The Animals & Dragon Lead Wanstock 2024 Line-Up

The lineup for this year’s Wanstock festival has been announced, topped by none other than The Animals and Dragon.

Joining the rock’n’roll greats will be The Ted Mulry Gang, Strait Shooters, Standing Room Only and Daydreamers. They’ll all share the stage at The Shoppingtown Hotel in Doncaster, with the festival locked in for Saturday March 2.

This year’s Wanstock marks the second time Dragon have co-headlined it, following last year’s event (where they shared the billing with The Baby Animals). Standing Room Only also played last year, while The Ted Mulry Gang played in 2022. Daydreamers are the only band to have played every single Wanstock, dating back to its debut edition in 2019.

Wanstock 2024 will also mark The Animals’ last-ever Australian performance, following a seven-date run of headline shows starting later this month. In a press statement, drummer John Steel said: “Hello you guys at WANSTOCK! I just wanted to tell you that we are so looking forward to seeing you on our 60th anniversary since The House of the Rising Sun made number one around the world. Every gig so far has sold out and closed with a standing ovation so we must be doing something right. Hoping for the same in Oz, best wishes from the band."

Meanwhile, festival organiser Geoff Wansbrough shared a statement of his own, expressing great excitement for this year’s event: “I grew up in that awesome Aussie pub rock era of the 1980s and 90s. Every pub had bands and the cream rose to the top and we gave the world some great acts. As such, I used to see a lot of bands back in the day, and I still do.

“Wanstock came about when I was having a birthday a few years ago. I thought I would have a favorite band play. Then I thought: why not have a few of my favorite bands. That, plus the fact that I was a big admirer of the original Woodstock Music Festival, is really how it came about. Each year, I try and make it bigger and better. Now, it consists of a few components: to have two or three of the classic acts from back in the day, to give a some of the emerging talent a chance to play, and to have a cover band playing all our favorites to get everyone partying and dancing.

“Basically, I put it on to support our local music talent and so we can have a bit of fun while we still can. And this year is really something special with the legendary Animals playing their last ever show in Melbourne.”

Tickets for Wanstock 2024 are on sale now – find them here.