Post Malone to Headline Australia's Strummingbird Festival in 2026
Post Malone leads the Strummingbird Festival lineup across three Australian dates in October 2026.
Something Dope · · 3 min read
Post Malone is heading to Australia in 2026 to headline Strummingbird Festival, a touring country event presented by Kicks Entertainment. The three-date run hits Victoria Park in Ballarat on October 10, Newcastle Foreshore on October 17, and Kawana Sports Precinct on the Sunshine Coast on October 18. Presale tickets open May 13, with general admission available May 14 at strummingbird.com.au.
The booking follows Malone's country crossover album F-1 Trillion, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 2024 and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. The record featured collaborations with Dolly Parton, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson, and Jelly Roll, and produced the top 10 Hot 100 hit "I Had Some Help" with Morgan Wallen. Malone's recent sets at Coachella and Stagecoach Festival have kept him front and center in the country-crossover conversation heading into this run.
What the Strummingbird 2026 Lineup Means for Country's Global Reach
Beyond Malone, the festival stacks up with legitimate country talent on both sides of the globe. Bailey Zimmerman — one of the genre's fastest-rising names — comes in as the second-billed headliner off the strength of his debut album Religiously. The Album. and its 2025 follow-up Different Night Same Rodeo, which featured Luke Combs. His Stagecoach cover of Miley Cyrus's "The Climb" went viral earlier this year, cementing his breakout status.
North Carolina's Cooper Alan rounds out the top-tier international bookings. The wider lineup pulls in Cam — known to many as a Cowboy Carter songwriter — alongside CMT's Next Women of Country Class of 2025 alumna Kaitlin Butts, Stella Lefty, Dexter & The Moonrocks, Noah Rinker, and Brad Cox.
The Australian contingent is equally strong. Sons of the East, CMAA back-to-back Female Artist of the Year Max Jackson, viral cattle-station act Mack Geiger, and 2026 Countrytown Breakthrough Artist of the Year nominee Briana Dinsdale all feature. Each date also includes a local hometown act — Lewis Love in Ballarat, Gamilaraay artist Loren Ryan in Newcastle, and Sammy White on the Sunshine Coast — a smart programming move that gives regional artists real festival-stage exposure.
For independent artists watching this, that local slot structure is worth noting. Festival lineups that carve out dedicated hometown spots create genuine pathways for emerging acts to share a bill with global headliners. It's a model more festivals should be running.
More broadly, Strummingbird 2026 is a signal that country music's international footprint is growing. Malone's pivot to country wasn't a gimmick — F-1 Trillion proved the commercial crossover was real — and his headlining an Australian country festival three years after Splendour in the Grass shows how durable that shift has been. For artists working in the country-adjacent or Americana space, the audience is out there globally, not just in Nashville.
Watch the full Strummingbird 2026 lineup develop at strummingbird.com.au, and keep an eye on whether this touring format expands to additional markets before October.