New Year's at the Bowl takes over Sidney Myer Music Bowl on New Year's Eve for NYE in Melbourne.
NYE in Melbourne just got a massive upgrade with a brand new festival to close out 2025. New Year’s at the Bowl is setting up shop at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl and King’s Domain gardens for a night of huge music action, with headliners Underworld bringing us into the new year.
Festival organisers have programmed it smart; high-energy vibes to send off 2025 and kick off 2026 in style. Electronic music legends Underworld are headlining the celebrations alongside Carl Cox, who’s taking care of the official NYE countdown set.
New Year’s at the Bowl – Melbourne
- Where: Sidney Myer Music Bowl & King’s Domain gardens, Melbourne
- When: 31 December 2025
- Tickets: On sale now
- More info: here
The full lineup:
- Underworld
- Carl Cox (NYE Countdown)
- Berlioz
- Confidence Man
- Joy Crookes
- Ross From Friends pres. Bubble Love
- Tornado Wallace
- Sam Gellaitry
- Good Neighbours
- INJI
- Emma-Jean Thackray
- Harvey Sutherland
- Roza Terenzi
- Kamma & Masalo
- Milo Eastwood
- Prosumer
- Alex Kassian
- Aldonna
- X & Ivy
- Big Wett
- Any Young Mechanic
- Shantan Wantan Ichiban
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Carl Cox is doing the official NYE countdown set, which means it’s going to be absolutely mental in Melbourne on December 31. Other big names like Confidence Man, Joy Crookes, Berlioz, Ross From Friends presenting Bubble Love, Tornado Wallace and Sam Gellaitry will help us bring in the new year in a big way, and there’s loads more to catch.
Local talent gets a strong showing, with Australian acts including Harvey Sutherland, Roza Terenzi, Milo Eastwood, Shantan Wantan Ichiban and Any Young Mechanic all on the bill. It’s a proper mix spanning electronic, indie, hip hop and everything in between for revellers.
Other NYE festivals in Victoria
Victoria’s NYE festival scene has carved out its own unique identity over the years, with several standout events that party it up for summer.
Beyond the Valley has become the heavyweight champion of Victorian NYE celebrations since launching in 2014, originally at Phillip Island before finding its permanent home at Barunah Plains in 2022. The festival has grown into a massive operation hosting over 35,000 party-goers across four days, earning spots in DJ Mag’s Top 100 Festivals list and establishing itself as one of Australia’s premier multi-day music experiences.
Beat’s Billy Burgess looked at the best moments from across the years, for the festival’s 10th birthday celebrations.
“If anyone was surprised to see The Veronicas’ Untouched at number three in triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian songs, they obviously weren’t at BTV in 2019. The song’s iconic status was cemented when the Origliasso sisters performed it just before sundown on New Year’s Eve.
“The Veronicas clearly have fond memories of the performance – they posted footage of Untouched at BTV to social media after their podium finish in the Hottest 100.”
On the opposite end sits NYE on the Hill, a deliberately intimate affair capped at just 3,000 people in South Gippsland’s rolling hills near Loch Village. The boutique festival has sold out all ten previous editions and prides itself on being “big enough to have awesome bands, but small enough to not lose your friends”. What sets it apart is the BYO policy and stunning hilltop location that creates a proper community vibe among festival-goers.
One of most legendary NYE moments came in 2021 when King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard curated their own festival called Timeland at Our Friend’s Farm in Tallarook. The psych-rock legends played four separate sets totalling six hours with no repeats over two nights, supported by their hand-picked lineup including Harvey Sutherland, Grace Cummings and Gordon Koang.
Coming after a year of lockdowns, the band captured the celebratory spirit perfectly: “It literally feels like a lifetime since we could even consider the possibility of a music and camping festival”. Though it was a one-off event, it remains a defining moment in Victoria’s festival history.
New Year’s at the Bowl
Melbourne’s always had killer music culture but somehow never nailed a proper large-scale inner city New Year’s bash. New Year’s at the Bowl looks set to fix that gap, giving locals and visitors a decent spot to celebrate right in the heart of the city. This could be the NYE Melbourne event that finally puts the city’s celebrations on the map alongside Sydney’s harbour extravaganza.
For more information, head here.
