Festival organisers are pleased to announce Australian rock legend NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS as the first headliner of the year at Heartland 2026 on Thursday, June 18th.
NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS visit Heartland festival in the wake of last year’s critically acclaimed album Wild God, which is the band’s 18th studio album and was proclaimed one of the best albums of 2024 by several renowned music media.
When NICK CAVE & THE BAD SEEDS take over Heartland 2026, you can look forward to a set list that spans all four decades of the band’s exceptional career, including tracks from Wild God, but I wonder if there will also be room for classics such as “Where the Wild Roses Grow”, “Into My Arms”, “Red Right Hand” and “As I Sat Sadly by Her Side”.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds have been one of our biggest wishes for Heartland since the beginning, so I’m obviously very excited that it’s finally happened. The fact that they’re also announcing their arrival in our 10th anniversary year only makes it even more fantastic. I can hardly imagine a more perfect end to Thursday than standing in front of the Greenfield stage when Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds round off the day. Since we started in 2016, Heartland has grown and developed enormously – but the feeling during the big, unifying concerts in front of the main stage is still one of the things I look forward to most every year. We’re looking forward to presenting much more of the program in the coming months, and I can safely say that it promises to be our best yet – Ulrik Ørum-Petersen, Festival Director
When Nick Cave visits the 10th anniversary edition of Heartland, he will be joined on stage by Warren Ellis, Colin Greenwood, Jim Sclavunos, George Vjestica, Larry Mullins and Carly Paradis in The Bad Seeds, which is widely recognised as one of the world’s best live bands.
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