Paul Kelly leads BIGSOUND’s final 2026 conference announcement, with more than 100 new industry guests also joining the program.
As BIGSOUND prepares to celebrate its 25th year in Fortitude Valley this September, Kelly has been announced for a special in-conversation session with ABC journalist Sarah Kanowski, digging into songwriting, music culture and the role songs play in shaping the way Australia understands itself.
Presented in conjunction with APRA AMCOS, the session also lands as the organisation celebrates 100 years of Australian songwriting, making Kelly a fairly perfect choice for the occasion.
“As APRA celebrates 100 years of supporting Australian songwriters, composers and music publishers, and BIGSOUND clocks up 25 years of showcasing the best of our music industry, it seemed only fitting that we bring out one of Australia’s most beloved songwriters, Paul Kelly,” APRA AMCOS Head of Membership Karen Don said.
Kelly is the biggest name in a broader final program drop that adds more than 100 industry guests across labels, touring, media, festivals, tech and artist development.
Newly announced names include ARIA CEO Annabelle Herd, Live Nation’s Hans Schafer, Pete Murray, Dark Mofo Music Director Kimberley Galceran and TEG’s Van Picken.
The wider conference program is also leaning into some of the bigger conversations happening around music right now.
A panel titled Building Like Bad Bunny will explore the global expansion of Latin music and the ways artists can use language and culture to build audiences beyond their home markets.
There’ll also be a look at Australia’s growing musician-to-entrepreneur pipeline, plus a celebration of 50 years of Central Station Records with founder Jo Palumbo and past and present members of the label.
BIGSOUND’s Artist, Delegate, Ideas and Innovation hubs will return too, covering everything from Spotify for Artists and US visa advice to networking, music technology, education and release strategy.
But Kelly is clearly the one of the highlights.
For a conference built around where Australian music is heading next, hearing one of the country’s great songwriters talk about how we got here feels like a pretty good place to start.
BIGSOUND 2026 runs September 1–4 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane.
Check out the full conference lineup here.
