A one-day festival for unsigned music & art, run out of the back room of a pub in the inner west. No labels, no algorithms — just the people making the work, and the people who turn up for it.
Three stages, twenty-one acts, doors at 2pm. Every act unsigned at the time of booking.
Glasgow-via-Marrickville punk five-piece. Two guitars, no apologies. Closing the Dirt Stage at 9:30pm.
First-ever live set. Room Upstairs, 8:00pm — be there.
{rows.length} acts · doors 2pm
{rows.map((s, i) =>Three stages, running 2pm to midnight. Bring a watch, an open mind, comfortable shoes.
full set times may change, we run this shit ourselves ✌
115 Regent St, Chippendale. The corner pub that's hosted every Dirt Fest since the first one. Two rooms, a courtyard, a kitchen that does not stop until close.
Approx. Not to scale. Phone reception inside is bad — meet outside.
for the love of it ♡
Dirt Fest started in 2022 because three friends wanted to put on a gig for the bands they loved who couldn't get a booking. It hasn't really changed since.
We don't take a cut. Door money, after costs, splits across the bill. The art on the walls comes from local makers, who keep 100% of what sells.
There's no curator, no taste-maker. Lineups come from open submissions and the tip-offs of friends. If we book a band you've never heard of, that's the point.
It's small on purpose. 400 people in a pub, one Saturday a year. Every dollar in the door goes back into making the next one happen, or into the hands of the people who turned up to play.
If you've got a band, a sculpture, a zine, a film, a busted theremin — submit it. We read every one. The hard part isn't getting on; the hard part is being honest.
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We read every submission by hand. You'll hear back within a fortnight either way — and if we're a fit, you'll be on the Dirt Fest VI longlist.
Submissions for Dirt Fest VI open the Monday after this year's. Drop your details now and we'll be in touch.