Vacations Announce MATES Festival 2026 at Knockdown Center in Queens, NY on June 20

Australian band Vacations bring the third installment of MATES Festival to Knockdown Center in Queens, New York on Saturday, June 20th. The all-day, full-building, multi-stage event will take over the Main Hall and Ruins at Knockdown Center, and feature Vacations, grentperez, girlpuppy, Mamalarky, Alex Lahey, Horse Jumper of Love, Thelma Plum, and Winter.

Following the inaugural MATES in Newcastle, Australia in 2022, the festival has evolved into a traveling international hub for underground indie-pop and rock artists. In addition to a headlining set from Vacations, this edition invites a mix of Australian and American artists.

Vacations’ bandleader Campbell Burns says, “I moved from LA to NYC earlier this year and have fallen in love with the city and the community here. For this installment of MATES, I wanted to bring over some of the best Australian acts to the Big Apple and also invite local acts, and beyond, that have become some of my favorite artists this year. I want MATES to continue to bridge the gap between Australia and the USA, with a focus of putting Australian artists front and centre to international audiences.”

Public on-sale for tickets begins tomorrow, December 5th at 10AM EST.

Purchase MATES 2026 Tickets Here

Vacations is an Australian indie rock band formed in 2015 in Newcastle. The group consists of lead songwriter and vocalist Campbell Burns, bassist Jake Johnson, lead guitarist Nate Delizzotti and drummer Joseph Van Lier. They describe their sound as “woozy guitar pop,” combining indie pop with elements of jangle and lo-fi. After releasing two extended plays, Days in 2015 and Vibes in 2016, they released their debut studio album Changes in 2018, followed by Forever in Bloom in 2020 and, most recently, No Place Like Home in 2024. The band will release more new music next year.

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