Knotfest Australia Reveals Sideshows: Lamb Of God, Halestorm & More

March will be a hell of a month for heavy metal music fans, with the second edition of Knotfest Australia on its way. Today, festival organisers have unveiled the list of sideshows that will take over arenas, theatres and clubs across the country while the festival is in town.

Unlike last year’s event, where headliners and namesake Slipknot didn’t perform any sideshows, this year’s headliners, groove icons Pantera, will perform one special sideshow in Adelaide with support from Aussies King Parrot and Black Rheno.

Second-billed headliners Disturbed will also play just one sideshow in Adelaide, with special guests Wage War. Pantera and Disturbed are festival exclusives in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane, so fans along the East Coast are advised to buy Knotfest tickets before it’s too late.

Meanwhile, Lamb Of God will perform two sideshows in Melbourne and Brisbane, with special guests Brand Of Sacrifice. Halestorm are heading to Brisbane and Sydney, taking fellow Knotfest act Skindred and Aussies Reliqa along for the ride.

Mongolian heavy metal meets traditional cultural music outfit The Hu will take their show to Melbourne and Sydney while Asking Alexandria and Wage War will embark on two co-headline dates in Melbourne and Sydney.

You can find the dates and venues for all the sideshows below.

Early bird pre-sale tickets for sideshows go on sale on Friday, 2 February, at 9 am local time, and general sale tickets will be released on Tuesday, 6 February, at 9 am local time. You can register here for Pantera tickets, here for Disturbed tickets, here for Lamb Of God tickets, and here for all other sideshows. Tickets will go on sale via Destroy All Lines.

Knotfest will return to Australia in March 2024, taking over the Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Thursday, 21 March, followed by Sydney’s Centennial Park on Saturday, 23 March, and Brisbane’s Showgrounds on Sunday, 24 March.

All three dates of the inaugural Knotfest Australia sold out in advance, so you’ll want to get in quickly for next year’s event. Last year’s festival also notably featured a clash-free setup, with all the bands performing over two adjacent stages.

You can find the Knotfest Australia 2024 complete line-up here.

KNOTFEST AUSTRALIA 2024 SIDESHOWS

PANTERA

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS KING PARROT & BLACK RHENO

Tuesday 19 March - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide (Kaurna)

DISTURBED

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS WAGE WAR

Sunday 17 March - Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide (Kaurna)

LAMB OF GOD

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS BRAND OF SACRIFICE

Wednesday 20 March - Northcote Theatre, Melbourne (Naarm)

Monday 25 March - Eatons Hill Hotel, Brisbane (Meanjin)

HALESTORM

WITH SPECIAL GUESTS SKINDRED & RELIQA

Wednesday 20 March - Liberty Music Hall, Sydney (Eora)

Tuesday 26 March - Princess Theatre, Brisbane (Meanjin)

THE HU

Tuesday 19 March - Croxton Bandroom, Melbourne (Naarm)

Monday 25 March - Liberty Music Hall, Sydney (Eora)

ASKING ALEXANDRIA + WAGE WAR (CO-HEADLINE)

Wednesday 20 March - Max Watts, Melbourne (Naarm)

Tuesday 26 March - The Triffid, Brisbane (Meanjin)