The Australian metalcore band Thornhill will headline and curate the Surf’s Up! Festival, a one-day heavy music event at Melbourne’s Riviera Beach Club on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2027, as announced by promoter Destroy All Lines on Monday (Nov. 2).
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The lineup, curated by the band, includes Stand Atlantic, Alpha Wolf, US duo SACE6, Justice for the Damned, Philadelphia’s Varials, Headwreck, Bloom, and Blinder. Presale tickets will be available on Thursday (Nov. 5) at 10 a.m. AEDT, with general tickets following on Friday (Nov. 6) at 11 a.m. The event is for ages 18 and over.
“Personally curated by the four of us, we are excited to be joined by some of the best names in Australian heavy music,” said Thornhill in a statement. “Expect big riffs, good times, and a whole lot of energy.”
This marks the second artist-curated heavy lineup at the St Kilda venue, following an edition programmed by Polaris that took place there in February as part of the Life’s A Beach series.
Thornhill arrives off the strongest run of their career. Their third album, Bodies, debuted at No. 4 on the ARIA albums chart in 2025 and won the ARIA Award for best hard rock or heavy metal album, as well as best independent heavy album or EP at the AIR Awards. It was also nominated for Australian album of the year at the J Awards. The band’s 2022 album Heroine reached No. 3 on the ARIA chart and No. 1 on the Australian albums chart, earning an ARIA nomination, while their debut album The Dark Pool hit No. 20 on the Australian albums chart. They have toured with Sleep Token, Bring Me the Horizon, Architects, and Avenged Sevenfold, and performed at festivals such as Download, Welcome to Rockville, Hellfest, and Graspop Metal Meeting.
Stand Atlantic released their fifth album, Godbreath, on Oct. 23 through Virgin Music Group, which debuted at No. 1 on the ARIA albums chart last week — marking the Sydney band’s first chart-topper, surpassing the No. 3 peak of their previous album, Was Here. They have toured with Sum 41, A Day to Remember, and ONE OK ROCK, with plans for a run on the Warped Tour in 2026 and a UK support slot with Simple Plan.
Alpha Wolf received an ARIA nomination for best hard rock or heavy metal album with their release of A Quiet Place to Die in 2020 and a Grammy nomination for best boxed or special limited edition package for their album Half Living Things. SACE6 released their debut album, Brutalist, this year and have toured with Dayseeker, Don Broco, and Northlane. Varials released their fourth album, Where the Light Leaves
, in 2026 and are currently supporting Wage War on their North American tour.
