned British music executive Darcus Beese OBE - who shouted out BIG NOTER as a highlight. Radio giants including Ariana Morgenstern (KCRW) and Deb Grant (BBC Radio 6) represented just some of the key media figures who brought their wealth of knowledge to Brisbane to upskill and develop artists and industry workers alike.
Celebrating and highlighting First Nations talent, the Sound Garden became the Goolwal Garden, the home of Goolwal Goolwal, a program which centred Blak excellence with a beautifully curated series of music, discussions, events and celebrations like Bad Apples Music’s ten years anniversary - Now And Forever: BIGSOUND Edition.
Art and Community Liaison at Bad Apples Music, Kelly Hellmrich said “Ten years of Bad Apples, and BIGSOUND 2025 reminded us exactly why championing Blak voices and perspectives is so integral.”
“Some of the most exciting acts and conversations of the week centred around Blak artists and industry. Here’s to the next decade with First Nations music at the forefront and the industry getting behind it. Big thanks to BIGSOUND & friends for backing the vision and celebrating this huge milestone.”
Bad Apples Label owner Briggs had a strong impact on this year's conference; filling out a packed Fortitude Music Hall for his keynote address on day two, and fronting his new hardcore-punk band BIG NOTER for two special performances throughout the festival.
“BIG NOTER isn’t a musical departure—it’s a homecoming to the intense, raw style and culture that originally inspired me. I was stoked to share this with BIGSOUND over 2 shows and also reflect on 10 Years of Bad Apples Music in my keynote address.”
triple J Unearthed maintained a strong presence at BIGSOUND, with the return of the Unearthed Stage. Adding to a legacy that features standout performances by artists like Emily Wurramara, WAAX and more in the past, the Unearthed team welcomed 2025 competition winners, Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Serendipiti; as well as two-time Unearthed High finalists Frank and Louis from the Sunshine Coast, performing alongside announced performers including The Tullamarines, Darcie Haven, Mariae Cassandra, Puree, Inkabee and more.
The return of the Amazon Music Sessions Up Late brought a surprise set by Australian talent Mansionair to BIGSOUND, while the official Oztix Party threw down the gauntlet for some of BIGSOUND’s biggest sets from acts including HEADSEND, The Southern River Band and Aussie legends Kisschasy.
The new and improved BIGSOUND Artist Hub presented by Spotify was a huge success with fully subscribed development sessions and workshops covering everything from getting booked and synced to managing your artist career long term.
As always, word of mouth is a vital part of music discovery at BIGSOUND with momentum building throughout the week for breakthrough bands including Wollongong’s Cheeky Leash, Aotearoa’s There’s A Tuesday, WA’s Southern River Band; Sydney dynamo BVT and Melbourne’s SPIKE F*CK.
Venues throughout the Valley benefited universally from the increased mid-week traffic and patronage with venues like The Brightside, Black Bear, Blute's and O'Skulligan’s reporting the event was their most successful in a very long time.
The BIGSOUND Conference and Showcase Festival remains one of the key events on the Australian and global music calendar, with a key focus on shaping the future of the Australian music economy, and the eco-system within which it operates.
Doubling as a showcase artist bootcamp, BIGSOUND brings a curated selection of international heavy hitters to hear and see fresh Australian sounds and facilitates more than 750 artist meetings, along with multiple performance and development opportunities.
Key to the programming and delivery of BIGSOUND every year is the visual art activations, made possible by support from the Brisbane City Council, that elevate the festival experience and build a vivid and memorable playground for attendees to navigate.
Returning for its 25th year next year, BIGSOUND 2026 is confirmed for 1-4 September 2026. To wet your pallet ahead of next year we’ll leave you with these key BIGSOUND take aways:
Australia is in the top 10 for music export globally
Australia is the third largest consumer of country music behind only the USA and Canada
BIGSOUND alumni includes Flume, Gang of Youths, Tones and I, Violent Soho and current ARIA Top 20 Australian Singles Number 1 Keli Holiday.
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