Castaway Festival is back for another Australian summer, and its 2026/2027 edition is putting local music front and centre. Hilltop Hoods, Violent Soho and Amy Shark lead a seven-act bill heading to Perth, Melbourne and Wollongong, with Playlunch, Trials, Lyric and Birdland completing the lineup.
The festival begins at Whitfords Nodes Park in Hillarys, WA on November 21 before heading east to Mornington Racecourse on December 12. Wollongong gets its turn on March 20, 2027, extending the Castaway summer well into next year.
Hilltop Hoods are a group that scarcely needs an introduction to Australian festival audiences. More than two decades into their career, the Adelaide trio have taken Australian hip-hop from clubs to arenas and festival headline slots, accumulating multiple ARIA Awards and a catalogue that has become part of the country’s musical furniture.
Then there’s Violent Soho. The Brisbane band bring the guitars, distortion and considerable volume to a bill that happily refuses to stick to one genre. Their presence alone gives Castaway a very different complexion from the usual summer festival lineup, particularly alongside Hilltop Hoods at the top of the poster.
Amy Shark completes the festival’s heavyweight trio, bringing a catalogue that has carried her from the Gold Coast to arenas and major festival stages. Her sharp-edged pop songwriting should sit neatly between the hip-hop and rock at either end of the bill.
Melbourne’s Playlunch have been on a serious run of their own, recently taking their distinctly Australian collision of funk, punk and suburban storytelling through the US, UK and Europe. Their appearance at Castaway brings them back onto home turf just as festival season starts gathering speed.
Trials, Lyric and Birdland complete the seven-artist lineup, giving Castaway space for a newer generation of Australian artists rather than simply stacking the day with established names.
That mixture is really the point. Hilltop Hoods sharing a festival with Violent Soho and Amy Shark already gives Castaway three very different corners of Australian music, while Playlunch, Trials, Lyric and Birdland widen the picture considerably. There isn’t much interest here in keeping hip-hop, rock, pop and emerging Australian music in their respective boxes.
Tickets go on general sale at 12pm local time on Friday August 28, following artist, promoter and Telstra Plus presales beginning at 11am local time on Wednesday August 26.
Castaway Festival 2026/2027
Saturday 21 November 2026 – Whitfords Nodes Park, Hillarys WA
Saturday 12 December 2026 – Mornington Racecourse, Mornington VIC
Saturday 20 March 2027 – Wollongong NSW
Go HERE for tickets.
