Is Knotfest Australia Still Happening In 2027?

What’s going on with Knotfest Australia? More than a year after organisers promised the heavy music festival would return in 2027, fans are still waiting for an official announcement confirming dates, venues or a lineup.

And with Slipknot frontman Corey Taylor recently revealing that the band’s first live performance of 2027 won’t take place until July, fresh questions are being raised about whether Knotfest Australia will indeed return in its traditional February/March window.

As highlighted in a new investigation by BLUNT, the festival’s usual touring period is rapidly filling up with other major concerts, while organisers have yet to provide any further details about the promised comeback…

View this post on Instagram

So What Is Happening With Knotfest Australia 2027?

Back in September 2025, organisers announced that the festival would be taking a break in 2026, promising to return the following year with the “best Knotfest Australia yet”.

But as of early November 2026, no official dates, venues, tickets or artists have been announced for the 2027 edition.

While organisers never explicitly confirmed that the festival would return in February or March, those months have traditionally been home to the Australian leg of the international metal fest.

And there’s one particularly significant development casting doubt on the possibility of a Slipknot-headlined event during that period.

Slipknot Aren’t Planning To Return To The Stage Until July 2027

Slipknot have already announced their massive ‘(sic)est Stadium Tour’ for 2027, with the run scheduled to kick off at London’s Wembley Stadium on Saturday, 3rd July.

The tour announcement included dates across North and South America, but no Australian shows as of yet.

More tellingly, Taylor appeared to confirm that the Wembley performance would mark the band’s first concert of next year.

Speaking during a BBC Radio 1 interview in late September, the vocalist declared:

“I am so proud to say our first live show will be at Wembley in July.”

Knotfest’s own official announcement also describes the Wembley show as the beginning of Slipknot’s live run for 2027.

That would seemingly rule out a Slipknot-headlined Australian Knotfest in February or March, unless the band’s plans change.

However: that doesn’t necessarily mean Knotfest Australia itself is off the cards.

The festival has previously gone ahead without its founding band, with Pantera and Disturbed among the headline attractions at the 2024 Aussie edition.

It’s entirely possible that organisers could be planning another Slipknot-free lineup, or considering a later date in the year.

Australia’s Touring Calendar Is Also Getting Crowded

As BLUNT also points out, several of the venues traditionally used by Knotfest Australia have already been booked for other major concerts during the festival’s usual window.

Kings Of Leon recently announced a 2027 Australian tour with Ocean Alley, including performances at Sydney’s Centennial Park on 28th February, Brisbane Showgrounds on 3rd March and Melbourne’s Flemington Racecourse on 5th March.

All three locations hosted Knotfest Australia in 2025.

Sydney’s Centennial Park is also set to welcome The Strokes, Beck and Courtney Barnett on 20th February as part of the Sydney Summertime concert series.

Meanwhile, Flemington has major horse racing events scheduled for 27th February and 6th March.

Of course, these bookings don’t necessarily prevent Knotfest from returning to the same locations on different dates, nor do they rule out alternative venues.

But they do add another layer of uncertainty surrounding the festival’s traditional touring window.

And it’s not just the venues getting busy.

Knotfest Australia’s own promoters have been announcing a steady stream of major rock and metal tours for early 2027.

Destroy All Lines recently unveiled Weezer’s Australian arena tour with Third Eye Blind and Fountains Of Wayne, taking place across late February and early March.

Meanwhile, TEG is involved in System Of A Down’s Australian stadium tour with Faith No More, scheduled for January and February.

Other major international heavy acts heading Down Under around the same period include Marilyn Manson in February and Disturbed in April and May.

While promoters regularly juggle multiple tours simultaneously, the packed calendar means Australian heavy music fans already have plenty of expensive tickets competing for their attention.

Could Knotfest Still Return Later In 2027?

Absolutely.

And it’s worth remembering that Knotfest Australia’s previous announcements haven’t always followed the same timeline.

As BLUNT notes, the lineup for the 2024 edition wasn’t revealed until 20th November 2023, meaning an early-November announcement isn’t necessarily essential for a festival taking place the following autumn.

However, the 2025 edition had a much longer promotional runway, with Slipknot’s headline appearance confirmed in March 2024 and the full lineup unveiled that October.

So while the silence surrounding Knotfest Australia 2027 is unusual enough to raise questions, it isn’t proof that the festival won’t be happening.

Organisers could still be assembling a lineup without Slipknot, exploring alternative venues or preparing to bring the event back later in the year.

For now, none of those possibilities has been publicly confirmed.

What we do know is that Australian metal fans were promised a 2027 return, and with the new year fast approaching, they’re still waiting to find out what that comeback will look like….

This article draws on reporting by BLUNT, which examined Slipknot’s touring plans, venue bookings and Australia’s increasingly crowded 2027 concert calendar.