Where did all the Brisbane festivals go? Down the road to the Gold Coast

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The news on Tuesday that Laneway Festival was turning its back on Brisbane set my group chats alight, as friends expressed outrage over the loss of yet another festival.

The comment section on Laneway’s Instagram announcement mirrored our disapproval. One user decried it as the “biggest crime of 2025”, which may be hyperbolic, but the comment had garnered almost 700 likes by Wednesday afternoon.

While it could have been worse – the event might have joined the litany of other festivals relegated to the graveyard – the move to Southport still felt like a blow to the local music scene.

Instead of finding another spot in the River City, organisers decided to move the festival’s 26th instalment 75 kilometres south to “get the [RNA] site Olympic ready”.

So, if the Brisbane Showgrounds are officially entering a construction phase, that must mean all of its events are on hold, right?

Well, Good Things Festival is being held there on December 7, exactly two months before Laneway in February.

The annual Stereosonic music festival drew tens of thousands of electro-dance fans to the RNA Showgrounds.

Maybe construction starts in the new year? But Wildlands is being held there on January 1, so the logic isn’t clear.

And what does this mean for the Ekka? That hasn’t been announced, as the future of RNA-based events remains murky.

While the move is frustrating for Brisbane music fans, the city isn’t exactly flush with other options. The RNA can hold about 22,000 people, while other outdoor venues, such as The Sporting Fields at Victoria Park, don’t have the capacity to accommodate such a large crowd, or the numerous stages that Laneway is known for.

The organisers said in a TikTok comment that Laneway’s new home, the Southport Sharks, “will be able to fit just as many people as Brisbane could”, on the venue’s AFL fields and nearby green spaces.

Music lovers attend Laneway Festival last year.

In my experience, the RNA was by far the most convenient location for Brisbanites – just a 15-minute walk from Fortitude Valley station, or an Uber to Gregory Terrace.

The RNA experience always felt seamless, unlike the nightmare that is Doug Jennings Park at Main Beach, where I attended the Souled Out Festival in 2024.

After being confronted with what felt like endless queues for coaches after the headline set, my friend and I decided to walk to a main road to find a tram. Trekking down Seaworld Drive with blistered feet and a dwindling game of “I Spy” to keep us entertained, I vowed to never subject myself to that experience again.

But it wasn’t long before my resolve dissolved and I bought tickets to Spilt Milk for this coming December to endure the entire ordeal all over again. Sometimes the headliners outweigh the blisters (hello Kendrick Lamar and Doechii).

While Laneway 2026 isn’t being taken hostage by Doug Jennings Park, its move away from the familiar and convenient RNA Showgrounds fills me with apprehension.

Yes, accommodation options abound on the Gold Coast, but there’s something so comforting about ending the night in my own bed.

Even though I love a festival, I’m not willing to abandon my entire routine for one night of fun – I’m not 18 any more.

All other Laneway locations are in capital cities, so it feels embarrassing that Brisbane has slipped off the radar. Will RNB festival Fridayz Live, punk festival Good Things, and New Year’s rave Wildlands all decamp to our southern neighbours too?

As Brisbane prepares for the 2032 Olympics, let’s hope not.

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