[2] The festival has been headlined by Deftones, the Offspring, Incubus, Alice in Chains, Bloodhound Gang, Nine Inch Nails, Faith No More, Jimmy Eat World, Jane's Addiction, Soundgarden, Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age, the Smashing Pumpkins, System of a Down, Slipknot, Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Linkin Park, Blink-182 and Metallica.

A 2016 iteration of the festival was planned, but its cancellation was announced on 17 December 2015 by founder AJ Maddah due to poor ticket sales.

Gravity Soundwave provided the music side of the festival, which took place at McCallum Park alongside the Swan River.

American pop punk band Good Charlotte effectively became the first headline act of Soundwave, when they performed in the festival's first night along with Gyroscope and One Dollar Short.

Gravity Soundwave was headlined by Grinspoon, with it also featuring American acts Unwritten Law, Reel Big Fish, and Goldfinger.

Gravity Soundwave featured American act Aiden, local Australian bands Gyroscope, Kisschasy, Parkway Drive, The Getaway Plan and New Zealanders Goodnight Nurse.

Presenters of British reality stunt TV show Dirty Sanchez and Finnish stuntmen The Dudesons were masters of ceremonies at Soundwave 2009.

Limp Bizkit singer Fred Durst paid tribute to Michalik at each Soundwave date and openly criticised Big Day Out organisers.

Brisbane Sydney Melbourne Adelaide Perth Notes *A^ Bush replaced Hole, who withdrew from the lineup due to a dispute with Soundwave promoters[24] *B^ Paradise Lost and Switchfoot replaced DragonForce, who withdrew from the lineup due to recording delays[25] *C^ These Kids Wear Crowns did not play in Brisbane due to being double-booked for a sold-out arena show with Simple Plan in Canada[26] *D^ Mission in Motion did not appear in Melbourne *E^ Black Tide withdrew from the lineup due to a family emergency[27] *F^ Switchfoot withdrew from the Adelaide and Perth shows due to a family emergency[28] The lineup for the 2013 Soundwave Festival was first announced on 8 August 2012, featuring headliners Metallica, Linkin Park and Blink-182, along with sub headliners A Perfect Circle, The Offspring, Garbage, Paramore, Tomahawk, Cypress Hill and Killswitch Engage This edition of Soundwave was noted for its "drummers' curse",[29] where several bands lost members in the week leading up to the festival: There was also controversy regarding bands such as Pierce the Veil and The Amity Affliction having their sets cut short in Perth due to complaints from local residents – after this Maddah doubted the festival's future in Western Australia.

[45] *I^ Malakyte only played in Brisbane, they were originally listed as "Special Guests"[46] *J^ The winners of the Triple J Unearthed competition for Perth, In League, were not able to perform due to time constraints alongside Soundwave's conflict with the Claremont Council[47][48] The lineup for the 2014 festival was first announced on 23 August 2013.

The lineup containing 94 bands, featured Green Day, Avenged Sevenfold, Korn and Alice in Chains[49] The Perth festival was relocated from Claremont Showground to Arena Joondalup, 25 km north of Perth, two weeks before the beginning of the festival due to Soundwave's ongoing conflict with the Claremont Council.

Sydney Melbourne Adelaide Perth Notes *A^ The Living End replaced Stone Temple Pilots, who withdrew from the lineup due to scheduling conflicts.

AJ Maddah stated on Twitter "Putting the line-up across [two] days enables us to minimise clashes; give bands longer sets, better staging, production [and] infrastructure.

[66] Various problems contributed to its cancellation, including: Official compilation CDs featuring artists who performed at the festival were released through Shock Records.