Live Music Program Guts Touring Returns In May

The event brings live music to the Northern Territory across 11 days next month.

Image supplied

Live music program Guts Touring makes a triumphant return in May, bringing a raft of incredible artists to major cities and remote communities across the Northern Territory.

The event comprises 11 solar-powered concerts featuring one act from the Northern Territory paired with artists from down south. This year’s lineup includes Ripple Effect Band, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever and Stella Donnelly alongside a host of local NT artists.

Ripple Effect Band, a multi-talented all-female outfit, are this year’s main NT act. Arriving from the south are Boorloo-raised, Naarm/Melbourne-based singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly, whose 2025 album Love and Fortune has received rave reviews, and Naarm-based indie rock and rollers Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, who have recently returned with new music after four years of radio silence.

Guts Touring commences on Thursday 14 May in Wadeye, with the tour venturing through Palumpa, Peppimenarti, Emu Point, Katherine, Beswick, Gapuwiyak, Bulman Weemol, Maningrida and Gunbalanya before wrapping up with an epic finale in Darwin on Sunday 24 May.

The majority of shows are free and open to the public, except for Katherine and Darwin, with tickets available via humanitix.com and tickets-bustardtown.

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Along with the headliners, Guts Touring collaborates with local artists who feature on the lineup at each community the tour visits. The poster for this year’s event, Family of Owls, was created by Wadeye artist Clare Jongmin via the Darrikardu Art Collective in Wadeye.

The brains behind Guts Touring are co-founders Jack Parsons and James Clarke, with the duo inspired by their mutual love of the legendary Blackfella/Whitefella tour of 1986, which saw Midnight Oil and the Warumpi Band touring remote Indigenous communities across Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

Since its first event a decade ago, Guts Touring has featured bands such as Amyl and the Sniffers, Floodlights, Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers, Camp Cope, Birdz and more, with the annual program connecting artists from across Australia, while encouraging collaboration, cultural exchange and creating opportunities for younger generations to become involved in music.

Guts Touring takes place from Thursday 14 to Sunday 24 May. The majority of shows are free and open to the public, except for Katherine and Darwin, with tickets available via humanitix.com and tickets-bustardtown.

Guts Touring 2026 Dates

Thursday 14 May - Wadeye

Friday 15 May - Palumpa

Saturday 16 May - Peppimenarti

Sunday 17 May - Emu Point

Monday 18 May - Katherine [ticketed]

Tuesday 19 May - Beswick

Wednesday 20 May - Gapuwiyak

Thursday 21 May - Bulman Weemol

Friday 22 May - Maningrida

Saturday 23 May - Gunbalanya

Sunday 24 May - Darwin [ticketed]

Image Clare Jongmin

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