Earlier this year he was the Halftime Show entertainment at the Super Bowl and now he’s coming to Canberra.

US West Coast hip-hop luminary, Kendrick Lamar has been announced as the headline act for the returning Spilt Milk festival.

Lamar has had a phenomenal year – from a GRAMMY Awards sweep for track Not Like Us, to his triumphant Super Bowl Halftime show. Lamar’s influence in music spans enduring, culture-shaping anthems like King Kunta and Humble, to his most recent album, GNX.

Organisers of the festival have released the hometown date, with the event running at Exhibition Park in Canberra on 13 December 2025.

A mix of local and international talent Joining Lamar in the top bill are Doechii, Sara Landry, Dominic Fike and ScHoolboy Q, alongside the likes of d4vd, Nessa Barrett, Sofia Isella, Skin On Skin, sombr, Club Angel, The Rions, South Summit and more.

Florida swamp princess and Billboard Woman of the Year, Doechii will make her first Australian visit since the release of the widely acclaimed, 2024 GRAMMY Best Rap Album-awarded mixtape, Alligator Bites Never Heal.

Doechii has been propelled to mega-stardom for crisp, quick-witted tracks like NISSAN ALTIMA and DENIAL IS A RIVER, alongside her viral live performances at the GRAMMY Awards, NPR Tiny Desk and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, as well as onstage with the likes of Tyler, The Creator, Ms. Lauryn Hill and more.

Heavyweight American DJ, producer and HEKATE record label head, Sara Landry joins the lineup, creating transcendent experiences with the hard techno sounds and boundary-breaking vision that have shaped her global cult following. Often hailed as the High Priestess of Hard Techno, Landry’s meteoric trajectory has most recently been propelled by her 2024 debut album, Spiritual Driveby, and the viral 2023 Boiler Room set that has since amassed over 8 million views.

Singer/songwriter, rapper and actor Dominic Fike’s rise has spanned the cultural multiverse; not only hooking music fans the world over with hits like 3 Nights, Babydoll and misses, but also making his name as an actor, notably starring in HBO series Euphoria. He has collaborated with contemporaries and music legends alike such as Paul McCartney, JENNIE, Justin Bieber, Brockhampton and more.

Prolific American rap legend ScHoolboy Q will also grace Spilt Milk as a very special guest. Another hip-hop visionary who needs little introduction, ScHoolboy Q has collaborated with icons Tyler, The Creator, Travis Scott, Ty Dolla $ign, 21 Savage, SZA, A$AP Rocky and many more, alongside fellow Spilt Milk artist and Black Hippy alumnus, Kendrick Lamar. He has received critical acclaim across his discography, including latest album Blue Lips, and has had 5x GRAMMY Award-nominations in his almost 20-year career.

US-based artist d4vd will feature his moody, DIY indie-pop sound that has attracted billions of streams and a mass attendance to his recent 2025 Coachella sets, and burgeoning US pop behemoth Nessa Barrett will also be there, who after landing in multiple high-profile ‘ones to watch’ lists upon her debut has now taken her victory lap with 2024 sophomore album AFTERCARE. Do not miss South Sudanese powerhouse Skin On Skin demonstrating why he’s become a household name in the global techno scene, plus a mesmerising set from New York’s unstoppable, globally charting indie-rock breakout, sombr.

Further stamping this lineup as unmissable will be Perth/Whadjuk-based, Indo-Australian artist and DJ Baby J, Texan artist and producer Chance Peña and Sydney/Eora-based UK speed garage and jungle producer Club Angel; while sultry soul heartthrob Don West will woo the crowds, Sydney/Eora’s Ennaria will perform a dynamic, genre-crossing set, and singer/songwriters turned globally-viral artists Esha Tewari and Lyric will deliver their own performances for the books. Next up is nothing but pop perfection, including the gorgeous stylings of Mia Wray, formidable local hyper-pop pioneer Ninajirachi and electronic-infused pop polymath, Rebecca Black. Rounding out the lineup is alt-rock group Rum Jungle, the spine-tingling pop stylings of Californian-born, Gold Coast/Kombumerri-based artist Sofia Isella, plus local favourites South Summit, folk duo The Dreggs and indie rock darlings, The Rions.

Spilt Milk goes far beyond the music, with many immersive activations to discover throughout the event. Festival staples include Guilty Pleasures, a place to belt out iconic singalongs, the Howdy Howdy country bar that gets (respectfully) rowdy and Bus Da Move, the party bus where the riders conduct the tracks.

Previous editions have also seen a rave cave from Smirnoff Fresh and a celebration of Colombian picó sound system culture with El Gran Mono.

The festival’s art exhibitions are curated in collaboration with socially conscious art studios.

This year they’ll be featuring artists from Studio A, an art studio dedicated to empowering artists with disability, and Victoria Park Arts’ Create Connect Art initiative, which holds open studio sessions that allow artists with disability to explore different visual art mediums and projects, festival organisers said.

It comes almost a month after organisers hinted at the lineup with clues on TikTok.

As previously reported in CD, on Monday 6 April, a simple message was posted in the festival’s Instagram broadcast channel, tea time, to its almost then-15,000 members: “hi.” The channel has now increased to almost 25,000 members.

Some of the artists people guessed following the release of that video were Hozier, Remi Wolf, Doechii, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kendrick Lamar, FISHER, Skrillex, and the OG Wiggles.

For tickets to the 2025 event (and for more information on the event), sign-up at spilt-milk.com.au to access presale, the best chance at securing a ticket to one of four unmissable events. Or, you can guarantee yourself a ticket right now with Moshtix Ticket Request.

Presale tickets will open on Thursday 8 May, followed by the general sale on 9 May.

Tickets are sure to sell out.

For more information and updates on the festival, visit spilt-milk.com.au

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