Australia's biggest outback music event, the sold-out 2025 Mundi Mundi Bash, will bring a record crowd of almost 15,000 music lovers to the red-dirt plains of far-west NSW for shows by acts including Missy Higgins, Hoodoo Gurus, The Cat Empire, Birds of Tokyo, The Angels, Kasey Chambers, Kate Ceberano and Leo Sayer.Returning favourites Chocolate Starfish and The Headliners will perform an earlybird campers' show on Wednesday evening ahead of the three-day festival's official start on Thursday.
It's a triumphant return for Headliners, who won hearts and opened eyes and ears in the 2024 ABC TV documentary series of the same name.
The series helped musicians living with a broad range of disabilities form two bands - Sync or Swim and Together With Strangers - and perform on the main stage at the 2024 Mundi Mundi Bash, under the guidance of Elly-May Barnes, Ella Hooper and Tim Rogers.
Vocalist and guitarist Aimee says the groups stayed in touch after the series but had not performed together until they convened in Sydney earlier in August to rehearse for their debut as a supergroup.
Headliners will perform the songs the two bands covered in the TV series and new original songs penned by Aimee, fellow vocalist Sonnet, who is deaf in one ear, and MC Wheels, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy.
"It's quite amazing to see just how tight everyone was even on day one," Wheels says of their week of rehearsals.
Aimee, who has a prosthetic leg, and James, who has Tourette syndrome, have become the "mum and dad" of the self-managed group, which no longer has a production team to guide it.
"All of us can relate on like, you know, that deeper level, and just to see the way we collaborate is so bizarre, because in one sense we're all alike, but then at the same time we're so different," James says.
"It's definitely something special."
Aimee says the group is grateful for the opportunity to share its message and ensure people don't forget about accessibility.
"The response from the show has been so positive and it's changing people's perspective, so we want to keep that up," she says.
"Our experience at Mundi last year was like, 'oh my god, this is what we could have'.
"We definitely want to keep going ... and encourage other disabled artists to keep going."
Festival director Greg Donovan says Headliners' return as a supergroup marks a deeper evolution in Mundi Mundi's mission.
"We've always prided ourselves on inclusivity," he says.Â
"Last year's collaboration with Headliners reframed what that looks like - not just for audiences, but for performers."
The event is staged on Belmont Station, 9km north of Silverton and 35km from Broken Hill, and has become an annual pilgrimage for many.
The NSW government has sealed the last 2.5 km of road into the station since the 2024 event but police have warned motorists to expect increased traffic between Broken Hill and Silverton across the weekend.
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