The best of Queensland's country event season 2025
Event
By Danielle Reckless
If your playlist is more Dolly Parton than top 40, you prefer riding horses over riding waves, and you know that wagon wheel is more than just a delicious biscuit, it’s time you step into a different side of Queensland.
Welcome to Australia’s home of country music – where you can be one of the thousands who make the pilgrimage every year to dance under a sky full of stars.
But the country-lovin’ doesn’t end there. From outback festivals and rodeos to fishing competitions and horse-drawn wagon tours, we’ve got a year-round guide that’ll knock the socks right outta your cowboy boots.
These are the best of Queensland's country event season in 2025.
Capricorn King of Kings, Southern Great Barrier Reef
When: 31 January – 3 February 2025
Love to cast a line, in competition? King of Kings Fishing Tournament is one of the biggest competitive fishing weekends, attracting saltwater, freshwater, boat, kayak, shore, bait/lure, spear and free-diving anglers from all over Australia. Open to all ages and all skill levels, you could win a share in over $150,000 worth of cash and prizes, across 25 categories.
Darling Downs Heavy Horse Festival, Queensland Country
When: 15 – 16 March 2025
Make your way to Allora for the Darling Downs Heavy Horse Festival, a fun-filled weekend celebrating draught horses and their vital role in history. It’s an unforgettable experience for all ages, with family-friendly activities and artisan markets alongside heritage craftsmanship demonstrations like ploughing, blacksmithing, and wheelwrighting – a fascinating step back in time.
CMC Rocks Qld, Brisbane
When: 21 - 23 March 2025
CMC Rocks QLD, Brisbane
It’s Australia’s biggest international country music festival, so it comes as a no-brainer that CMC Rocks QLD should be at the top of any Nashville-lover’s bucket list. Mark it in your calendars, because this multi-day jam-fest west of Brisbane continues to get bigger and better, with legendary artists like Thomas Rhett, Cody Johnson, John Pardi and Cole Swindell headlining in 2025.
Learn more: Your go-to guide to CMC Rocks QLD, Australia's premier country music festival
If you miss out on tickets, don’t fret. In Brisbane catch sweet tunes of the south all year round at Lefty’s Old Time Music Hall, Honky Tonks, and Johnny Ringo’s (complete with mechanical bull).
Plan your trip to Queensland
Mort & Co King of the Mountain Horse Race, Queensland Country
When: 26 -30 March 2025
Don your race day finest for Toowoomba’s King of the Mountain racing carnival – a highlight of the city’s sports calendar. The action kicks off with the Barrier Draw on Wednesday 26 March, setting the race for the exhilarating main event on Friday 28 March. Take advantage of the Toowoomba Show Holiday and come down to Clifford Park for thrilling races, live entertainment, Fashion on the Field – and $750,000 in prize money at stake.
Rare Spares Rockynats, Southern Great Barrier Reef
When: 4 – 6 April 2025
Get ready for a high-octane weekend with thrilling street drags, epic burnouts, and drifting champions tearing up the track. Rockynats, Queensland's largest car and bike festival, is back in Rockhampton – and car enthusiasts will witness some of the country’s most incredible modified cars in action at the ultimate horsepower celebration.
Outback River Lights Festival, Outback Queensland
When: 11 – 13 April 2025
Outback River Lights Festival, Cunnamulla, Outback Queensland. Photo by @qldmusictrails
Cunnamulla’s Outback River Lights Festival is a vibrant celebration of the region’s creativity, welcoming visitors to explore southwest Queensland at the start of the travel season.
Marvel at artistic light installations illuminating the river and surrounding areas – you can even build and decorate your own lantern and join in the procession. Experience live music, dance, and cultural performances that showcase the spirit of the outback. Savour delicious outback cuisine and regional specialties from local food vendors. Meet local Elders while being immersed in Kunja culture, and hear stories about growing up in Cunnamulla and on the Yumba.
Julia Creek Dirt n Dust, Outback Queensland
When: 11 – 13 April 2025
Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival, Julia Creek, Outback Queensland. Photo Credit: Jo Thieme
There’s nothing quite like Julia Creek Dirt n Dust – the ultimate festival for country lovers, and one hell of an opportunity for a road trip through the heart of the outback.
Three hours’ drive from Mount Isa, the tiny northwest Queensland town of Julia Creek explodes from 400 people to 3,000 in one weekend, thanks to the iconic festival that combines thrilling rodeo action, exhilarating dirt bike races and horse races, and live music under the stars with a famous down-n-dirty fun run and annual search for Australia’s best butt. It’s an event you need to experience to fully understand, and then you’ll be coming back year after year.
Learn more: How to make Julia Creek Dirt n Dust Festival the outback adventure of a lifetime
Roma’s Easter in the Country Festival, Outback Queensland
When: 17 – 21 April 2025
Roma's Easter in the country, Roma, Outback Queensland
Load the family in the car for a school holiday adventure with a difference: five-day celebration of all things country, widely recognised as one of Queensland's premier Easter events.
