For a decade, the Adelaide Beer & BBQ Festival has been one of Australia’s most loved celebrations of craft beer, mouthwatering barbecue, and live music. Over 150,000 punters have passed through, sipping brews from more than 400 breweries and dancing to vibrant music lineups, all in a decade of fun-fuelled weekends.
This King’s Birthday long weekend, from 6 to 8 June, the festival returns for its tenth birthday edition, but there’s a twist. This will be the last time the festival runs in its current iconic format. Founders Gareth Lewis and Aaron Sandow are calling on fans old and new to join in what promises to be the biggest and best party the festival has seen.
If you’ve seen the forecast, we’re in for a wet one! But don’t fear. Just like in past years, there will be plenty of undercover areas to keep you dry while you tuck into food, sip a cold one, or dive into the crowd for one of the many live sets filling the air all weekend.
Here’s what you can expect over the massive long weekend at Beer and BBQ Festival.
Beer
A handful of brewers were at the very first Beer & BBQ Festival in 2015, and they’re making a triumphant return a decade later. Big Shed Brewing, Coopers Brewery, Little Bang Brewing Co, Lobo Cider, Mismatch Brewing Company, Pikes Beer Company, Pirate Life Brewing, Prancing Pony Brewery, Rehn Bier, and Vale Brewing were all there from the start.
Here’s the full brewer lineup:
Balter Brewing Co (QLD), Bells Beach Brewing (Vic), Big Shed Brewing, Bowden Brewing, Bridge Road Brewers (Vic), Brightstar Brewing, Chubby Unicorn Brewing, Coopers Brewery, Crafty Robot Brewing, Deep Elite Brewing (WA), Eclectic Brewing, Fox Friday (Tas), Fox Hat Brewing, Ill-Intentions, Island Beer (Vic), Jump Ship Brewing, KAIJU! Beer (Vic), King River Brewing (Vic), Lady Burra Brewhouse, Little Bang Brewing Co, Loophole Brewing Co, Ministry of Beer, Mismatch Brewing Company, Mountain Goat (Vic), Muffy Malone Brewing, No Eye Deer Brewing, Noodledoof (Vic), Penny Red Beer Co, Pikes Beer Company, Pirate Life Brewing, Prancing Pony Brewery, Range Brewing (QLD), Rehn Bier, Shapeshifter Brewing Co, SixTwelve Brewing, South Coast Brewing, Spinifex Brewing Co (WA), Sure Brewing (Vic), TAFE SA Campus Brewery, The Suburban Brew, The Uraidla Brewery, The Zythologist Brewery (Vic), Tiny Fish Brew Co, Tops Beer, Vale Brewing, Woolstore Brewery, and Yellow Matter.
BBQ
The BBQ lineup is truly a highlights list of crowd favourites from festivals past. You’ll be able to grab tender meat cooked for hours, beautiful burgers cooked with the very best mince, or exquisite cuts cooked over the charcoal. Take your pick! Here’s what’s on offer.
Baltic Fine Food, Belles Hot Chicken, Blammo, Bread & Bone Wood Grill, Deep Fried Sweet Treats, Fancy Hank’s, Jamaican Mi Eat, Just Sticks, Lions Roar BBQ, Ninin’s Indo Street Food, NOLA & Friends feat Anchovy Bandit + La Louisiane, O.G Smash Burgers, Smokey Uppercuts, Smokin Grillers, Sneaky Pickle, Snob Catering, and Toly Vietnamese.
Music
Over three massive days a selection of cult-classic artists and plenty that are new on the scene will grace the main stages. Get into the groove at the Kevin Bacon Stage, swing by the Secret Pickle Saloon, or unwind at The Last Resort. Here’s what’s on the lineup.
Friday 6 June
Friday night will see Wolfmother’s epic return to Adelaide after a huge day of sets from the likes of Custard, Rocket Science, The Tarantinos, Caitlin Harnett & The Pony Boys, Cosmo Thundercat, Free Golf. They’ll be joined by Haystacks Calhoon, I Can’t Believe It’s Not The Hives, JPH x The Dangerous Animals, Sticky Beak & The Briar Patch Band
Saturday 7 June
Quintessential Aussie band The Chats headline Saturday, with support from The Gooch Palms, Dick Move, Mulga Bore Hard Rock, and Batpiss. Earlier in the night Andy Golledge, Slim Krusty, Fluorescent Adolescents, Halftime Oranges, and My Cherie & Pelvis will all grace the stage.
Sunday 8 June
New Zealand’s Tim Finn of Split Enz will headline Sunday, alongside CASH: The American Recordings starring Henry Wagons & The Tennessee Studs, and Mondo Psycho. Also on the lineup are Captain Hellfire & The Wretched Brethren, Free Drinks, Kelly’s Wake, King of Spain, Nocturnal Animals, The Dead Regulars and The Public Servants.
Despite its loyal following and years of success, the festival faces tough realities that have hit festivals hard nationwide, especially in the post-Covid climate. Rising costs across the board, for artists, logistics, permits, and even beer taxes, have made the festival model unsustainable in its current form.
As Co-Director Gareth Lewis explains, “It’s never been about making money. This festival is who we are. It’s always been about supporting small businesses and giving punters something special, but the cost of putting on a festival of this scale has increased between 30% and 40% since 2022, and for this reason we can not see a way forward.”
“Our punters are loyal and bloody amazing, but we can’t continue to pass the costs on to you, you can’t afford them, and we can’t afford to absorb them,” Lewis continued.
“We want to thank the South Australian Government, especially the Music Development Office, who have supported the festival for the past few years. The state government is very supportive of the events industry.”
“It’s true that there are more major publicly funded events than ever before in SA and it’s hard for independent festival brands to compete on a level playing field with them, but we hope to continue to work with Government for years to come to produce events that add value to the state culturally and economically.”
Although this will be the last year of Beer & BBQ Fest as you know it, it’ll be one hell of a send-off, and once the smoke clears, all eyes will be on what comes next.
Beer & BBQ Festival
Where: Adelaide Showground, Goodwood Rd, Wayville
When: 6 – 8 June
For more information, click here.
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