Aussie rock festival Wanstock returns in 2026 with its biggest lineup yet, announcing Sydney and Melbourne events, with the rock gods set to descend on Shoppingtown Hotel in Doncaster (Melb) for two nights on Friday 20 March and Saturday 21 March, and Selina’s (Syd) on Friday 20 March. US icons The Romantics will grace the Shoppingtown Hotel stage alongside New Zealand icons Dragon, Aussie heroes 1927, Pseudo Echo, Bachelor Girl, Taxiride featuring Jason Singh and more in Melbourne, and Sydney will see The Romantics, Choirboys, Taxiride featuring Jason Singh and Ventura bringing the rock to the eastern beaches of Sydney.
Born from organiser Geoff Wansbrough’s love of the legendary Aussie pub rock era in the 80s and 90s, Wanstock has evolved since 2018 into an annual showcase of world-class acts alongside talented up-and-comers and the 2026 edition is no exception when it comes to homegrown and international artists from the rock realms. Tickets for Wanstock 2026 are on sale now from https://www.wanstock.com.au/.
Headlining Wanstock on Saturday will be none other than influential USA rockers, THE ROMANTICS, bringing nearly five decades of iconic hits to the stage. Fans can expect electrifying performances of MTV-era classics like ‘What I Like About You’, ‘Talking In Your Sleep’ and ‘One In A Million’, alongside favourites such as ‘Rock You Up’ and ‘When I Look In Your Eyes’. The Romantics – Wally Palmar, Coz Canler, Bruce Witkin, Joey Malone, and Mike Rizzi continue their global 2025–2026 tour with an unforgettable Wanstock appearance.
Headlining Friday’s stage will be 1927, formed in 1987, the band made a devastating entry into the ears of its listeners with the release of their debut album …iSH in 1988. Three months after the release, 1927 was catapulted to meteoric fame, with …iSH going on become the highest selling debut album release by an Australian artist. The quintuple Platinum selling album contained a staggering six charted singles, and for 46 weeks, …iSH remained in the TOP 50 of the Australian Music Charts. 1927 again found enormous success with the release of their multi-Platinum second album The Otherside. The band’s second album unleashed yet more charted singles, and for an astounding 19 weeks The Othersideremained in the TOP 50 of the Australian Music Charts. With 7x Platinum Records from multiple albums, a third self-titled album, which also charted, and their best work to date…the most recent studio album ‘Generation-i’, 1927 has firmly established their status as an iconic Australian band.
Returning to the Wanstock stage, Dragon formed in New Zealand in the 1970s before relocating to Australia, the long-time rock purveyors have never been ones to play it safe throughout their colourful and ongoing creative journey. Leaning into a heavy progressive rock sound that garnered a cult-like following and early success, the group have remained a stalwart fixture in the rock world, with hit tracks Are You Old Enough, April Sun in Cuba and Rain solidifying Dragon’s staying power and widespread appeal.
“We are so excited to be part of Wanstock once again, it’s been too long,” says Dragon. It’s always a pleasure to have a spot on such a great line-up with so much Australian talent, and the iconic Romantics from the US!”
An event run by a music lover and for music lovers, the spark for Wanstock festival first ignited when organiser Geoff Wansbrough approached some of his favourite bands to play for his birthday a few years back. Spurred by his love of classic Australian rock and the spirit of the original Woodstock Music Festival, Wanstock was soon born, holding its inaugural event in 2018 at the Burvale Hotel before growing into the event’s current home, the Shoppingtown Hotel, in 2019. And, as Geoff Wansbrough explains, each year is designed to be bigger and better than ever before, with 2026 set to simultaneously offer two nights of amazing acts as well as the chance to catch The Romantics, “I grew up in that awesome Aussie pub rock era of the 1980s and 90s. Every pub had bands and the cream rose to the top and we gave the world some great acts. As such, I used to see a lot of bands back in the day, and I still do. Wanstock came about when I was having a birthday a few years ago. I thought I would have a favourite band play. Then I thought: why not have a few of my favorite bands. That, plus the fact that I was a big admirer of the original Woodstock Music Festival, is really how it came about. Each year, I try and make it bigger and better. Now, it consists of a few components: to have two or three of the classic acts from back in the day, to give a some of the emerging talent a chance to play, and to have a cover band playing all our favorites to get everyone partying and dancing. Basically, I put it on to support our local music talent and so we can have a bit of fun while we still can. I really look forward to putting on Wanstock each year. It gives us all a chance to forget about our worries and enjoy some of that great music of our youth. For this next event, I am particularly proud to be bringing The Romantics to Australian shores. The line up for both nights is stacked with talent, including hall of famers 1927, Dragon and Pseudo Echo – it is bound to have you rocking out all night!”
Tickets for Wanstock Melbourne are on sale now from www.wanstock.com.au/ and Sydney from https://selinas.com.au/ .
WANSTOCK 2026
FRI 20 MARCH | SELINA’S, COOGEE NSW | 18+
Tickets available from https://selinas.com.au/
THE ROMANTICS
CHOIRBOYS
TAXIRIDE FEAT. JASON SINGH
VENTURA
FRI 20 MARCH | SHOPPINGTOWN HOTEL, DONCASTER VIC | 18+
Tickets available from www.wanstock.com.au/
1927
DRAGON
BACHELOR GIRL
STONETRIP
STRAIT SHOOTERS
SAT 21 MARCH | SHOPPINGTOWN HOTEL, DONCASTER VIC | 18+
Tickets available from https://www.wanstock.com.au/
THE ROMANTICS
PSEUDO ECHO
TAXIRIDE FEAT. JASON SINGH
STANDING ROOM ONLY
DAYDREAMERS