Brisbane’s premier heavy music and dark arts event, the Dead of Winter Festival, is officially rising from the ashes. Dubbed The Resurrection, the festival is locked in for Saturday, 27 June 2026, marking its first return since 2019. Originally launched in 2009, the iconic gathering was forced into a multi-year hiatus following the pandemic.
For its grand comeback, the festival is shifting away from its former home at the Jubilee Hotel to a brand-new venue: the Mansfield Tavern in Brisbane’s southern suburbs.The highly anticipated 2026 edition promises a massive celebration of alternative culture, packing 34 live acts across multiple stages alongside performance art, horror cosplay, visual installations, and dark market stalls. Organisers have unleashed a diverse, genre-spanning lineup headlined by dance-punk and noise-rock heroes DZ Deathrays, alongside heavy hitters like Mammal, Toe To Toe, Beanflipper, and Slim Krusty. Tickets are available now via Oztix and the official Dead of Winter Festival Website.
With the festival fast approaching, HEAVY sent out some questions to all of the bands in order to get to know them better. Today we chat with Flangipanis.
Flangipanis are an iconic, fiercely independent four-piece pop-punk party band from Brisbane. Formed in 2008, they have spent nearly two decades embedding themselves as local legends within the Australian underground punk scene through their chaotic, high-energy live shows and unapologetic, crude humour.
In February 2026, the band announced they will officially disband in late 2026 following a massive celebratory “18th Birthday” final tour, encouraging fans to support younger, rising punk acts rather than clinging to “ageing bands”. Their music is raw, fast, tight, and highly infectious, driven by driving skate-punk rhythms and massive gang-vocal choruses.
HEAVY: DEAD OF WINTER FESTIVAL returns in 2026 after a seven year hiatus. Why do you think DOW just HAD to return?
FLANGIPANIS: On a purely selfish note…for us to come and get messy one last time!
H: What does it mean to your band to be playing DOW?
F: We’re stoked to be a part of it! DOW has always been such a fun day on the Brisbane music calendar and to see it grow and develop over the years has been sick.
H: Have you ever been to DOW as a punter or playing?
F: We’ve played every year! We’re the stink that just won’t come out no matter how many times you wash the festival.
H: If so, best memories of the day.
F: Oof, so many. And so many of them are blurry…. Hightime out in the beer garden was huge, Madeline Glasseater showing us tricks backstage, covering people in toilet paper has to be up there.
H: It’s a long day of music. What will you be doing to make sure you will still be standing come your set time?
F: We make absolutely no promises about still being upright for our set or anyone else’s.
H: Give me your Top 3 Festival survival tips.
F: -If you’re outdoors slather on the sunscreen. Waking up crispy is the worst.
-Drinking water isn’t cheating, it keeps you upright and drinking longer!
-Watch Neptune Power Federation.
H: Which band – other than yourself – do you think will get up to the most mischief on the day?
F: I’d be keeping a close eye on Pizza Death, they know how to get properly messy.
H: Run us through your typical live show and what punters can expect.
F: Fast loud and stupid. We try to make DoW anything but typical, but who know, maybe this is the year we settle down and play it sensibly.
H: If you could get one band on the line-up to cover one of your songs who would it be and what song would they cover?
F: oooo Maybe Valtozash doing Phone Keys Smokes Wallet. I want to hear the jazz-metal version of that.
H: What’s your latest release?
F: We haven’t had anything out in a second. Our last album was 2021 and we did a sneaky record store/ merch desk only single a few years ago. But we’re aiming for something new before we kick the bucket in September.
H: Finally, what plans does your band have for the rest of 2026 into 2027?
F: The sweet embrace of death. We’re playing our last show on our 18th Birthday (Sept 5) and doing a bunch of interstate stuff leading up to that.
