ROOTS REVIVAL

Big names, local legends and a whole lot of heart — Mullum Roots Festival returns this winter.

Mullumbimby has always had music in its bones. Long before “music tourism” became a thing, this was a town backing artists, filling halls, music spilling out of pubs. So when Mullum Roots Festival launched in 2025 and sold out almost immediately, locals weren’t surprised. What did turn heads was just how good it was — a proper festival, spread across the venues of the village itself, where you could find yourself three feet from an artist you’d been listening to for twenty years.

Mental As Anything

This July 11–12, it’s back. And it’s landed a headline act worth getting excited about.

Leading the charge is one of Australia’s most iconic bands, Mental As Anything, arriving in Mullumbimby as part of their 50th Anniversary Tour. Original members Reg Mombassa and Peter O’Doherty are reuniting for a handful of select shows, making this one of the festival bookings of the year. For anyone who came of age to hits like Live It Up or The Nips Are Getting Bigger, it’s the kind of gig you clear your calendar for.

But the beauty of Mullum Roots is that the lineup doesn’t stop at the headline act.

Three-time ARIA winner Alex Lloyd brings his soulful songwriting and unmistakable voice to the festival, while ARIA-winning duo Busby Marou deliver the kind of warm, rootsy sound that suits a Northern Rivers winter evening down to the ground. Dave Graney and Clare Moore arrive with their signature wit and swagger intact, while Go-Betweens drummer Lindy Morrison offers a reminder of just how rich Australia’s independent music legacy really is. Country outlaw Bill Chambers, blues favourite Jo Jo Smith, singer-songwriter Lucie Thorne, and Marcia Howard alongside her brother Damien Howard round out a mid-card that most festivals would be happy to headline.

Then there’s the local contingent — not treated as an afterthought but woven into the heart of the weekend itself. Kyle Lionheart, Zee Star, Hayley Grace, Women of Country, Abbie Cardwell and Bay Collective all feature on the bill, giving the festival its unmistakably local heartbeat.

This year also sees the addition of a new venue and a Youth Battle of the Bands, opening the doors to emerging artists and giving festivalgoers even more space to roam, discover, and connect across the Civic Hall, Drill Hall, Courthouse Hotel, and Ex-Services Club. The village is the venue. That’s always been the idea, and it works beautifully.

It’s also what makes Mullum Roots feel different. This isn’t a sprawling commercial festival where the crowd outweighs the experience. It’s intimate, community-driven and where proximity to the artists is part of the magic.

Proudly sponsored by Stone & Wood Brewery, a longtime supporter of live music and local culture, Mullum Roots Festival looks set to sell out once again.

Mullum Roots Festival | July 11–12, 2026 | Mullumbimby NSW

Tickets are extremely limited. Grab yours at mullumrootsfest.com