Entertainment
12 September, 2026
Folk festival draws them in
YUNGABURRA will host more than 200 performers when the Tablelands Folk Festival returns for three days of music, workshops and community events from 23-25 October 2026.
The family-friendly festival will transform the historic township with a program featuring world music, traditional and contemporary folk, country, jazz, blues, rock, storytelling and poetry.
New venues will also be introduced this year.
Alongside live performances, the program will feature storytelling and poetry sessions, a songwriter competition and interactive music workshops.
Festival-goers will also be able to take part in the grand parade through Yungaburra, while food trucks and local market stalls will operate throughout the weekend.
Ahead of the festival, the Mixing it Up workshops project will offer an introductory sound engineering course at the Tablelands Music Lovers club-house on Grainger Lane, Atherton, with support from the Regional Arts Development Fund.
The four-week course is designed for beginners and will be facilitated by Michael Hodgkins of Tablelands Folk Festival and David Lynch of Tablelands Music Lovers. Participants will learn the fundamentals of analogue and digital audio technology, including mixing desks, microphones, cabling, digital mixers and software.
Classes will be held on 24 September, 1 October, 8 October and 17 October, with participants progressing from sound and signal flow fundamentals to integrating analogue and digital systems and to preparing a live mix scenario.
The final session on 17 October will coincide with the Tablelands Folk Festival Showcase Event, hosted by Tablelands Music Lovers and open to the public. The showcase will feature some of the 2026 Festival Performers.
Course participants will then put their skills into practice at the Tablelands Folk Festival, 23-25 October, assisting with stage setup, soundchecks and live mixing.
Online weekend tickets, including camping packages, are available on the Tablelands Folk Festival website: www.cnslocal.s.gy/XmBurV
