Xavier Rudd to Perform at QPAC to Raise Funds for HEAL Mental Health Program

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) has announced Australian singer songwriter Xavier Rudd will perform in the Concert Hall for one night only on Wednesday 26 August 2026 to raise funds for HEAL (Home of Expressive Arts and Learning), while performing his new single live for the first time in the country.  

HEAL is an award-winning mental health program that employs expressive therapies – including art therapy and music therapy – to nurture emotional wellbeing and healing among children and young people from refugee and culturally diverse backgrounds. 

In a career spanning more than 20 years, Rudd's extraordinary ability as a multi-instrumentalist and dynamic live performer have won him fans around the globe, and in this one-off concert, QPAC audiences will be treated to a night of his greatest hits. 

Rudd's activism for equality and environmental conservation is well documented. He has partnered with organisations including Sea Shepherd, Clean Up Arnhem Land, and Save the Kimberley, as well as projects like Surf for Life and Waves of Hope, which helped build a high school in northern Nicaragua.  

The APRA Award-winner will appear at QPAC with his just-released single 'Part of Life', a powerfully hypnotic single and video which Rudd describes as an “art collaboration” with the late Dr Jane Goodall and animator Jarrad Wright.  

QPAC Chief Executive Rachel Healy said Rudd's music and live shows conjured an unforgettable atmosphere of connection, reflection and celebration, befitting QPAC and HEAL's fundraising focus.

“We have partnered with HEAL for more than a decade to present a special concert that raises funds and awareness for HEAL's vital work in delivering creative arts therapy to young people of refugee backgrounds,” said Ms Healy. 

“In bringing his star power to this one-off concert, Xavier Rudd reinforces his enduring commitment to causes that matter, embodying the profound ability of music to unite, uplift and sustain us.” 

QPASTT Co-CEO Sally Stewart said music and creative arts therapies had the power to reach young people in ways that words alone often cannot.

“Many of the children and young people HEAL supports have survived war, persecution and forced displacement - experiences no child should have to endure. Trauma can make it hard to feel safe, to trust, to learn, or to imagine a future,” Ms Stewart said.

“But through art, music, movement and creative expression, young people can begin to tell their story in their own way, at their own pace. They can find calm, connection and confidence again.

“Xavier Rudd's music speaks so strongly to belonging, healing and our connection to one another. We are deeply grateful to Xavier and QPAC for helping us create a night that will not only raise vital funds, but remind the community what is possible when young people are given the care and support they need to heal.”

HEAL is part of QPASTT, Queensland's specialist torture and trauma recovery service. The HEAL program supports more than 400 newly arrived refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people each year, relying on community donations and fundraising to provide their services.

Through donations, including funds raised from QPAC's concerts, HEAL has supported almost 5,000 children and young people of refugee backgrounds since 2004. 

Australia - Sydney News

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