QLD Music Trails' Outback Trail Returns for Its Fifth Year
The 2026 Trail recorded a 95% increase in attendance compared with the previous year and generated $2.9 million in visitor expenditure across Queensland.
QLD Music Trails: The Outback Trail will return for its fifth consecutive year in 2027.
Running from Saturday, May 8th to Saturday, May 22nd, the self-drive, choose-your-own-adventure musical road trip spans seven outback Queensland towns, with each stop along the way hosting a separate event.
Charleville's opens the Trail with Saddle Up, centred on country gatherings. Longreach follows with Dusty Days at the QANTAS Founders Museum hangar, marking what would have been Slim Dusty's 100th birthday year and headlined by Troy Cassar-Daley.
The Trail concludes in Mount Isa with Outback Sounds, headlined by national acts alongside local performers.
The 2026 Trail recorded a 95% increase in attendance compared with the previous year. These visitors generated 21,684 bed nights and $2.9 million in visitor expenditure across Queensland. The event also supported employment for 82 Queenslanders, including 41 First Nations artists and arts workers.
QMF CEO Daryl Raven said the Outback Trail extended beyond live music and encouraged both travellers and locals to take part.
"The Outback 2026 was our biggest Trail yet, with more than 7,000 locals and travellers joining us across eight communities and 1,400 kilometres of regional Queensland.
Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
“The scale of that engagement shows the incredible appetite for shared cultural tourism experiences in Outback Queensland, and the role music events can play in connecting communities, industry and visitors.”
"In 2027, we're excited to take the Outback Trail experience even further, creating more opportunities for locals, travellers and artists to come together and experience the unique stories, places and communities along the way.
"We're expecting hundreds of Trail travellers to pack up their cars, caravans and RVs and travel the full 16-day itinerary with us from town to town, along with thousands of locals and weekend travellers to join along the way - embracing the journey, discovering new places and sharing the experience with the communities that make the Outback Trail so special."
Queensland Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek welcomed the Trail's return.
"Connecting regional communities and visitors through a shared love of music, QMF's QLD Music Trails: The Outback is a standout event on Queensland's cultural calendar.
“The Crisafulli Government is proud to support this internationally awarded event, which delivers on our 10-year arts and culture strategy, Queensland's Time to Shine, by championing Queensland artists, strengthening communities' access to enriching arts experiences and enhancing our state's reputation as a vibrant cultural destination.”
All events are ticketed. Tickets go on sale Tuesday 13 October. Click here for more details and the 2027 lineup by stop below.
QLD MUSIC TRAILS: THE OUTBACK TRAIL
Saturday, May 8th
Charleville – Saddle Up
Tuesday, May 11th
Blackall – Blackall Bush Dance
Wednesday, May 12th
Barcaldine – Outback Exchange
Friday, May 14th
Longreach – Dusty Days
Monday, May 17th
Winton – Diamonds
Wednesday, May 19th
Julia Creek – Dinner Under the Stars
Saturday, May 22nd
Mount Isa – Outback Sounds
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Reporting from inside the Australian music business since '94.
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