Open Season 2023

Overview

Two venues. Three months. More than 30 shows. That's the maths behind Open Season 2023. This series of gigs and performances debuted in 2020 at The Tivoli, just as Brisbane started to find its normality after the pandemic's first lockdown. Since then, it's kept coming back — adding Woolloongabba's Princess Theatre to its footprint in 2021, and now returning to both sites in 2023.

Think of it as a big multi-gig festival — one that runs from late May through till the end of August, too. That means that Brisbanites have multiple places to head to, multiple dates to do so, and multiple bands and shows to see, all from the first lineup announcement.

Leading the bill: Oneohtrix Point Never, Sleaford Mods, UK punk legends The Damned, New Zealand's Kimbra, US producer Thundercat, Weyes Blood and Aussie favourites King Stingray. Molchat Doma are also bringing their post-punk synth-pop sounds to the River City from Belarus, while The Pharcyde will team up with Masta Ace and Marco Polo, and Ngaiire will do the same with Queensland Symphony Orchestra.

Zennieshia Butts

Open Season's roster goes on, complete with Bernie Dieter, Tourist, Winston Surfshirt, Lastlings, Middle Kids, Gordi and more. Also on the bill: the return of First Nations festival Blak Day Out, which was postponed from January to July.

The Glam Awards also makes its debut, giving Brisbane both a new set of queer performing arts awards and a club night, with a heap of the country's best drag and queer performers set to feature.

And, closing things out is A Night for the Queen, with Polytoxic and Hot Brown Honey overseeing a night of cabaret, circus, performance art and drag. Everything is femme-fronted, and the evening is all about raising cash for Busty and her cancer journey.

Vincent Shaw

OPEN SEASON 2023 — THE PRINCESS THEATRE:

Saturday, May 27 — Northeast Party House
Wednesday, May 31 — Kimbra
Friday, June 2 — Winston Surfshirt
Saturday, June 3 — Weyes Blood
Tuesday, June 6 — Sleaford Mods
Wednesday, June 7 — The Damned
Saturday, June 10 — Coterie
Thursday, June 15 — Molchat Doma
Friday, June 16 — Middle Kids
Saturday, July 7 — Lastlings
Saturday, July 15 — Oneohtrix Point Never
Wednesday, July 19–Saturday, July 22 — Bernie Dieter in Konzert
Friday, July 28 — Tourist
Friday, August 4 — Ngaiire and Queensland Symphony Orchestra
Saturday, August 5 — Set Roulette
Friday, August 11 — Full Flower Moon Band
Saturday, August 19 — First Beige and special guests
Thursday, August 24 — Gordi

OPEN SEASON 2023 — THE TIVOLI:

Wednesday, June 7 — Thundercat
Sunday, June 11 — The Pharcyde with Masta Ace & Marco Polo
Saturday, July 7 — King Stingray
Sunday, July 16 — Blak Day Out
Saturday, August 19 — GLAMAPALOOZA
Friday, August 25 — A Night for the Queen

Updated: August 25, 2023. Princess Theatre image: James Griffin.