St Kilda Festival 2026's New Music Stage could launch Australia's next breakthrough artist
The New Music Competition has a knack for spotting talent before anyone else does. Since launching in 2007, this St Kilda Festival staple has served as a launching pad for the likes of Missy Higgins, Baker Boy and Client Liaison, proving the competition’s track record for identifying artists on the verge of something big.
For 2026, the New Music Stage returns to Fitzroy Street with 10 emerging acts ready to make their case for Australia’s next ones-to-watch.
The variety of fresh talent on the New Music Stage is not to be missed including multi-instrumentalist Kyle Glover with Earthlike, award-winning songstress Wild Gloriosa, bold indie-pop force and disability advocate MAGNETS and Adelaide artists effie isobel and Sunsick Daisy.
Adding to the lineup is genre-bending powerhouse OSITA, The Carp Factory, pop and R&B performer Ivoris, enigmatic electronic music duo Bcharre بْشَرِّيْ and finally, electronic jazz outfit Kitsch Kitchen.
St Kilda Festival 2026 New Music Stage
- Fitzroy Street, St Kilda
- 15 February
- Free entry
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The incredible lineup
The 2026 New Music Stage showcases a genre-hopping cross-section of Australia’s emerging talent.
MAGNETS, the solo project of multi-disciplinary Melbourne artist Dr Siobhan McGinnity, delivers shimmering indie pop that channels late 80s and 90s nostalgia while drawing on her background in advocacy and science.
Wild Gloriosa brings a different flavour altogether – the Geelong-based artist Gloria Ragesh crafts neo soul and R&B infused with South Indian influences, having already shared stages with Jessica Mauboy and The Jungle Giants and snagged a 2024 Music Victoria Diaspora award.
Adelaide’s Sunsick Daisy, triple j Unearthed High finalists who’ve supported Ball Park Music and UK legends Feeder, trade in reverb-drenched shoegaze that’s earned them a slot at Harvest Rock alongside The Strokes. Melbourne garage-punks The Carp Factory – named after regional Victorian fertiliser company Charlie Carp – bring tongue-in-cheek energy and King Gizzard-influenced chaos to proceedings.
Pop and electronic acts round out the lineup with their own distinct flavours. Ivoris, whose bedroom-produced track I Wish My Mind Would Shut Up racked up over 300 million streams in China, offers dreamy pop-R&B inspired by Griff and Lizzy McAlpine.
Meanwhile, Bcharre blends Berlin techno with cinematic storytelling. The bill also features multi-instrumentalist OSITA from the Blue Mountains, alongside Earthlike, effie isobel – all competing for the $5,000 prize and that coveted 2027 festival slot.
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Last year’s competition drew 330 entries from across Australia, with Velvet Bloom eventually taking home the $5,000 cash prize and a coveted performance slot at this year’s festival. The winner of the 2026 competition will score the same deal, with their performance at St Kilda Festival 2027 already locked in.
The judging process whittles entries down to finalists based on originality, creativity and festival suitability, with the final winner decided by audience vote on the day. Acts must remain unsigned to qualify and have a full 30 minutes of original material ready to perform.
With 350,000 people expected across the two-day event, the New Music Stage offers emerging artists the kind of exposure that’s genuinely hard to come by elsewhere.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with St Kilda Festival.
