Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 David Bowie Festival

We visited Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 for a weekend of David Bowie music, tribute bands, camping and outback hospitality at the iconic Carinda Hotel.

The festival celebrates Carinda’s connection to David Bowie, who filmed the Let’s Dance music video at the town’s hotel in 1983. (Let’s Dance)

Let’s Dance Carinda Re Enactment Inside The Hotel

Camping At Carinda Showgrounds

We arrived at Carinda Showgrounds at about 2pm and set up along the oval fence, opposite the swimming pools. My brother, his family and my brother’s father-in-law arrived around 4pm and set up in front of us.

There were plenty of prickles in the grass and plenty of flies, but that is all part of camping in this part of the world. We cooked dinner, enjoyed a few drinks and sat outside talking well into the evening. We had a little rain overnight, but it did not affect the weekend.

It’s a really good donation campground with showers, toilets and there’s even a council pool a short away. Plus you have the Carinda Hotel a couple of hundred metres walk depending on where in the showgrounds you have set up.

Let’s Dance Carinda Camped On Oval Fence

Saturday At The Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 Festival

Saturday morning started with a BBQ breakfast at the showgrounds. By about 1pm, we walked across to the Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 festival site.

The afternoon was filled with great live music, including plenty of Bowie songs and a good mix of other covers. The MC was absolutely hilarious and kept the crowd entertained between acts.

At about 6.30pm, we headed back to the vans for a BBQ dinner. After eating, Amanda and I returned to the festival with our niece Alvie to watch the headline David Bowie tribute bands, Life On Mars and STARMAN.

Both bands were excellent, but STARMAN were our clear favourite of the day. The guitarist doing the Mick Ronson act with his white Gibson was absolutely awesome.

Lets Dance Carinda

Sunday At The Carinda Hotel Let’s Dance Carinda 2026

Sunday morning was a lazy one. We sat around the campsite, had coffee and talked about the festival, travel plans and everything in between.

Around lunchtime, we headed across to the Carinda Hotel for the famous Let’s Dance re-enactment. The pub was absolutely pumping. We have visited the Carinda Hotel several times before, but we had never seen it so busy.

STARMAN performed the re-enactment and did a great job. We stayed for lunch and a few beers before heading back to the vans for a quiet afternoon.

The Carinda Hotel is famous for its role in David Bowie’s 1983 Let’s Dance music video, and the annual festival re-enactment has become a highlight of the event.

NRL Grand Final At The Campsite

After a BBQ dinner on Sunday night, I set up the TV on the back of the ute and we watched the NRL Grand Final using Starlink.

It turned out to be a really good game, with the Roosters just managing to beat the Knights. Watching the grand final from a caravan park in outback NSW was a pretty memorable way to finish the weekend.

The Drive Home

On Monday, we drove home to Cootamundra via Nyngan, Tullamore, Forbes and Grenfell. We fuelled up again at Nyngan Woodham Petroleum before continuing home.

The trip home took about 7.5 hours, including stops. All up, we travelled around 1,600 kilometres across the weekend.

Fuel Prices Were OK At Woodhouse Petroleum Nyngan

Getting To Carinda For The Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 Festival

We left home on Thursday afternoon and travelled to Wyalong, where we free camped for the night at Cooinda Park Rest Area.

On Friday, we continued through to Carinda Showgrounds via Nyngan. Google Maps sent us along about 100 kilometres of pretty good dirt road between Tinda and Nyngan on Nyngan Road. The road was in reasonable condition, but it is always worth checking conditions before travelling in this part of NSW.

We stopped for fuel at Nyngan Woodham Petroleum. It is an unmanned fuel station with easy access, which made it a convenient stop while towing the caravan.

On The Way To Let’s Dance Carinda Camped At Wyalong

How Far Is Carinda? Distances And Travel Times

Carinda is a long way from just about everywhere, so it pays to plan your trip. The table below shows approximate driving distances and times to Carinda from each Australian capital city and from other relevant towns and cities. Times are for a car with no stops. If you are towing a caravan, allow an extra 20 to 30 per cent, plus time for fuel, meals and rest breaks.

Distances and times are approximate road estimates and will vary with your route, road conditions and weather. Some approaches to Carinda include unsealed road, which can be slow or closed after rain.

Making Coffee On Nyngan Road

Was Let’s Dance Carinda Worth Visiting?

Yes. Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 was a relaxed, friendly and genuinely fun outback festival. The music was excellent, the Bowie tribute acts were impressive, and the Sunday re-enactment at the Carinda Hotel was the standout moment.

If you enjoy live music, camping, country pubs and something a little different this festival is well worth adding to your travel list.

The organisers of the Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 Festival have let it be known that this is the last one they will be having for a while as they need a rest. Here’s hoping that it’s back up and going again before too long.

Let’s Dance Carinda 2026 Festival Photo Gallery

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions About Let’s Dance Carinda David Bowie Festival 2026