Held annually in Roma, Easter in the Country celebrates the charm of rural Australia. Enjoy a weekend filled with family-friendly activities, including a rodeo, cart races, and a spectacular Easter egg hunt – and in 2025, the chance to meet every kid’s favourite animated character, Bluey! With local markets, delicious food stalls, and unique outback experiences from speedway to camel rides and country artist Troy Cassar-Daley headlining Outback Music Under the Stars, this vibrant festival offers a perfect blend of entertainment, culture, and community spirit.
Learn more: Easy Outback Queensland trip: 9 delightful things to do in Roma
Mount Isa Mines Rodeo, Outback Queensland
When: TBC August 2025
Mount Isa Mines Rodeo, Outback Queensland. Photo by Mount Isa Mines Rodeo.
If the words bull riding, whip cracking and tent boxing perk your ears, muster your mates and trek your way into Queensland’s wild west for the Mount Isa Mines Rodeo. This is the Southern Hemisphere's largest rodeo and Australia's richest prize pool, attracting some 750 competitors from across Australia who have the ride of their lives in the famous open-air, red dirt arena.
Alongside multi-days of wild rodeo, there’s live entertainment, outback market traders, delicious country food, and epic Rodeo Rock Concerts featuring some of Australia’s best performers.
Learn more: How to get a taste of Queensland's Wild West during Mount Isa Rodeo Festival
Gympie Music Muster, Sunshine Coast
When: 28 - 31 August 2025
Gympie Music Muster, Sunshine Coast
Leg it to the Sunshine Coast Hinterland when the normally serene Amamoor State Forest comes alive with thousands of revellers pitching their tents and celebrating the best of blues, roots and country over four glorious days of the Muster.
Stay tuned for the complete 2025 lineup announcement. With Kasey Chambers, Daryl Braithwaite, Adam Harvey, The Choirboys, Thirsty Merc and The Wolfe Brothers already on the bill, you're in for a good year of tunes.
Learn more: 5 things you need to do at this year's Gympie Music Muster
Birdsville Races | Outback Queensland
When: 5 - 6 September 2025
Birdsville Races, Outback Queensland
Dubbed the ‘Melbourne Cup of the Outback’, the annual Birdsville Races is a bucket-list experience for many travellers, and those who make the 1500km pilgrimage to the far west of Outback Queensland are in for a trip unlike any other.
Attracting visitors from all over the world, the 13-race program features horses from all over Australia competing for the coveted TAB Birdsville Cup. Other entertainment includes the TAB Birdsville Cup Parade, Fashions on the Field, Fred Brophy's Boxing Troupe, entertainment at the Birdsville Hotel, Fun Run, RFDS Gala Party, a variety of food vendors and plenty more.
Check out these unforgettable things to do at the Birdsville Races.
Savannah in the Round, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
When: 9 - 12 October 2025
Savannah in the Round, Mareeba, Cairns & Great Barrier Reef
For a music festival you'll never forget, head one hour west of Cairns to Mareeba and experience Savannah in the Round. Returning October 2025, the festival brings together an incredible line up of country rock, roots and pop artists, cultural exhibitions, a local produce marketplace and family funfair.
Groundwater Country Music Festival, Gold Coast
When: 17 - 19 October 2025
Watching live music at the front of the stage
The Gold Coast’s fashion scene gets a shake up as bikinis and boardies are swapped for boots and Akubras when country goes coastal for the free Groundwater Country Music Festival.
But the ocean may still come in handy to cool off in after stomping along to this year's headline acts - announcements coming soon!
Big Red Sunset Concert, Outback Queensland
When: 8 - 9 July 2025
You can’t get a more iconic experience than watching live music on the edge of the Simpson desert. The Big Red Concert goes back to the routes of the original Big Red Bash, an intimate concert with a limited 1,000 tickets on sale. Aussie legend John Williamson, known for classics like ‘True Blue’, will play a two-night show. Complete the trip by sleeping under the stars to truly immerse yourself in Outback Queensland.
Birdsville Big Red Bash, Outback Queensland
When: 7 - 9 July 2026
Big Red Bash, Birdsville, Outback Queensland
Held about as far west in Queensland as you can get, Birdsville’s Big Red Bash invites music lovers to dance under a star-studded sky in the remote Simpson Desert. It's an event you have to experience at least once in your life, listening to Australia's best and biggest artists in the shadow of a massive red sand dune - which just so happens to be perfect for sand-surfing on Esky lids in your spare time (if you're not already doing yoga classes, a world-record Nutbush or exploring desert beauty).
With the next festival being held in 2026, you've got plenty of time to start planning your epic outback adventure.
Learn more: Your guide to Birdville's Big Red Bash - the world's most remote music festival
Get a lil' dirt on those boots
