Beat 1734

WEEKEND OF JAZZ & BLUES

OCTOBER 31 - NOVEMBER 3 2025

EMMA PASK QUARTET

JEFF LANG & DANNY MCKENNA BLACK JESUS EXPERIENCE

NICKI PARROTT TRIO • EMILY WILLIAMS

MARLENE CUMMINS BAND • GEOFF ACHISON BAND

DALE BARLOW & CHRIS JOHNSTONE SEXTET

CLAYTON DOLEY BAND • TOM OLLENDORFF TRIO

GUSTO GUSTO • LUCA CIARLA • ALEXANDER BEETS

QUINTET • AXIS • NANA KOIZUMI QUARTET MATTHEW OTTIGNON’S VOLANT • MAT JODRELL & SPEEDBALL • LEIGH BARKER BAND

AMELIA EVANS & BOB SEDERGREEN • YAEL ZAMIR QUARTET

COPE STREET PARADE • PAUL WILLIAMSON HAMMOND COMBO ROYAL MOTOWN REVUE • AUSTRALIAN ARMY BAND CHAIN OF FOOLS • BLUES BROTHERS 3677 • HIGH SOCIETY ORCHESTRA WANGARATTA HIGH SCHOOL BAND AND MORE…

CATHEDRAL FESTIVAL HUB ALL WEEKEND • 10+ VENUES • FAMILY FRIENDLY

PARTNERING WITH

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THU 9 OCT •

PRINT EDITOR

Kaya Martin

EDITOR

Lucas Radbourne

ASSISTANT EDITOR

Frankie Anderson-Byrne

GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Riley McDonald

GIG GUIDE

Jacob Colliver

CONTRIBUTORS

Simone Anders, Gabrielle Duykers, Ashlynn Hannah, Luke Carlino, Molly England, Dom Lepore and Bryget Chrisfield

FOR ADVERTISING OR SPONSORED CONTENT ENQUIRIES advertise@furstmedia.com.au

ACCOUNTS accounts@furstmedia.com.au

DISTRIBUTION distribution@furstmedia.com.au

PUBLISHER

Furst Media Pty Ltd

FOUNDER

Rob Furst

SOCIALS

BeatMag beatmagazine BeatTV beat.com.au

EDITORIAL NOTE

Is it just us, or does everything kind of feel like a remix of a remix these days?

Æ As we rush towards the future, we can’t help but look longingly back to the past, to a time when, with the privilege of hindsight, things seemed so simple. We can cherry-pick the looks and sounds we like, then play them again for the same applause. The well-worn path works, but what’s missing is any sense of unpredictability, of experimentation, of danger.

This month, we’re highlighting artists who are experts at remembering their roots while still propelling their genres forward. Our cover star, Brooklyn jazz sensation Melanie Charles, is a prime example, and can be found inside waxing poetic about bringing the genre back to its radical roots. Elsewhere, The Thing discuss a DIY rock ‘n’ roll resurgence, Freak Slug talks about tapping into the source, and Melbourne melancholics Acopia chat about liminal spaces in their first-ever full-length interview.

It’s a busy month, but a good one. And while we’re not looking into any kind of crystal ball, we hope it might convince you that the future is bright.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS

Our magazine is published on the lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and we wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.

DISTRIBUTION

Beat Mag will be distributed free every month to hundreds of locations around metro Melbourne, to enquire about having it at your venue email distribution@furstmedia.com.au

COVER

Our October cover star is Melanie Charles shot by Dennis Manuel

SYLVIE

ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL OPENS 2026 SUBMISSIONS

St Kilda Film Festival has opened submissions for their 2026 edition, giving filmmakers a shot at screening their work at one of Australia’s biggest film events. Running from 4 to 14 June, the festival champions shortform storytelling while offering serious career opportunities for emerging creatives.

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL GAMES WEEK 2025 REVEALS FULL PROGRAM

Melbourne International Games Week has respawned bigger and better, loading up 70 events across an expanded nine-day open world extravaganza. The Asia Pacific’s biggest gaming celebration transforms the city into an interactive playground from 4 to 12 October.

