Pull on the boots, dust off the Akubra and round up your mates.
After an 11-year spell, a major country music festival is finally hitching its wagon back to the Fraser Coast, with three days of live entertainment set to roll into Susan River Homestead Adventure Park from 21 to 23 August.
Hosted by the Cool Country Social Music Club, the inaugural Hervey Bay Cool Country Music Club Festival promises a weekend where the guitars will be humming, the campfires glowing and the good times flowing.
The Hervey Bay-based club is a not-for-profit organisation with one simple aim—to bring people together through music while raising funds for other not-for-profit organisations across the district.
Organisers have wrangled together a line-up featuring some of Australia’s favourite country performers alongside talented walk-up artists, proving there’s plenty of homegrown talent ready to take the stage.
Festival-goers can look forward to performances by Lindsay Waddington (Waddo), Jon Vea Vea & The Cobblestones, Tony Wagner, John Lynch, Forbidden Road, Alice Benifer, Anita Ree, Barbie Davidson and The Honey Bees.
Adding another familiar face to the mix, George Seymour will help spread the word when he appears at the club’s monthly concert on 9 August, before officially opening the festival on the Friday morning.
Whether you’re happiest two-stepping in front of the stage, pulling up a camp chair with a cuppa, or simply soaking up the laid-back country atmosphere, there’s something on the bill for everyone.
Three-day festival passes are $70, while day passes are $30, with children aged 14 years and under admitted free.
Those keen to make a proper weekend of it can roll out the swag—or at least park the caravan—at Susan River Homestead. Camping guests have access to the resort’s swimming pool, tennis courts, communal kitchen, games room, barbecue areas and other facilities. Pets are welcome on a lead, fire pits are available for hire and food vendors, coffee and a licensed bar will ensure no one goes hungry or thirsty.
As the sun drops behind the gums and the music rolls on into the evening, organisers recommend packing a warm jacket and a comfortable chair, because August nights can still have a bit of bite.
So, if you’ve been itching for a weekend where the only traffic jam is at the camp kitchen and the only deadlines are the next set on stage, this might just be your kind of gathering.
After more than a decade, country music is back in the saddle on the Fraser Coast—and if organisers have their way, this festival won’t be a one-hit wonder. It’s just the first verse of a brand-new tradition.
Contact Susan River Homestead for Festival camp site bookings on: 0439651334 or SusanRiver.com
Published August 2026 Chitchat Newspaper