Hilltop Hoods to Headline Castaway Festival Across Three Australian Cities

Hilltop Hoods will headline Australia’s Castaway Festival across three cities this summer, extending a run for the Adelaide hip-hop trio that has made them the most decorated act in the history of the ARIA Albums Chart.

The group holds a record seven No. 1 albums on the chart — more than any other Australian act, surpassing AC/DC, Powderfinger, Cold Chisel and Silverchair — a streak that most recently extended with 2025’s Fall From the Light.

Castaway will run at Whitfords Nodes Park in Hillarys, Western Australia, on Saturday, Nov. 21; Mornington Racecourse in Victoria on Saturday, Dec. 12; and Wollongong, New South Wales, on Saturday, March 20, 2027. Joining Hilltop Hoods on the bill are Brisbane rock band Violent Soho and ARIA-winning singer-songwriter Amy Shark, alongside supporting acts Playlunch, Trials, Lyric and Birdland. General tickets go on sale Friday, Aug. 28, with artist, promoter and Telstra Plus presales opening Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Hilltop Hoods have built one of the most substantial catalogs in Australian hip-hop over more than two decades. The trio — Suffa, MC Pressure and DJ Debris — have logged 23 entries on Triple J’s Hottest 100 countdown and have won 10 ARIA Awards. Their chart dominance dates to 2006’s The Hard Road and has continued through State of the Art (2009), Drinking From the Sun (2012), Walking Under Stars (2014), a 2016 remix compilation of those two albums, The Great Expanse (2019) and Fall From the Light (2025), which marked their sixth consecutive album to debut at No. 1 in Australia.

Violent Soho, known for anthemic festival sets and albums including WACO and Everything Is A-OK, have also topped the ARIA Albums Chart during their career. Amy Shark broke through with 2018’s Love Monster, which reached No. 1 in Australia and helped establish her as one of the country’s most recognizable pop songwriters. “I’m a huge fan of Hilltop Hoods and Violent Soho, I was more than happy to join the boys on the road!” Shark said in a statement announcing the festival. “I don’t think you could get a better lineup. Hip-hop, rock and pop — I can’t wait!”

The three-city run continues Castaway’s format of pairing major national headliners with rotating supporting bills across Australia’s west, southeast and east coasts.