Split Enz to Reunite at Bluesfest 2026

Iconic New Zealand rockers Split Enz are reuniting to play their first shows in 17 years.

Following what promises to be a triumphant return to the stage in Christchurch in February, the legendary popsters will headline Bluesfest in Byron Bay in April 2026.

The Bluesfest performance, which will see Split Enz take to the stage alongside the likes of The Black Crowes, Earth Wind and Fire, and blues legend Buddy Guy, will mark the start of a flurry of activity for the band.

They are also embarking on a four-date national tour in May that will take the band to  Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena, the ICC Theatre in Sydney and Perth’s RAC Arena, before rounding out the anticipated tour at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

The tour coincides with the 50th anniversary of the band’s debut album Mental Notes.

The 2026 line-up will feature key Split Enz members Neil and Tim Finn, Eddie Rayner and Noel Crombie, as well as Matt Eccles on drums and James Milne on bass.

It will be the first time fans have had a chance to see the quirky hitmakers in the flesh since 2009, when they reunited for the Sound Relief benefit concert in Melbourne.    

Bluesfest director Peter Noble promised a triumphant return for the iconic rockers at the long-running festival. 

‘Split Enz will be doing their first Australian show since 2006, right here at Byron Bay Bluesfest. Yep, here we go!’ he said in a statement.

‘Split Enz will be delivering hit after hit after hit. Think ‘I Got You’, ‘Message To My Girl’, ‘Six Months in a Leaky Boat’. 

Split Enz started life in New Zealand before relocating to Australia in 1975 and over their career have established themselves as one of the most important Antipodean bands of the last five decades.

They released a string of genre-defining hits and their 1980 album True Colours was certified five times platinum  

They were nominated 14 times for TV Week/Countdown awards, winning three and, in 2005, were inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame.     

Following their break-up in 1984, Tim Finn went on to pursue a solo career.

Brother Neil meanwhile, along with Split Enz drummer Paul Hester, formed Crowded House in 1985.

Sadly, Paul died by suicide in March 2005, aged 46.    

After announcing in August 2024 that the 2025 iteration of Bluesfest would be its last, organisers revealed the long-running festival would return for at least one more go-round in 2026.

‘We’re the top-selling festival in the country, and we’ve worked hard to get here,’ Peter Noble said in a statement at the time.’

He added that he had been ‘humbled’ by the support from artists and concertgoers after announcing the potential axing of the festival.  

‘That support means Bluesfest fans have kept this dream alive. It’s a clarion call for me,’ he said.

‘People want this event. People want it to continue.’ 

Like many Australian festivals, Bluesfest has faced many challenges including cost increases, changes in ticket-buying behaviour and being forced to shut down due to the Covid pandemic and extreme weather.

Bluesfest was shut down in 2020 due to state imposed mass gathering restrictions and in the following year was cancelled just days before it opened after a single Covid case was detected.

The festival returned with a bang in 2022 with a combined audience attendance over the five days of ‘about 100,000’ people.

The 2022 festival was headlined by some of Australia’s biggest artists including Jimmy Barnes, Midnight Oil, Paul Kelly, The Teskey Brothers and The Cat Empire.

That same year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese – who was the opposition leader at the time – also graced the Bluesfest stage but was booed by fans while introducing rock legend Jimmy Barnes.

However, the 2023 and 2024 Bluesfest events did not sell out, which put organisers under financial pressure.