MUSIC, LAUGHS AND WINE APLENTY: COMEDY IN THE VINES RETURNS

From October 24 to 26 at CherryHill Orchards, Comedy In The Vines features standup and live music under the open sky. This year’s lineup includes Michelle De Swarte, Tommy Little, Sammy J and more, alongside some of the Yarra Valley’s top winemakers.

RISING IS LAUNCHING AN EPIC NEW BIENNIAL FESTIVAL

RISING will present the Australian Dance Biennial every two years starting in 2026, bringing together artists, audiences and industry leaders from across Australia. The event, happening from 3 to 8 June, will feature dance works with representation from every state and the Northern Territory.

CELEBRATE HALLOWEEN AT LUNA DARK, ST KILDA’S SPOOKTASTIC FESTIVAL

Luna Park is hosting Melbourne’s biggest costume party from 23 October to 1 November. Across frightening nights and kid-friendly days, there will be roving ghosts, trick-or-treating, live entertainment and scary attractions, including a horrifying haunted house.

PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL ADDS NEW ARTISTS TO 2026 LINEUP

Aussie legend Kasey Chambers leads a diverse collection of local and international talent added to Port Fairy Folk Festival’s 2026 program. Folk icon Willie Watson, founding member of Old Crow Medicine Show, headlines the international additions alongside a contingent of homegrown artists.

CHAPPELL ROAN, ALEX G, THE DARE LEAD STACKED LANEWAY 2026

The beloved festival turns 21 this year and celebrates with a program packed with debuts, returns and exclusives. Happening on 13 February at Flemington Park, the lineup will also include PinkPantheress, Role Model, Yung Lean & Bladee and Wet Leg, among others.

MELBOURNE PHOTOGRAPHERS: THIS $15,000 CONTEST HELPS SAVE THE PLANET

Photographers across Melbourne and beyond have the chance to turn their passion and talent into prize money. Nature Conservancy Australia has launched its 2025 Oceania Photo Contest, offering prizes to photographers who can capture the wonder and vulnerability of our region’s ecosystems.

A NEW ENTERTAINMENT PRECINCT WILL TRANSFORM MELBOURNE’S CHINATOWN

A huge new entertainment hub is opening in Chinatown this October. Spiegel Haus will transform a section of Lonsdale Street and Celestial Avenue into the city’s newest cultural destination, bringing together multiple performance venues in one ambitious precinct.

AT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDANTLY RUN MUSIC VENUE

PORPOISE SPIT FRI 03 OCT

GIG GUIDE

01/10 BRAD COX SOLD OUT 03/10 PORPOISE SPIT

04/10 BLUSH’KO

22/11 ONSLAUGHT (UK) 23/11 WHOLE LOTTA ROSIE (MATINEE) 27/11 THIRSTY MERC SELLING FAST 30/11 SEVENTH WONDER: THE FLEETWOOD MAC SHOW (MATINEE)

04/12 FLIPTURN (USA)

05/12 THROWING MUSES (USA)

09/12 DON WEST

CELEBRATION 03/11 JAMES REYNE 04/11 BEN OTTEWELL & IAN BALL PRESENT GOMEZ BY REQUEST SELLING FAST 07/11 JAMES REYNE 08/11 JAMES REYNE 09/11 COSMIC PSYCHOS 14/11 SKUNKHOUR 21/11 LIZ STRINGER

20/12 MICK THOMAS’ ROVING COMMISSION 21/12 DAN & AL (XMAS SHOW) MORE EVENTS

18/10 CRATE DIGGER RECORD FAIR 28/10 DRAG BINGO

05/10 WARNER BROTHERS RESIDENCY 06/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY WITH DADFIGHT, THE SALMON SISTSERS + ROMCOM 09/10 OWELU DREAMHOUSE 10/10 SHAWN JAMES SOLD OUT 11/10 EXPOSURE 2025 12/10 WARNER BROTHERS RESIDENCY 13/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY WITH THE SECRET BEACH (CA), FOREVER SON + THE BOATMEN 14/10 VINCENT NEIL EMERSON (USA) 15/10 NIKKI LANE

