Harvest Rock 2025 Lineup Predictions
Here are our predictions for who might perform at this year’s Harvest Rock Festival.
Image Per Ole Hagen
Harvest Rock is back! After taking a sabbatical last year, many feared we would never see the festival again. But in fantastic news for music lovers and the state, the two-day event returns this October.
Taking place at Murlawirrapurka and Ityamai-Itpina/Rymill and King Rodney Parks on Saturday 25 October and Sunday 26 October, organisers are promising an awesome musical lineup of local and international acts, along with a selection of incredible local food and drink offerings. And while the cultural experiences are a plus, everyone who attended the past two editions of the festival did so because of the strong lineup of artists.
The inaugural Harvest Rock was both incredibly diverse and absolutely stacked, with big-name international acts such as Jack White, The Black Crowes, Khruangbin, Hot Chip and The Luminers mixing it up with local favs The Avalanches, The Living End, You Am I, Courtney Barnett, Ruby Fields and more.
Harvest Rock II was just as impressive, with Nile Rodgers & Chic, Jamiroquai, Warpaint, Santigold and Beck leading the overseas charge, while artists such as Paul Kelly, Julia Jacklin, Tasha Sultana, Bernard Fanning and Flight Facilities were flying the Aussie flag.
With the lineup for Harvest Rock III dropping in just under two weeks, we thought we’d take a stab at predicting who might be playing this year’s festival. While we know Adelaide’s own Teenage Joans will feature, having been confirmed as one of the acts when the festival was announced, no other names have been revealed as of yet.
We have no idea what the actual bill of this year’s festival is, with the bands and artists listed below our best guesses based on availability and likelihood of touring soon.
Neil Young
Harvest Rock is named after Neil Young’s iconic album Harvest, so it makes total sense for the Canadian singer-songwriter to headline. Ok, we made that first bit up (“harvest” represents the kind of music and culinary experiences on offer and “rock” is a nod to the genre of music the festival highlights), but surely we can all agree Neil Young would be an absolute cracking artist to headline the returning Harvest Rock.
It’s been more than a decade since Young and his band Crazy Horse toured the country, so he’s more than overdue for a visit.
Throw in the release of his new album Talkin to the Trees alongside his new band Chrome Hearts, and it makes perfect sense for Young to play Harvest Rock 2025.
Stereophonics
Although the lineup is always varied, the past two Harvest Rock festivals have been heavily slanted in favour of nostalgia acts. Think Crowded House, Jamiroquai, The Avalanches, The Living End, You Am I, etc. Welsh rockers Stereophonics fit that bill perfectly.
The band have been out there getting it done for more than three decades, releasing 13 studio albums (nine of which topped the UK Album Chart, including this year’s Make 'Em Laugh, Make 'Em Cry, Make 'Em Wait) and topping the UK Single Chart in 2005 with the worldwide smash ‘Dakota’.
Stereophonics just so happen to be touring Australia in October, with their tour ending in Perth on Saturday 25, meaning they could easily make the flight to Adelaide the next day and headline Harvest Rock.
The Cure
If Stereophonics are almost nailed on, then The Cure are about as far away from playing Harvest Rock as you can get. Or in the words of Darryl Kerrigan, “Tell him he’s dreamin’.”
The Cure might be a massive long shot, but last year rumours persisted that the band were preparing to visit Australia for a whirlwind tour. Maybe Mali has worked his magic ala Katy Perry and managed to convince Robert Smith and co to make their way to South Australia to headline Harvest Rock?
The Cure fit the bill when it comes to a big-name nostalgia act, and having released their fourteenth album, Songs of a Lost World, last year, it makes sense for the pioneering goths to make play the festival in support of their new long player.
Royel Otis
When Royel Otis announced an arena tour in support of their upcoming sophomore album, hickey, a few eyebrows were raised when Perth made the itinerary and Adelaide didn’t. But there’s a high probability that the return of Harvest Rock is the reason behind this.
The festival falls right in the middle of Royel Otis’ tour, with the duo perfomring in Sydney on Friday 24 and Saturday 25, before ending their tour on Wednesday 29, meaning Sunday is free for them to take to the stage in Adelaide.
If this proves correct, this is a great get by the festival organisers, with Royel Otis arguably one of the country’s hottest young bands who have managed to crack the international market with the playful indie pop.
