State Champ Radio country music festival
Trending on Billboard
A new entrant to Australia’s live music market has officially landed, with the inaugural edition of Strummingbird, a touring country music festival presented by Live Nation and Kicks Entertainment, drawing tens of thousands across three cities over two weekends.
Held in the Sunshine Coast (Oct. 25), Newcastle (Nov. 1), and Perth (Nov. 2), the multi-date, all-ages event marked one of the most ambitious country-focused touring formats launched in Australia in recent years.
Related
The 2025 lineup combined U.S. charting acts like Jelly Roll, Shaboozey, and Treaty Oak Revival with a strong mix of emerging and established domestic talent, including James Johnston, Kaylee Bell, Wade Forster, The Dreggs, and Rachael Fahim.
Beyond traditional main stage performances, organizers leaned into fan engagement and social content opportunities, from line-dancing workshops and crowd-wide Nutbush dance breakouts to surprise collaborations — including Jelly Roll bringing out both Shaboozey and Bell during his Newcastle and Perth sets, and Johnston filming a live music video during his Sunshine Coast appearance.
The debut comes amid rising interest in country-adjacent genres across the Australian market. Jelly Roll has achieved notable chart success in Australia, with his 2024 album “Beautifully Broken” peaking at No. 19 on the ARIA Top 50 Albums chart. On the ARIA Top 40 Country Albums Chart, “Beautifully Broken” peaked at No. 3 and has maintained a strong presence. Meanwhile, local breakout James Johnston recently scored a top-five ARIA album debut — a rare feat for an independent country act.
Programming across cities was localized, with unique artist configurations in each market and strong integration of Māori and First Nations acknowledgments. The event’s Sunshine Coast leg sold out in advance, and Newcastle received strategic backing from Destination NSW as part of its tourism and major events initiative.
Festival co-presenter Live Nation, which has been expanding its genre footprint across ANZ through a mix of pop, country, hip-hop and Latin offerings, is already planning a return in 2026.
In addition to the core music offering, activations included the “Strummo Bowlo”, a communal dancefloor space where attendees engaged with both country and crossover pop tracks, including viral moments set to Charli XCX’s “Brat” anthems — a programming nod to Gen Z festivalgoers.
Eric Church, Lainey Wilson and ZZ Top are among the top-tier performers at the upcoming Field & Stream Music Fest, slated for Oct. 4-6, 2024 in Winnsboro, S.C.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Also on the bill for the three-day festival are: Lynyrd Skynyrd, Riley Green, Bailey Zimmerman, Shane Smith & The Saints, Kameron Marlowe, Larry Fleet, Colt Ford, David Lee Murphy, Ole 60, Tucker Wetmore, Ashland Craft, Boy Named Banjo, Cole Goodwin and Eli Winders.
Trending on Billboard
Given the festival’s namesake, it will be far beyond the typical music-and-camping style event. Though the fest will offer camping, cabins and RV rentals, it also has a range of outdoor excursions, including bass fishing, off-road adventures, mountain biking, 3D archery and fly casting.
In January, it was revealed that Church and Morgan Wallen had purchased the Field & Stream outdoor lifestyle brand, as part of an ownership group that purchased the retail side of the trademark from Dick’s Sporting Goods and the media platform from Recurrent; that purchase brought the Field & Stream brand under the same ownership for the first time in its 150-year history.
“I can remember my grandfather kept a few of his favorite Field & Stream magazines on the dash of his truck,” Church said in a statement when the Field & Stream brand purchase was revealed. “That truck took us on hundreds of outdoor adventures and I all but memorized every story and every picture on every page. They were my Bible. It is the honor of my life to make sure that legacy carries on. It is both this responsibility to an American icon and also to a young boy in his papaw’s truck that will be the compass that guides our steps.”
“There’s nothin’ I love more than being with friends around a campfire, on a boat or in a deer stand — and Field & Stream represents all of those to me,” Wallen added. “Being part of its future is incredible and we want to keep bringing people together outdoors, makin’ memories, for generations to come.”
Check out the full 2024 Field & Stream Music Fest lineup below.
-
Pages
