Byron Bay will become one giant wellness playground later this year, with the inaugural Byron Wellness Festival unveiling a jam-packed line-up stretching from ARIA award winners to sound healers, yoga teachers and cacao ceremony hosts.
The three-day event runs from Friday, 27 to Sunday, 29 November at Red Devils Park on Bangalow Road, and organisers have now revealed just how big the program will be, with dozens of musicians, healers, teachers and speakers set to take over the site.
Topping the music bill are ARIA award-winning indie folk band Boy & Bear, alongside YAIMA, Samuel J, Kim Churchill, Kyle Lionhart, Elijah Ray, Murray Kyle, Taylor Sol, Finojet, Dusty Boots, Cinnamon Sun and Dubarray.
The healing side of the program is just as stacked. Sacred Earth, Christian Dimarco, Tanya Alijani, Samsaruh, New Earth Metta, Dr John Surie, Wings of Wellbeing and Edo Kahn will lead sessions across the festival.
Those chasing movement can choose from Abby Wake, Textures, Callum Mooney, Party Pilates, Sunrise Sisterhood and Melissa Mai, while yoga instructors Nadia Bullock and Inspired Kids Yoga round out the movement offering.
Inspirational speakers Meghan Jarvis, Dominique Livkamal, Natalie Clark, Dean Bentley, Heather Leighton and Lydia Burth-Weir will also take to the program, alongside workshops from Manoa.
The announcement comes amid surging interest in wellness tourism, with industry leaders recently gathering at Crystalbrook Byron for the Wellness Tourism Summit Australia to explore the trends, experiences and partnerships shaping the fast-growing sector.
Festival organiser Danielle Djokic, who has worked around Australia producing events including Boho Luxe Market, The Vegan Market and The Handmade Market, said Byron Bay’s deep wellness culture made it the obvious home for the new event.
“Byron has such a unique community of practitioners, teachers, artists, musicians and people who are passionate about living well,” she said.
“Byron is almost the natural home for something like this. It has an incredible connection to nature, from the ocean and beaches to the hinterland, and there is already such a strong culture around yoga, movement, health, food, mindfulness and holistic living.”
Ms Djokic said the festival was designed to feel like a destination in itself rather than a typical lineup of stages.
“The intention is for the site to feel like a wellness village rather than simply a series of stages, somewhere people can wander around, discover something new, relax and spend the day,” Ms Djokic said.
“You might start the morning with party pilates, yoga or breathwork, spend the day exploring workshops and meeting practitioners, enjoy some beautiful food and then finish the evening with live music and dancing.”
However, it won’t come cheap. Day passes start at $134 for the Friday evening session, while a full three-day pass will set punters back around $500. Payment plans are available, and organisers say all ticket payments are held in a third-party trust account with LEAP for added security and transparency.
Each day promises more than 35 hours of curated experiences, spanning live music, yoga, meditation, breathwork, workshops, speakers, healing spaces and a wellness market.
For more information and tickets visit byronwellnessfestival.com
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