18/10 SALT TREE SELLING FAST 19/10 WARNER BROTHERS RESIDENCY

24/10 LORETTA MILLER 25/10 ZINDZI & THE ZILLIONAIRES (FAMILY FRIENDLY MATINEE)

25/10 AMAYA LAUCIRICA

26/10 SMITH & COHEN (AKA SODASTREAM - MATINEE)

30/10 THE TULLAMARINES SELLING FAST 01/11 SCREAMFEEDER 03/11 CLONING

05/11 THE VEILS 06/11 JEWEL OWUSU 07/11 EMILY WURRAMARA 08/11 YOUTH GROUP 13/11 OMNIVERSAL HUM: BRUCE RUSSELL 14/11 WINTER MCQUINN 15/11 ALL INDIA RADIO 16/11 MINOR GOLD (MATINEE) 21/11 BLACK CAB SOLD OUT 22/11 THE PLEASURES WITH DELSINKI & THE QUIET COACHMEN

25/11 MOUNTAIN BOY (NZ) 28/11 WILLOWBANK GROVE 29/11 KHAN

30/11 PARANOID ANDROID - RADIOHEAD CELEBRATION 06/12 CENOTAPH (MX)

BLUSH’KO

OWELU DREAMHOUSE THU 09 OCT

AMAYA LAUCIRICA SAT 25 OCT

NIKKI LANE WED 15 OCT

JAPANESE FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS 29TH YEAR OF CINEMA MAGIC TO FIVE CITIES

Cinema lovers can discover the latest voices in Japanese filmmaking when the Japanese Film Festival touches down. The festival promises a diverse lineup spanning dramas, anime, comedies and everything in between, and will show at the Kino and ACMI from 6 November to 4 December.

MELBOURNE RADAR PICKS UP THIS RADICAL TAKE ON DJ COMPETITIONS

Spin Off, the latest DJ competition on our Melbourne music scene radar, challenges traditional formats with an equity focus. Each heat features four DJs in a unique format blending solo sets with back-to-back collaborations. Every participant gets their moment to shine, then teams up for b2b sessions.

CULT PSYCH LEGENDS THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE RETURN TO AUSTRALIA

The Brian Jonestown Massacre are back under the singular vision of Anton Newcombe, delivering back catalogue highlights alongside deeper album cuts. Fresh from blazing trails across Europe and the US, the band will play at Melbourne’s Northcote Theatre on 27 March.

MEET TANGLEWOOD: THE COOLEST UNKNOWN MUSIC FESTIVAL

Hidden in the Victorian bush, Tanglewood Music & Arts Festival has been building a cult following as one of the state’s most authentic music gatherings. The event runs from 30 December to 2 January, featuring over 150 artists in a family-friendly environment.

THE LINEUP FOR MELBOURNE’S NEW INNER-CITY NYE FESTIVAL JUST DROPPED

New Year’s at the Bowl is setting up shop at the iconic Sidney Myer Music Bowl and King’s Domain gardens for two days of huge music action, with headliners Underworld bringing us into the new year.

TASMANIA’S GOOD GUMNUTS FESTIVAL 2026 ANNOUNCES MASSIVE LINEUP

What started as a small community gathering in 2022 has transformed into one of Tasmania’s premier all-ages festivals. Good Gumnuts 2026 promises its biggest edition yet, with iconic Australian acts Dope Lemon and The Jungle Giants leading an impressive lineup that spans generations and genres.

MSO BRINGS DISNEY’S BEAUTY AND THE BEAST IN CONCERT TO MELBOURNE

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra is set to deliver a live-to-film experience with Disney’s Beauty and the Beast in Concert at Hamer Hall. This enchanting concert celebrates the 35th anniversary of the animated classic, combining the full film screening with Alan Menken’s award-winning score performed live.

