All The Rock & Heavy Acts Heading To BIGSOUND 2023

BIGSOUND, Australia’s largest music conference and showcase event, is returning to the Fortitude Valley from 5-8 September, with 141 artists set to make their marks throughout Brisbane’s music hub.

After receiving more than 1300 applications to perform at BIGSOUND from across Australia, New Zealand and the UK, the conference’s organisers had the unenviable task of whittling down the mega list of requests to 141 buzz-worthy acts.

The 22^nd edition of BIGSOUND will be held in 18 venues across the Valley. In 2023, the line-up sees important representation across the board, with 27% of artists LGBTQIA+ identifying, 18% First Nations, and 50% female or gender non-conforming.

The conference that has hosted the likes of alternative rockers LOSER, soon-to-be stadium rock band Gang Of Youths, Nat Vazer, Teenage Joans and many more has upped the ante on rock and heavy acts in 2023, so without further ado, here are the artists on the heavier end of the spectrum performing at BIGSOUND this year.

All the rock and heavy acts heading to BIGSOUND 2023:
Southeast Desert Metal
 Aurateque
 Valtozash
 Battlesnake
 Behind You
 Porcelain Boy
 Johnny Hunter
 Coldwave
 Zheani
 Full Flower Moon Band
 Twine
 Platonic Sex
 Bec Stevens
 Good Pash
 Sophisticated Dingo
 Porpoise Spit
 The Empty Threats
 DICE
 GIMMY
 Friends of Friends
 Miss June
 Moaning Lisa
 The Omnific
 Radium Dolls
 Gut Health
 MF Tomlinson
 Delivery
 Dr Sure's Unusual Practice

It's a particularly impressive slot for The Omnific, who opened for Polyphia on the instrumental metal legends' first-ever Australian tour. Battlesnake also recently opened for The Smashing Pumpkins on their World Is A Vampire festival tour alongside Amyl & The Sniffers, Jane’s Addiction and RedHook.

Earlier this year, Sophisticated Dingo returned with the ripping new single, Radio On. “Radio On is about persisting with something that you fear might not lead anywhere. Days go by, routines remain the same, frustration builds, you are short with other people and jeopardise important relationships in your life, all the while pushing forward in pursuit of this passion,” vocalist Lewis Matte explained.

Kill Your Stereo also recently caught up with Aurateque, who told us all about how electronic music legend Aphex Twin has influenced them as a band. You can check out that brilliant story here.

“Once again this year we had the unenviable task of reading, listening to and enjoying several thousand BIGSOUND applications from all over the country and world,” BIGSOUND Co-Programming Lead and Sunroom Co-Director Ruby-Jean McCabe said.

“While this is definitely our favourite time of the year because we get to listen to so much amazing music, it can be our least favourite as well. As bookers, we have to make the hard decision of whittling down these acts which felt like an impossible task given the talent in front of us!

“We feel this year’s lineup is one of the strongest we’ve ever seen showcase at BIGSOUND, which makes the task harder than ever. The future of music in Australia is continuing on its upward trajectory, and with this lineup, it’s obvious it will continue to do so.”

You can find out more about BIGSOUND 2023 here.