Jelly Roll
This one is not very likely, seeing as Jelly Roll is touring as part of the new country festival Strummingbird, but he is in the country when Harvest Rock takes place and appears to have no plans on Sunday 26.
Jelly Roll has been performing for more than two decades, with the four-time Grammy-nominated artist beginning his career as a rapper before finding his audience as a country singer. The release of his 2024 studio album, Beautifull Brokern, which topped the Billboard Top 200, helped Jelly become a household name across the world.
While it’s very unlikely he'll play Harvest Rock, his name on the lineup would be a ticket seller.
Sycco
Recent Note cover star Sycco just revealed she’s hitting the road on a monster 14-date tour, but no Adelaide date was included.
It turns out that the weekend Harvest Rock takes place, Sycco’s schedule is clear, so we could def imagine her making the trip to South Australia and entertaining crowds with a set of her dreamy bedroom pop creations.
The Brizzy artist had a breakout 2024, dropping her debut album Zorb (which peaked at #12 on the ARIA Album Chart), featuring the standout single ‘Ripple’, an energetic collab with Flume and Chrome Sparks.
Vampire Weekend
Again, Vampire Weekend are another Hail Mary, but their schedule is clear and they are just the type of act that fits the bill. In a similar vein to a Jack White or Santigold, Vampire Weekend are one of those indie acts people still froth on, with many calling their last album, 2024’s Only God Was Above Us, their best effort yet.
The downside is Vampire Weekend just played Fuji Rock in Japan at the end of July, so you’d imagine if they were going to tour Australia, it would have been around that time.
It’s been five years since the group last toured Down Under, so they’re due, with Harvest Rock hopefully marking their return.
The Black Keys
This one comes courtesy of Reddit user reggiekid. While we would normally take anything published on Reddit with a grain of salt, reggiekiid successfully predicted Jamiquira would perform at Harvest Rock II weeks out from the lineup dropping. So when he says The Black Keys are lock, we listen.
It’s been over a decade since the duo of Dan Auerbach and Patrick Carney toured Oz. In that time they’ve released a further five albums, with their thirteenth, No Rain, No Flowers, arriving this month.
What better way to celebrate the release of their new album than an Australian tour and a headline gig at Harvest Rock.
DMA’s
DMA’s have a couple of festival slots lined up during September and October and are another act that hasn’t played Adelaide in a while, making them targets for Harvest Rock III.
Considering Oasis won’t be making an appearance at the fest (they’re playing Tokyo that weekend, we checked), it would be fitting for Australia’s very own Brit-pop inspired rockers to jump on the bill.
Youth Group
After they were forced to postpone their Australian tour originally scheduled for earlier this year, Youth Group dropped new dates that kick off the weekend after Harvest Rock.
Having left Adelaide off the tour schedule the first time around, we find it hard to believe they would do the same for the rescheduled shows, making us think they will be part of this year’s Harvest Rock.
Their current tour comes in support of their upcoming new album, Big Whoop, the band’s first since 2019’s Australian Halloween. Although they remain a bit of an Aussie cult act, Youth Group will always be remembered for their single ‘Forever Young’, which won the ARIA Award for Breakthrough Artist in 2006.
Teenager
Nick Littlemore (PNAU, Empire of the Sun) and Pip Brown (Ladyhawke) have reunited and reformed their early ‘00s musical project, Teenager.
The duo have released three singles – ‘A.A.’, ‘Sail the Seas’ and ‘Love Is You’ in the lead up to the release of their long-awaited sophomore album, Fourteen.
Teenager are sure to announce tour dates shortly, and playing Harvest Rock makes a lot of sense and would be a great way for the band to reintroduce themselves to audiences across the country.
Horsegirl
Not to be confused with German DJ horsegiirl, Horsegirl are Chicago-based indie rock group comprising Nora Cheng, Penelope Lowenstein, and Gigi Reece.
Signed to Madator, the trio is keeping the ‘90s alt-rock dream alive, with their 2022 debut album Versions of Modern Performance earning them high praise.
Earlier this year, the trio dropped their sophomore record, Phonetics On and On, meaning an Aussie album tour is certainly on the cards.
Sign up for the official Harvest Rock mailing list here to be notified when the line drops on August 12.
