Entertainment
5 July, 2025
City readies for festival
CAIRNS is set to come alive with colour, sound and spectacular performances as the 2025 Cairns Festival gets underway from August 29 to September 7, transforming the city into a buzzing playground of creativity and culture.
The annual event, presented by Cairns Regional Council, is promising a jam-packed program of live music, dazzling light installations, theatrical spectacles and immersive art experiences – all staged in some of the city’s most iconic locations.
At the heart of the action is the main stage on the Esplanade, which will host eight nights of free, high-energy live music. Acts include electronic party starter Groove Terminator, powerhouse funk collective Public Opinion Afro Orchestra, guitar-slinging blues queen Minnie Marks, soul-laced salsa from Quarter Street and dreamy indie grooves courtesy of Sweet Talk.
Returning for its fourth year, festival-goers can also experience Laservision’s Canvas of Cairns, a spectacular nightly projection that will transform the Esplanade Lagoon into a moving artwork celebrating local stories and culture. Over at Tanks Arts Centre, the sensory and surreal exhibition Fever Dreams will take audiences deep into the dreamlike tropics, while under the nearby fig tree, the Fever Lounge will serve up cocktails and beats from 4pm daily.
Cabaret and circus lovers are in for a treat with a trio of unforgettable shows. PRIMAL, from the creators of the international hit Rouge, is an adults-only circus show bursting with raw physicality and primal energy. Madame After Dark at Bulmba-Ja Arts Centre promises cabaret with a cheeky twist, while CIRCA: Duck Pond reimagines Swan Lake in a dazzling display of acrobatics, humour, and theatrical wonder.
For fans of film and classic cinema scores, Melbourne band The Counterfeit will take audiences on a wild ride through the music of Ennio Morricone in a live tribute to Spaghetti Westerns at Tanks Arts Centre – cowboy hats optional, but highly encouraged.
Hands-on experiences are also on offer, including mosaic and saltwater creature workshops, the SWISH Laneway Exhibition, and the new festival addition, the Art Studio Trail. Meanwhile, the Festival’s quirky streak shines through in Let’s Organise Your Leisure, a pool noodle-fuelled performance, and the raw talent of the Poetry Slam at the Cairns City Library.
With something for every taste – from tropical cocktails to toe-tapping rhythms and avant-garde performance – Cairns Festival 2025 is set to be a vibrant celebration of art, community, and imagination.
Full program details
are available at
