Queenscliff Music Festival has locked in its 2026 comedy, DJ and kids lineup, plus the return of the Blues Train and Peninsula Princess Ferry
Queenscliff Music Festival has saved a big one for last, unveiling its comedy, DJ and family program for late November.
Comedy royalty fronts the additions to the Queenscliff Music Festival program, led by Denise Scott, the Helpmann winner familiar from Mother and Son, Jack Irish and Winners and Losers. She lines up beside Gillian Cosgriff, the musical comedian whose 2023 show Actually, Good swept both top gongs at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
Queenscliff Music Festival
- 27 – 29 November 2026
- Queenscliff, Wadawurrung Country
- Grab tickets here
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Rounding out the laughs are Suren Jayemanne, The Merger writer and star Damian Callinan, former Triple R breakfast anchor Nat Harris and Tarsh Jago, who mines the contradictions of being Blak and queer for sharp punchlines. The DJ selection is just as broad, with Melbourne afro-hip-hop crew Cool Out Sun joined by Vince Peach, Joey Lightbulb, Dangerboots and Rob Major.
All of it sits on top of the biggest music bill in the festival’s history. Matt Corby, Baker Boy, Kate Miller-Heidke, Peter Garrett & the Alter Egos, Meg Mac, Lime Cordiale, Magic Dirt, Kitty, Daisy & Lewis, Tim Rogers and The Bamboos feature among a roster of more than 70 acts spread across the coastal town.
Two of the festival’s most novel venues also return for the weekend. The Peninsula Princess Ferry glides across Port Phillip Bay with live music aboard, while the Blues Train chugs through the Bellarine on the opening day of 27 November, back on the tracks after a seven-year absence. Festival goers can pair either journey with a full day on the main site.
The family and arts program grows again, headlined by kids comedy duo the Listies and Zindzi & the Zillionaires, with circus, puppetry, silent disco, high-wire acts and roaming Giant Seagulls filling the streets. First release tickets are on sale now, with a price rise landing on 1 September, ahead of a festival that pulls more than 10,000 people to the coast each year.
For more information, head here.
