Following a hugely successful debut last year, AO Finals Festival is back, shifting to a bigger arena to give even more fans cause to hit the Australian Open in 2024.
Presented by the Australian Open and Untitled Group, the popular three-day showcase of local and international artists, including Tash Sultana, Groove Armada, The Jungle Giants and Rudimental, will transform John Cain Arena from tennis stadium to world-class music venue.
Here are seven reasons you should not miss AO Finals Festival at AO 2024.
You’ll see Tash Sultana
Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer Tash Sultana is very much the master of their own musical destiny.
From early days busking in the streets of Melbourne to winning Triple J’s J Award for Unearthed Artist of the Year in 2016, Sultana has since accrued billions of streams and built up a global following thanks to multi-platinum selling hits such as Notion, Jungle and Mystik, as well as her new single James Dean.
The ARIA Award-winning artist is this year’s AO Pride Ambassador and will give a special performance on AO Pride Day, on Thursday 25 January.
Other AO Pride Day headliners include Australian dance-pop sensation Peach PRC, who boasts 2.2 million TikTok followers, and American singer and DJ Yaeji.
New venue for a new moment
After selling out Kia Arena last year, AO Finals Festival is scaling up second time round. Now a bigger and better three-day event, it will be staged in John Cain Arena for AO 2024, where up to 10,000 people can soak it up.
It will be the largest open-air music festival the arena has hosted.
MORE: The transformation of Melbourne Park
“The AO Finals Festival was such a sold-out success last year, so it was a very easy decision for us to move it to a bigger venue with bigger crowds, and that’s exactly what we’ve done hosting it at JCA,” Tennis Australia’s Chief Commercial Officer Cedric Cornelis said.
“Finals Festival also brings a whole new audience to the Australian Open, and we want to further grow that opportunity this year.”
An Aussie trio awaits you
Headlining women’s final day will be Australian acts The Jungle Giants, DMA’s and Ruel.
Renowned for their high-energy shows, Brisbane’s The Jungle Giants bring their infectious indie pop-rock to JCA on Saturday 27 January.
The band’s fourth studio album, Love Signs, topped the ARIA charts, while their hit Heavy Hearted polled at No.8 in Triple J’s Hottest 100 four years ago.
Acclaimed Sydney rockers DMA’s hit AO 2024 following their most extensive national headline tour, which took in 19 shows this year.
The band, which has also found wide success in the UK, released fourth album How Many Dreams? this year and scooped 2023’s ARIA Award for Best Group.
As the youngest to win Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2018 ARIA Awards and the youngest musician to sell out the Sydney Opera House twice, Sydney’s Ruel has since cemented his place as one of the nation’s most successful young pop artists.
The 21-year-old boasts more than two billion global streams and five platinum releases ahead of his debut album 4th Wall.
Iconic international acts
Two of the UK’s biggest electronic music exports, Groove Armada and Rudimental, bring their dance-inducing hits to JCA on mens’ final day.
Multiple Grammy-nominated Groove Armada has enjoyed global success for more than two decades thanks to chart-toppers such as Superstylin', I See You Baby and At The River.
MORE: Superstar music line-up confirmed for AO Finals Festival
Their 2023 release, Rescue Me, shows the Londoners still bring the party energy.
Fellow headliner Rudimental has taken the world by storm with the trio’s upbeat genre-mixing drum and base-infused dance tracks.
One of the UK’s most successful dance outfits of the past decade, Rudimental has more than five billion streams and multiple platinum sales from the likes of dancefloor favourites Feel the Love, Not Giving In and Waiting All Night.
See the future
A swag of up-and-coming local acts complement the AO Finals Festival headliners across three days, including Tia Gostelow, DJANABA, Mell Hall and Latifa Tee.
The youngest to scoop Album of the Year at the Queensland Music Awards in 2019, rising indie pop singer-songwriter Tia Gostelow’s impressive debut album Thick Skin featured the platinum-selling single Strangers before her more disco-pop follow-up releases.
Gostelow and Adelaide’s Mell Hall round out an all-Australian women’s final day line-up. Festival dance favourite Hall’s disco-house mixes, including chart-topper Knock Knock, are guaranteed to get the JCA crowd on its feet.
MORE: Australian Open 2024 provisional schedule unveiled
On AO Pride Day, the electronic and soulful sounds of Indigenous trailblazer DJANABA, Perth R&B-electro songwriter Anesu and Melbourne’s DJ Luv You complete a stacked line-up.
DJ Sunshine, who merges house music and disco with a live 12-piece choir, brings Sunshine and Disco Faith Choir to men’s final day, joining R&B-dance DJ and Triple J radio host Latifa Tee and Melbourne DJ and producer Cooper Smith, who shows nothing is impossible for people living with cerebral palsy.
AO Finals Festival = ground pass
Not only will a ticket to AO Finals Festival give you access to some of the biggest names in music, but it will also double as a ground pass, giving you the chance to watch the finals live on the big screens anywhere around the grounds.
Head for drinks and a bite before staking out your big-screen vantage point.
Fans can choose between the delicious offerings served up across the precinct, with many iconic Melbourne restaurants returning alongside a variety of new names.
RELATED: AO 2024 serves up culinary delights
The AO’s renowned party precinct, Grand Slam Oval, will have a range of bars and food options, while Garden Square will feature a European marketplace, featuring some of the city’s best-known Italian eateries.
The Glam Slam presented by Ralph Lauren returns
While not part of AO Finals Festival on JCA for 2024, the Glam Slam presented by Ralph Lauren returns on men’s finals day.
The Glam Slam is the world’s largest LGBTQI+ tennis event and attracts players from around the world competing at Melbourne Park and Albert Reserve across the final three days.
The finals of the seventh edition will be held on Court 6 on Sunday 28 January from 2pm-6pm, with a celebrity match and entertainment to follow the Women’s and Open Singles Finals.
With your AO Finals Festival ticket doubling as a ground pass, you can catch this, too.
AO Finals Festival full line-up
Thursday 25 January 2024 – AO Pride Day
Co-headliners Peach PRC, Yaeji [USA]
With special performance by AO 2024 Pride Ambassador Tash Sultana
Supported by Anesu, Djanaba, DJ Luv You
Saturday 27 January 2024 – Women’s Final
DMA’s, Ruel, The Jungle Giants
Supported by Tia Gostelow, Mell Hall
Sunday 28 January 2024 – Men’s Final
Groove Armada (DJ set) [UK], Rudimental [UK]
Supported by Sunshine & Disco Faith Choir, Latifa Tee, Cooper Smith
Tickets start from $69, and go on sale Wednesday 13 December via Ticketmaster.