Island Escape Festival

Island Escape brings the magic of Tasmania’s winter to life, 3-5 July 2026! Ft Spiderbait + Birds of Tokyo + Hot Dub Time Machine

📍 Inveresk Precinct Launceston

🗓️ 3rd to 5th July 2026

🎟️ 3 Unique Sessions Across 3 Days

🔥 Headliners:

• Friday Night: Spiderbait
• Saturday: Birds of Tokyo + Hot Dub Time Machine

Island Escape Winter Festival is a three-day celebration that turns Launceston’s Inveresk Precinct into a “winter wonderland” of live music, Tasmanian food and drink, art, and community across 3–5 July 2026

Island Escape invites people to lean into Tassie’s unique winter charm with a program that mixes major headline acts, immersive storytelling, and playful experiences for all ages. Expect crackling firelight throughout the site, local winter flavours, and a stacked arts and culture layer including installations, light shows, and roaming performers

📅 FESTIVAL SESSIONS

Each session offers a totally unique experience and lineup!

• Friday 3rd July 2026: 5 PM to 10 PM
• Saturday 4th July: 12PM to 7PM
• Sunday 5th July: 12 PM – 5 PM

🌟 HEADLINE PERFORMANCE

🎸 Spiderbait Friday Night - one of Australia’s most beloved rock bands, known for their loud-quiet-loud energy, sharp humour, and a live show that turns crowds into choirs. With a catalogue stacked with anthems like “Buy Me a Pony,” “Calypso,” and their blistering take on “Black Betty,” they’ve been wrecking stages and soundtracking Aussie summers for decades

🎤 Birds Of Tokyo Formed in Perth in the early 2000’s, Birds of Tokyo have grown from independent roots to become one of Australia’s most popular contemporary rock bands. Since their 2008 breakthrough Universes, all five of the group’s albums have reached the ARIA top 3 including two #1 hits: March Fires (2013) and Human Design (2021). Classic songs like “Good Lord”, “Plans”, “Lanterns”, “Two Of Us”, “Brace” and “Unbreakable” have all been top 10 airplay hits and more than. seventy of their tracks have featured on Triple J, making them one of the National Youth Broadcaster’s three most played artists of this millennium.  The band has also won the APRA Award for “Most Performed Rock/Alternative Work” on a record setting six separate occasions.

🎧 Hot Dub Time Machine - Saturday Night!

Hot Dub Time Machine is DJ Tom Lowndes’ “time-travelling” audio-visual party that blasts through decades of bangers in a totally live, high-energy set built for mass singalongs and nonstop dancing. A global festival favourite, the show mashes real-vinyl DJing with big-screen nostalgia and crowd-hyping theatre, turning any stage into the “best party ever.

🍻🍷🍗🍔 TASMANIAN PRODUCERS Tasmanian producers

Expect a curated lineup of Tasmanian producers bringing the island’s winter harvest to life — from rich, rugged cool-climate drops to handcrafted spirits, ciders, and small-batch brews, plus seasonal bites and pantry goods made right here in Tassie. Wander between stalls, meet the people behind the produce, and taste your way through the Tamar Valley and beyond, all wrapped in that cosy Fire & Ice festival atmosphere