Songs for a Summer: Rolling Sets Festival Review

Welcome to Summer in the sunshine state, which we’re kicking off with ultimate beach party at Rolling Sets, Tweed Heads. The Queensland/New South Wales border town is fresh on the Rolling Sets’ calendar and got the first festival weekend before Central Coast will follow up next weekend. If you can get a ticket, definitely go for it!

With cancellations to staple Aussie festivals like Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo, the shifting focus away from our indie and surf rock bands has become incredibly noticeable. Rolling Sets nicely fills that gap, providing a sanctuary for sunny, beachy rock from some of Australia’s best and brightest. Of course, there’s a healthy dose of pop, hip hop and heavy rock in there too and some strong international acts, like Flipturn and Scowl.

Slip, slop, slap and grab your board (surf or skate!), as we look at what happened at Rolling Sets 2025 in Tweed Heads on November 29^th, 2025.

THE EVENT

Rolling Sets is organised by Australian venue and booking agency, Kingdom Sounds, who have collaborated with Triple J and sponsors such as Balter Brewing, Afends, and the newly-established Jack McCoy ALOHA Foundation. Kingdom Sounds have a penchant for delivering stacked line-ups, heaving on the Aussie sound, to gorgeous venues for a memorable festival day.

Today’s festival highlights music and promotes the classic two sports of beach culture – surf and skate. Pro bodyboarder Mitch Rawlins hosted a t-shirt screen printing session in the afternoon, providing a great relief from the sun which began to beam down with full force by that point. Thankfully, sunscreen brand Sun Bum was present to hand out free sunscreen, a genius campaign in the conditions! A signing session with champion surfer Mark Occhilup, record holder Laura Enever, and director Dick Hoole also took place, arranged with the Jack McCoy ALOHA Foundation in memory of the legendary surf filmmaker.

On the skate front, an oceanside half pipe was set up by the Need2Freak stage, blasting house tunes and dance mixes to keep the good vibes going as crowds trekked between the Baltar stage near the entry gate and the Triple J stage beyond the festival market. George Tichbon, Charlie Hollande, Futa Redpanda, Jesse Noonan, Cody Siacci, and George Richards formed the RSF Skate Team, which was an impressive watch while taking a break from the noise and crowds of the festival stages.

OUR DAY

This was a hectic day, with so many artists, activations and areas to navigate. Typically, I get lucky that all the bands I’m keenest for end up on the one stage with no clashes, so I pick my spot at the barricade and am set for the day there, managing to buddy up with someone to get some food and drinks without missing my front row hold. Today, I was running to and from each stage trying to catch as many of the bands as I could and still didn’t get to see everyone!

Arriving at 11AM for gates to open meant we got to hear the first sets of the day, with Spaced Out winning band Gilroy opening at the Balter stage right next to the entry. Even before passing through bag check, we could hear Gilroy performing as if they were the headline act, setting a great vibe as we wandered in.

The site at Ebenezer Park on Duranbah Beach was massive, with the back end of the road blocked off to allow for the festival set up. While it was a bigger walk than usual to get between the two larger stages, this distance and the natural hills and bends in the area did wonders to limit noise from each stage affecting the other. Curving away from the Balter Stage, we happen upon the first food stands and water stations, which were desperately needed and are placed in easy reach of Need2Freak. The Triple J Stage on the far end of the site boasted the largest floorspace, with merch, markets and activations available within site. And don’t worry… each stage area had its own bar easily accessible!

I spent most of my day running around between sets, stopping at the half pipe to watch the skate team and have my late lunch in the shade. Unfortunately, the cloud cover and slight spit that occurred early in the day to provide some relief across the site dissipated, leading to a sweltering afternoon in the sun. I had decided to have a couple of drinks but stopped myself there because I wanted to enjoy the rest of my day and being dehydrated from the heat and alcohol consumption would not have fared well. I love the party culture we have in Australia, but when you’re going to festivals please make sure to be safe and responsible, and look after your friends too!

THE MUSIC

After pausing to hear a song from Gilroy, I continued to check out the rest of the festival and check out the end of RS Pro winning band Laurel Hill’s set at the Triple J Stage. Having seen Mid Drift perform with The Vanns last month, I did not want to miss their set at the Balter Stage and found myself a front row spot to see them! They were brilliant, with the perfect look and sound for a beachside festival, and it was great to see the crowd singing every word back at them!

I skipped lunch and filled myself up with Fool Nelson’s set afterwards. I haven’t seen them before but I’m not eagerly awaiting their next tour so I can see more of their music. They had a bit of a clash with The Tullamarines, who I wanted to get a bit of a sense of before I see them play at The Brightside on Wednesday, supporting American band Flipturn (whose set I also caught the back-half of!).

I stayed rooted at Balter Stage after that to see Blusher. The girl band has bubbly and exciting pop music and an incredible stage presence, with a Y2K feel in their coordinated (but not too matchy-matchy) outfits and their fun choreographies that the audience definitely latched onto! I was already excited to see them again on Sunday night at The Brightside, but their meet-and-greet at the barricade after their set amped me up so much more! The buzz did not go away as MAY-A hit the stage next, bringing a hardcore punk feel to her edgy pop music for the set.

By the time we reached The Jungle Giants at the Triple J Stage it was boiling. Even lead singer Sam could feel it, regretting his black suit for the show and joining bassist Andrew to spray the crowd with much-needed water to cool us down! Luckily, by the time DICE was playing back at the Balter, the sun was finally starting to set and give the sky a gorgeous yellow hue as we watched the boys from WA perform a great set, hyping the crowd up for the rest of the evening.

THE FINALE

Our sunset session was performed by Spacey Jane, who overlooked a massive crowd stretching back past the sound tent and up the hills of the parkland. They brought the same level of production and energy to Rolling Sets as they had during their album tour earlier this year, which cemented Spacey Jane as one of our strongest live acts to me. I was thankful that the crowd began to thin after that, allowing me to get way closer (though still not to the front) for the festival’s closing act, Hilltop Hoods. Of course, a Hilltop Hoods set is going to go hard. I had a bout of nostalgia, remembering seeing them from the mosh as a fresh 18-year-old at my first festival, Groovin the Moo in Townsville, 2017! Their set this evening was an exciting preview of what’s to come on tour next year… I’m debating getting a ticket to their second Brisbane show (of course I already have one to the first!).

Rolling Sets proved that there is a strong festival scene in Australia and affirms that we need to see more of these events happening across the country. They’re brilliant days out, providing a much-needed mental relief from the stress we’re all dealing with day-to-day. I loved the commitment to our beachside location, with the seas on full display, the surfboards decorating the gates of the venue, and the skaters ripping it up on the half pipe while the DJs ripped it up on the decks. I might be battling a dehydration headache and a sunburn (my fault for not planning ahead!) but I’d happily take this if it meant another day of Summery songs by the ocean, because I’ve missed this for way too long!

MERCH

It was a tough choice and I had to consult some friends, but I ended up opting for the line-up shirt at the festival today! Keen to wear it on Wednesday night to see The Tullamarines and Flipturn.