If you have ever thought about going to the Deni Ute Muster but haven’t quite got there yet, let this be the year. Because the 2026 lineup – just announced – is genuinely extraordinary, and the 2025 event sold out completely. Following a record-breaking, sold-out 2025 edition, the Deni Ute Muster has confirmed its 2026 program for Friday 2 October and Saturday 3 October in Deniliquin, NSW.
Early Bird tickets are already gone. General Admission tickets are on sale now at deniutemuster.com.au – and if history is any guide, they will not last.
If you have never been, the Deni Ute Muster is something that is genuinely difficult to describe. It started in 1999 when a group of community-minded locals in Deniliquin – a beautiful town on the edge of the NSW outback, struggling with a crippling drought – decided to create a rural festival that would bring visitors to the region. In that first year they drew 5,000 people and set a Guinness World Record for the greatest number of legally paraded utes: 2,839. That record still stands.
Today the Deni Ute Muster attracts close to 20,000 people of all ages to celebrate all things Australian and, of course, the iconic ute.
There is bull riding, wood chopping, ute driving competitions, a Show n Shine, the famous Spirit of the Muster ute parade, free camping, and two full days of live music from some of the best artists in Australian country music. More than 1,000 volunteers mobilise each year to help run the event, which donates close to $100,000 back to community groups. It is as Australian as anything this country produces, and it has a spirit of warmth and generosity that stays with you long after you have driven home.
Early October in Deniliquin brings pleasant spring weather, with daytime temperatures typically reaching the mid-20s and cool evenings that can drop to around 10 degrees – pack layers and a warm jacket for the nights.
Where to begin.
Tones And I headlines the 2026 Muster – the woman who, as a busker from the Mornington Peninsula, became one of the most extraordinary success stories in Australian music history. Her breakthrough hit Dance Monkey remained at number one on the ARIA Singles Chart for 24 weeks, is 20 times Platinum in Australia, and is the most Shazamed song of all time. Her 2024 album Beautifully Ordinary debuted at number one on the ARIA Chart. She has performed on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel and Good Morning America. In October 2025, she joined forces with David Guetta and Teddy Swims for the massive hit Gone Gone Gone. Seeing her headline at Deni will be one of those nights you talk about for years.
Lee Kernaghan returns to the Muster stage – and of all the artists on this lineup, he is perhaps the one whose music most perfectly captures the spirit of the event. Boys From The Bush, Hat Town, She’s My Ute – these are songs that belong on the plains of the NSW Riverina on a warm October night, surrounded by thousands of people who know every word. With 38 Golden Guitars and induction into both the Australian Country Music Roll of Renown and the CMC Hall of Fame, Kernaghan is simply one of the greats. His presence at Deni is always an event in itself.
Ian Moss and Troy Cassar-Daley are appearing together as part of their Together Alone Tour 2026 – and this pairing alone is worth the trip. Ian Moss, the voice behind some of Cold Chisel’s most beloved songs, and Troy Cassar-Daley, one of the most decorated artists in Australian country music history, on the same stage, telling their stories and playing their music. Their chemistry – the rock legend and the country icon – creates the kind of spontaneous, unrepeatable moments that only happen when genuinely great musicians share a stage.
Sheppard — the Brisbane siblings behind the irresistibly catchy Geronimo, now 36 times Platinum worldwide – bring their new era to the Muster. They have performed at the AFL Grand Final, Eurovision – Australia Decides and Justin Bieber’s World Tour. Now they are bringing whatever comes next to Deniliquin.
Casey Barnes, who won the Golden Guitar for Contemporary Country Album of the Year in 2025 for his chart-topping album Mayday. Amber Lawrence, six-time Golden Guitar winner and one of Australian country music’s most beloved performers. Furnace and the Fundamentals, the band that covers everyone from The Beatles to Beyoncé to Queen with twice the energy of the original. American rising star Tyler Braden, whose 2024 single Devil You Know eclipsed 335 million global streams. And a full supporting cast across the Day Stage from dawn to dusk.
Deniliquin sits in the heart of the NSW Riverina, approximately 272 kilometres from Melbourne – about four and a half hours by road via the Murray Valley Highway. From Sydney it is about seven hours via the Hume Highway. Many festival-goers make a road trip of it, which is entirely in the spirit of the event.
When you are in town, the Living Lagoon walking paths, the Depot Historic Car Collection on Hardinge Street, and the island sanctuary with native birdlife and kangaroos are all worth your time. ASIC And no visit to Deniliquin is complete without a photo at the famous Ute on the Pole just over the bridge.
Early Bird tickets are sold out. General Admission tickets are available now at deniutemuster.com.au. Given the 2025 event sold out completely and demand is already strong, the advice from organisers is simple: do not wait.
The Deni Ute Muster is one of those Australian events that people who have been to once return to every year. And people who haven’t been yet put on the list the moment they hear what it is like. The 2026 lineup makes the strongest case yet for making this the year you finally go.