SideFest has announced it will run for the first time in over two years this November, returning to its Perth home in late November 2025. Festival curators Sly Withers, who co-present the festival with their management SideQuest Music and their booking agency Select Music, will headline on Saturday. Either side of them as marquee performers are Sydney pop-punks Stand Atlantic and Perth’s own Stella Donnelly, who will headline on the Friday and Sunday respectively. The full day-by-day line-up, as well as pre-sale and ticketing information for the festival, can be found below.
The festival originally announced its return back in June, having taken the previous year off to recover from the financial loss of their 2023 run in Brisbane and Perth – which saw international bands such as Tigers Jaw and Drug Church on the two-day bill, as well as acts like Bugs, The Buoys, Teenage Joans, Beddy Rays, Suzi, Adam Newling, Noah Dillon, Aleksiah and Mikayla Pasterfield.
“2023 was a pretty tough year for festivals in general, and whilst we delivered what we wanted to achieve with Sidefest that year, the budget was a black hole,” SideQuest shared at the time. “We learned a bunch of lessons and chalked the expenses up to school fees, because we got schooled. Like, ‘the cost of an MBA [Master of Business Admin]’ schooled.
Sly Withers – ‘Restless’
“We took 2024 off, thinking we may never get a chance to do it again – the festival landscape was, and is, kinda terrifying. It was never far from our thoughts, though, and when a funding opportunity came through, we crossed our fingers and toes, dotted our I’s and crossed our T’s, and applied. A few months later, we found out we were successful.”
“We’re extremely excited to be given the chance to do this again, and we’re not taking that opportunity lightly,” the statement continued. “Hopefully this is the first of many more to come.” In addition to inviting interstate acts such as Sydney’s Dear Seattle and Melbourne-via-Auckland’s Bakers Eddy, the festival is also showcasing a breadth of independent Perth bands on its 459 stage. SideFest 2025 will also feature a tattoo parlour, live Auslan interpreters for the main stage performances and acoustic sets in the venue’s backyard on the Sunday that is open to all ages.
SideFest 2025
Friday, November 21st to Sunday, November 23rd – Rosemount Hotel, Perth WA
Friday, November 21st
- Stand Atlantic
- Dear Seattle
- Late 90s
- Rinrin
- Shorehaven
- Lazer Gator
- Good Grief
- Ursula
- Elton John Cena
- Colourblind
Saturday, November 22nd
- Sly Withers
- The Beefs
- Ullah
- Bakers Eddy
- Blush
- The Points
- Ratsalad
- Increment
- Hey So Hungry
- Edie
Sunday, November 23rd
- Stella Donnelly
- Day We Ran
- Smol Fish
- Rapid
- Siena Rebelo
- Mal De Mer
- Airline Food
- Lachy
- John & The Red Bellia
- Odlaw
- Parclo
- Birdland
- Rosalie Chilvers
- Jono Mata & Sam Blitvich
- Full ‘N Cream
A pre-sale for the festival will go live at 9am AWST on Saturday, August 16th. General sale will then follow on Monday, August 18th at 8am AWST. Both can be accessed via PerthTickets.com.au.
Further Reading
triple j’s 100 Best Unearthed Discoveries: The Complete List
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