A heavy festival. On a beach. Curated by the headliners themselves. Melbourne, you win February.
Destroy All Lines announced Surf’s Up! Festival on Monday, a one day heavy bill taking over the Riviera Beach Club in St Kilda on Saturday, February 20, 2027. Thornhill headline it, and Thornhill picked it: the whole lineup is personally curated by the four members. Their words: “Expect big riffs, good times and a whole lot of energy.” A festival promise I actually believe.
Joining them: Sydney’s Stand Atlantic, whose fifth album Godbreath came out October 23 and just debuted at number one on the ARIA chart, the first chart topper of their career. Alpha Wolf bring the metalcore muscle, American duo SACE6 and Philadelphia’s Varials fly in for it, and Justice for the Damned, Headwreck, Bloom and Blinder round out a bill with no soft spots. It is an 18 and over day, presale starts Thursday, November 5 at 10 am AEDT, and general tickets follow Friday, November 6 at 11 am.
“Beach club by day, breakdowns by night.”
Moe Train
This is the second artist curated heavy bill at that St Kilda spot, after Polaris programmed the Life’s A Beach edition there this past February. And Thornhill earned the keys. Their third album Bodies debuted at number four on the ARIA albums chart in 2025 and won the ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album. A band at that point in the run does not get handed a festival by accident.
Beach club by day, breakdowns by night. If Australian heavy music is having a moment, and it is, this is what the moment looks like.
Source: K-Jewel 99.3 FM
