Town Folk Festival

Listed provision only. Facilities change between editions — confirm anything you depend on directly with the festival.

About Town Folk Festival

Town Folk Festival is a one-day contemporary folk and songwriter festival in Castlemaine, central Victoria, on Dja Dja Wurrung Country. It started in 2022 as a collaboration between Jez and Pat Furze, owners of The Bridge Hotel, and their Walker Street neighbours Shedshaker Taproom and Boomtown Winery. The organisers describe it as a music discovery event, and 2026 is its sixth year.

The 2026 festival is on Saturday 21 November. The main stage is on the Sunken Oval, an open grassy area where people bring camping chairs and picnic blankets, and three more stages run at The Bridge Hotel, Shedshaker Taproom and Boomtown Winery, all within about 350 metres. Main stage gates open at 11am and close at 11pm. A free pre-festival program of shows also runs in the lead-up.

Aldous Harding from New Zealand and Kevin Morby from the USA head the lineup. Also playing are Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, Flyte from the UK, Folk Bitch Trio, YĪN YĪN from the Netherlands, Darren Hanlon, Jordie Lane, Allegra Krieger, Romy Vager, Docker River Band, Way Dynamic, Minna and others.

Tickets have sold out, there is no waitlist, and the organisers recommend Tixel for resale. Children under two do not need a ticket, while kids and youth tickets were sold for ages 2 to 7 and 8 to 17, and all under-18s must be with an adult because the event is licensed. There are no concession tickets. General camping at Camp Town Folk, on the Campbells Creek Recreation Reserve, has also sold out, while seats on the Town Folk Express buses from Thornbury and Brunswick in Melbourne are still on sale.

A free shuttle links the official car park and the campground with the festival site, and Castlemaine station on the Bendigo line is about a 15-minute walk away. Food trucks, local venues and a Sunken Oval bar supply food and drink, served on reusable crockery, and there is a water refill station. Kid Folks corner runs activities such as mini golf and puppet making.

On access, all stages, bar and food areas are wheelchair accessible, and there is a viewing platform at the main stage with chairs and accessible flooring over the grass. Accessible toilets and bookable accessible parking are provided, main stage sets are Auslan interpreted, Companion Card holders get a free companion ticket and assistance animals are welcome.

Accessibility

All stages, entertainment, bar and food areas are wheelchair accessible; the Sunken Oval has a slight incline, a wheelchair track mat to the viewing platform and accessible flooring over the grass; viewing platform with chairs for people with disability and their friends or support workers; kerb ramp at the Walker Street crossing. Accessible toilets at the Sunken Oval main block and viewing platform, The Mill precinct, Castlemaine Botanical Gardens and Shedshaker Taproom (The Bridge Hotel has none). Accessible parking on Cornish Street, bookable by email for vehicles with an accessible parking permit. All main stage performances are Auslan interpreted. Companion Card holders get a free companion ticket by emailing info@townfolkfestival.com. Assistance animals welcome, with drinking stations. No designated quiet zone; the Botanic Gardens nearby offer a low-sensory refuge. Social stories available on request. Castlemaine station is accessible and about 1.2 km away.

Frequently asked

Contact the festival