Kendrick Lamar to headline Aussie Spilt Milk festival
One of Australia's biggest touring day festivals is back with two superstar rappers to headline, giving hope to the beleaguered live music industry.
Kendrick Lamar and Doechii will arrive Down Under in December as the headliners at the 2025 music festival Spilt Milk, owned by US entertainment multinational Live Nation.
The Grammy Award-winning US artists will play at Ballarat, Canberra, the Gold Coast and Perth.
A number of international and local favourites were confirmed on Friday, including Sara Landry, Dominic Fike, ScHoolboy Q, Chance Peña, The Rions, d4vd, Mia Wray, Ninajirachi.
Lamar's announcement as festival headliner also fuelled speculation he will announce a solo tour to other capital cities including Sydney and Melbourne.
The welcome news marks a strong comeback for the festival, which cancelled its 2024 event mid-last year.
At the time, organisers issued a statement on Instagram, saying: "Sorry pookies, we couldn't get you the Spilt Milk you deserved this year."
The festival joined a growing list of live music events forced into hiatus due to skyrocketing production costs.
More than 40 music festivals across Australia have been cancelled since 2022 after the COVID-19 pandemic decimated the live-music sector.
Rising operational and insurance costs continue to bite, forcing the average cost of running a music festival to climb to $3.9 million, according to findings from Creative Australia's 2024 Soundcheck report.
Among 51 Australian music festivals surveyed, half turned a profit and more than one third lost money with a median deficit of $470,000.
The list of festivals that have disappeared is long and growing, with Groovin The Moo, Falls Festival, Harvest Rock, Splendour in the Grass and Souled Out among those cancelled.
Earlier in 2025, the NSW government announced it would step in to disburse $2.25 million in emergency funding as part of its Contemporary Music Festival Viability Fund, with five festivals including Bluesfest to receive up to $500,000 each.
Spilt Milk tickets go on sale on May 9, with pre-sales from May 8.
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