The Missy Higgins Brisbane Festival show feels made for a Sunday evening at Roma Street Parkland. On 20 September, one of Australia’s most-loved voices will bring songs that still sit close to the ribs.
The event appears in the Brisbane Festival program as Night at The Parkland: Missy Higgins. It gives the festival a singalong with plenty of soft edges.
That suits Roma Street Parkland. The place sits close to the city’s rush, yet somehow keeps its own slower pulse. On a good afternoon, you can almost forget the traffic is nearby.
Missy Higgins will bring some of her best-known songs to the stage. The bill names Scar, The Special Two, Steer and Futon Couch. Many Australians know at least one of them by heart.
That is the pull here. Higgins has never needed much flash to hold a crowd. She leans on melody, plain words and feeling.
An Early Evening Built for Music
Brisbane Festival lists the concert at Roma Street Parkland with a 90-minute duration. Tickets range from $119 to $149, with booking fees applying.
Night at the Parkland has set the evening up without too much fuss. Gates open at 4:00 pm. Hazel Mei starts at 4:20 pm, followed by Jem Cassar-Daley at 5:00 pm.
Then Higgins takes the stage at 6:00 pm. That is a civilised hour by gig standards, and a handy one for a Sunday.
It also gives the support acts room to breathe. Jem Cassar-Daley and Hazel Mei are part of the bill, not just names tucked under the poster.
For inner-city readers, the venue adds to the appeal. Roma Street Parkland sits near the city centre, but still gives a gig some grass and air.
Songs with a Long Tail
Higgins has been part of the Australian music landscape for more than two decades. Her official biography notes 32 ARIA Award nominations and seven ARIA number ones.
Her story still links back to Triple J Unearthed in 2002, when she was still at high school. Then came The Sound Of White in 2004, which made her a household name in Australia.
The biography says that album became Australia’s highest-selling album of 2005. It also says it influenced a generation of singer-songwriters, including Amy Shark, G Flip and Angie McMahon.
In 2024, Higgins released The Second Act. Her biography describes it as “a kind of sequel” to The Sound Of White.
The album topped the ARIA charts 20 years to the day after The Sound Of White first reached number one. That is the sort of full-circle detail music writers dream of finding.
Higgins also toured across 2024, playing 46 shows to well over 100,000 Australians. The year ended with an ARIA Award for Best Live Artist and an ARIA Hall of Fame induction.
A Festival Moment with Feeling
The Missy Higgins Brisbane Festival concert sits inside the wider Night at the Parkland series. That run also includes The Cruel Sea, The Temper Trap, Human Nature, ICEHOUSE and PNAU.
Each night brings its own crowd and mood. Higgins’ night, though, has a particular kind of pull. It is less about spectacle and more about recognition.
There will be people there for the big choruses. Others will come for one song that still reminds them of someone.
That is what good festival programming can do. It can turn a familiar park into a shared memory for a few hours.
So, as the evening settles in, expect plenty of quiet singing and a few brave loud voices. With Missy Higgins at Roma Street Parkland, Brisbane gets a night built on melody, memory and heart.
Published 15-September-2026
