Moniker 2026 Expands to Four Days, New Location and 42-Artist Lineup

In the midst of a wave of post-Summer lineup announcements, it can be easy to feel like Summer never actually ends.

Assisting Victorians with that very feeling is Moniker, which overnight announced the lineup for its 2026 edition, set to take place at a brand new location.

The festival has, for several year,s enjoyed the kind of community support that often only comes out of the woodwork for more heritage brands.

In its relatively short life thus far, Moniker has operated not only as an intimate weekend-long event in the Otways on Wadawurrung Country, but also as Maratona, the first 24-hour party to take place at the now closed Gasometer Hotel.

Read: Marathons, not sprints: is Australia ready for more 24-hour events?

While Moniker’s most recent edition was not even six months ago, the festival has announced that this year’s edition will take place over four days and four nights across the Easter long weekend.

That weekend is set to include growth in various forms, including over 80 hours of music programming and 42 artists in total, 38 of those hours continuous from Saturday through Monday morning, as well as more tickets than in previous editions.

This year will also see Moniker inviting international artists to the festival for the very first time.

That includes the likes of adobeprincess, ANNX, Flørist, Gi Gi, Kasper Marott, Lola Haro, Noizar, Paddy Free, Sybil, RAMZi, Sugar Free and XDB, making up only over a quarter of the total bill.

On a local tip, Moniker flexes its understanding of many sounds across the country. That includes a variety of back-to-backs, including Bex, Terri & Rev Lon, Dolly & Moopie, Emelyne & Kassie, Katie Pearson & Millú, Naycab & Afrodisiac, as well as Pjenne and the aforementioned Sybil.

Exciting modern voices Anusha, Emelexy, Nak, Makoyana, Miki, Ephacy and more are matched by certified heads like Bobbe, DJ PGZ, Hannah D and others, set to provide a healthy cross-section of Australia’s current and future dance music landscape.

To contrast with these DJ sets are a series of live performances by the likes of downtempo hearthrob Now Always Fades, sultry R&B superstar CD, electro-extroardinaire Reptant and local hyper-pop idol nabii’s alternative alias Second Skin.

Of the lineup, Moniker’s Programmer, Hannah D, shared that:

“Our aim for this year is to try to grow and develop the feeling of previous years, which have been some of the most formative and special moments of our lives as event organisers and humans.

We've tried to do this both through programming, which sees many locals from previous years returning, and by broadening our net to include artists from the East and West Coast. We're really proud of our local artist offering, and while there aren't really any "headline" slots at Moniker, we've made a conscious effort to ebb and flow the program with international and local artists throughout the days and nights.

We also carefully booked our international guests based on the sound and vibe that the previous artists at Moniker have built. Local artists will always set the tone at Moniker.”

Purple Audio, with whom Moniker’s Production Manager & Programmer David Micalizzi has professional ties, will supply the sound across all stages.

Of the festival’s focus on sound, Micalizzi shared:

“We take a very soundsystem-centric approach to our stages, and this year will be no different.”

“As we’ll be welcoming bands, live electronic acts, and DJs across both stages like previous festivals, the systems are designed for balance, tonal clarity, even dispersion across the dancefloor and (of course) big bass arrays. In my opinion, it's the best way to live inside the music for extended periods of time.”

Early access tickets are currently open to those who have attended previous Moniker events, with General Admission going on sale 12PM Thursday, February 26.

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Jack Colquhoun is Mixmag ANZ's Managing Editor, find him on Instagram.