Good Things Festival 2025 – Sydney

The Sydney leg of Good Things Festival was a blistering, sweat-drenched marathon of music, heat and chaos, kicking off with local favourites Yours Truly opening the main stage under conditions that were already pushing into heatwave territory. With temperatures climbing into the high 30s and reportedly nudging over 40°C in the precinct, the combination of full sun, concrete, and the white plastic flooring laid across the two main stages created a furnace effect that had heat radiating back up at everyone.

Misting fans sprayed the crowd, and enormous wheeled-in industrial fans blasted air out from the stage in an attempt to keep things tolerable, but nothing could fully take the edge off the intensity. Still, the festival energy didn’t dip — if anything, the conditions added to the delirious, unhinged vibe of the day. Even South Arcade, floating around the early lineup, seemed to relish their new attention, drawing curious festival-goers chasing shade wherever they could find it.

My first band on the inside stage was Maples Pet Dinosaur — a lively, youthful start before heading back into the heat. Their set added a touch of playful, low-stakes energy to an otherwise intense day.

Windwaker looked great and played tight over on the side stage, though their set didn’t leave a huge impression on me beyond the aesthetic. Good technically, but nothing stuck the way some of the later bands did.

That changed drastically when Refused took over back on the main stage. They absolutely tore it up — easily the best band of the day at that point — with ferocity, precision, and Dennis throwing the microphone constantly, a barrage of punk theatre that whipped the crowd into a frenzy.

Back inside to the “cooler” (literally) stage and Wargasm followed with a set of songs that felt tribal and primal, a heavy, stomping pulse. Their mix of heavy guitars and dance-floor electronics translated surprisingly well to the festival environment — their set was visceral, sweaty and ridiculously fun to watch.

Then GWAR arrived to do what GWAR does: piss blood over everyone and everything in sight. The spectacle was absurd and hilarious, and someone summed it up perfectly when they leaned over to me and said, “Their music is absolutely shithouse but fuck me they are fun to watch!” Hard to argue.

Back into the main arena complete with blazing hot white plastic floor tiles, Machine Head stormed the main stage next, and although they repeatedly told Sydney it was the best place they’d ever played, shouting the city name so many times it verged on disingenuous, their set was undeniably powerful. It was classic festival metal — pits, chants, riffs, sweat, the works. But, yeah “Nobody rocks like Springton“

Opting to miss out on James Reyne in favour of dinner, I was blown away by Kublai Khan TX, who came out swinging, thrilled to be in Australia and claiming the weather wasn’t as hot as Texas. Considering it was around 42°C while they played, maybe they truly meant it — or maybe Texans are just built different? Either way they claimed a new fan here.

Garbage brought a swagger all their own, with Shirley Manson nodding cheekily to the Melbourne beach-ball incident from the day before by opening with, “Sydney has the biggest balls of them all,” possibly even a playful nod toward AC/DC? Her performance was commanding, and the crowd soaked up every moment, even the aptly timed rainfall during “Only Happy When It Rains” – for reals!

Weezer then rolled out a fully stacked best-of set — “Buddy Holly,” “Island in the Sun,” “Undone – The Sweater Song,” “Beverly Hills,” “Hash Pipe,” their cover of Hole‘s “Celebrity Skin,” and more — delivering hit after hit with effortless charm and precision. It was one of those sets where you suddenly remember just how many massive songs this band has written.

And finally, Tool closed the night with an epic, atmospheric performance that felt almost otherworldly after the chaos and heat of the day. Their set list matched Melbourne the day before and Brisbane the night after, with “Prison Sex” appearing in place of “Crawl Away,” and the visual production, musicianship, and sheer immersion of the show were staggering. It was a hypnotic, engulfing experience — the perfect way to cap a day defined by extremes.

Sydney’s Good Things Festival was scorching, messy, hilarious, exhausting, and unforgettable. A day where the weather tried its best to break people, the bands pushed back even harder, and the crowd rose to meet it. Brutal and brilliant in equal measure.