Thornhill to curate Surf's Up! Festival in Melbourne

Thornhill will headline and curate Surf's Up! Festival, a one-day heavy music event at Melbourne's Riviera Beach Club on Saturday, February 20, 2027, announced by promoter Destroy All Lines on Monday, November 2. The festival bill, selected by Thornhill, features Stand Atlantic, Alpha Wolf, US duo SACE6, Justice for the Damned, Philadelphia's Varials, Headwreck, Bloom and Blinder. Presale tickets go on sale Thursday, November 5, at 10 a.m. AEDT, with general tickets following on Friday, November 6, at 11 a.m. The event is restricted to people aged 18 and over. The festival is the second artist-curated heavy bill at the St Kilda venue, following a Polaris-programmed edition staged there in February as part of the Life's A Beach series.

Thornhill's third album, Bodies, debuted at No. 4 on the ARIA albums chart in 2025. Bodies won the ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album. Thornhill's 2022 album Heroine reached No. 3 on the ARIA chart and No. 1 on the Australian albums chart, earning an ARIA nomination. Thornhill's 2019 debut The Dark Pool hit No.

Stand Atlantic released their fifth album, Godbreath, on October 23 through Virgin Music Group. Godbreath debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA albums chart, the Sydney band's first chart-topper. Alpha Wolf earned a Grammy nomination for best boxed or special limited edition package for 2024's Half Living Things.

SACE6 released debut album Brutalist in 2026, the year of the article. Varials released their fourth album, Where the Light Leaves, in 2026 and are currently on a North American run supporting Wage War.