Rainbow Spirit Festival: psytrance and art festival in Victoria

Let's get the name out of the way: this is the festival many of you know as Rainbow Serpent. It started in 1998, and in 2023 it became Rainbow Spirit, because the organisers no longer wanted to brand themselves with a First Nations Dreamtime story. I think that was the right call. The last edition ran in early 2019; bushfire damage to the site before the 2020 event and then COVID stopped it, and the 2026 edition, “Gathering Light”, ended a six-year break. So this is a long-running institution that is, in practice, starting over — which makes 2027 more interesting to me than a routine year.

For two decades the festival lived at Lexton. It has now left that home for Eagle Ridge Event Park near Tallarook, about 90 minutes north of Melbourne — rural, hilly, open-air. For 2027, listings name Glenaroua; from what I can tell it's probably the same site, but I'd check the official page before booking anything. Early March is the tail end of the Australian summer. If you knew the Lexton years, expect a new landscape and a festival still settling into it.

At the 2026 edition there were three stages, split by sound, which I appreciate: Horizon for progressive and techno, with views over the valley; Sunrise for the psychedelic side; and The Homestead for bass, glitch and dubstep. That's not a pure psytrance festival in the Ozora sense — psytrance is one room of the house, not the whole house. Sunrise is the stage I'd circle; the name says it all: a long night, the floor, and the light coming up.

Rainbow Spirit is more than a dance floor, and the programme shows it: workshops, talks, meditation, a healing area, art installations and the Evolve Gallery of visionary art with live painting. It's also openly family-friendly — in 2026, children under 12 got in free and there was a Kids Space. The crowd mixes locals, veterans of the Serpent years, campers and families. For me that mix is the strongest argument for going: on paper it reads less like a club weekend and more like a gathering with history.

You'll want a car: the site is about 90 minutes north of Melbourne, and Melbourne Airport (MEL) is the gateway if you fly in. My sources don't confirm an official shuttle, so plan transport or a lift-share early. Camping is included, and with four days on site I'd treat it as a proper camping trip, not a weekend crash. Coming from Europe or South America, it's a long way for one festival — I'd only do it combined with more time in Australia.

Tickets are sold via the official site, rainbowspirit.net. I couldn't find public prices for 2027, so I won't guess. Keep in mind that the 2026 edition ran at reduced capacity, so the old figure of around 12,000 people from the Lexton days may not apply now. If you're set on going, follow the official Instagram and Facebook and buy when sales open.