FIRST NATIONS ARTISTS INVITED TO PITCH BOLD WORKS FOR YIRRAMBOI 2027

Melbourne’s leading First Nations arts festival returns with commissioning opportunities for bold new works across theatre, dance, music, visual art and experimental practice. YIRRAMBOI 2027 continues the platform’s eight-year legacy of showcasing the future of First Nations arts through world premieres that challenge conventional expectations.

MYKI ROLLOUT DELAYED DESPITE NEW READERS COMPLETE THIS YEAR

Transport Victoria expects all new readers to be installed across the metro Melbourne and V/Line network by the end of this year. However, passengers will need to wait until early 2026 before they can tap on with credit cards, smartphones or other smart devices.

TREATY DEAL FINALISED AS VICTORIA MAKES AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

Australia’s first statewide Treaty Agreement represents a decade of careful groundwork between the Victorian government and First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria. Built on principles of ‘respect, trust and integrity’, the agreement acknowledges the past while creating pathways for all Victorians to move forward together.

FRINGE FOCUS TAIWAN BRINGS BOUNDARYPUSHING PERFORMANCES

Fringe Focus Taiwan continues pushing boundaries with performances that celebrate the full cycle of life through bold contemporary art. This year’s program runs from 30 September to 19 October, featuring Taiwanese artists whose work embodies the 2025 theme Action Heroes.

THERE’S A NEW MUSIC AND FOOD FESTIVAL HAPPENING AT A HISTORIC RAILWAY PRECINCT

The inaugural Eat Drink Play Gippsland transforms Leongatha’s historic Railway Precinct into a full-day celebration on 18 October, featuring the region’s best producers, winemakers and musicians. It kicks off with a foodie’s dream day session, then morphs into a music celebration headlined by Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

RARE MELBOURNE ARCHIVES HAVE RESURFACED THE CITY’S LOST LANDSCAPES

Hidden treasures from Melbourne’s past are about to see daylight for the first time in decades, thanks to a new exhibition coming to the city gallery. You Are Here has resurfaced these hidden historical photographs from the City of Melbourne’s archive treasure-trove and will be showing at City Gallery from 2 October.

GREAT OCEAN ROAD GETS $8M WHALE-THEMED VIEWING PLATFORM

An $8 million platform at Loch Ard Gorge Blowhole has officially opened. Poombeeyt Koontapool means ‘Breath of the Whale’ in the Keerray Woorroong language and connects visitors to the area’s cultural heritage while they experience one of the coast’s natural phenomena.

EXPOSURE IS MOVIN’ ON UP TO NORTHCOTE SOCIAL CLUB

eXposure looks to shine a light on the freshest talent in Melbourne. The hand-picked lineup combines rock, reggae, hip-hop, RnB, pop, Latin pop, rap and more with an industry panel of experts, including Dan Shani, one of the co-founders of Evoke Sounds. See it on 11 October.

TWELVE APOSTLES GETS ROOFTOP LOOKOUT WITH GARDEN IN $126M VISITOR CENTRE

The Twelve Apostles Visitor Experience Centre’s rooftop lookout is now complete and ready for views. The structure’s completion is part of the $676 million Geelong City Deal investment set to change how people experience one of Victoria’s most photographed spots.

MELBOURNE’S NORTH IS GETTING AN ENTIRE NEW NEIGHBOURHOOD

Three major developments will begin in Greenvale North, Warrnambool and Ballarat under the state government’s recently approved precinct structure plan. The precinct will provide homes for more than 1000 new residents as well as local parks, walking and cycling paths and open spaces.

1TBSP, FOLAMOUR AND VTSS LEAD LET THEM EAT CAKE LINEUP 2026

Let Them Eat Cake New Year’s Day brings together 21 artists spanning house, techno and electronic sounds across the historic velodrome space. Local favourites 1tbsp, Afrodisiac and C000KIE anchor the lineup alongside internationals including Folamour, Dr. Banana and VTSS.

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS RETURNS TO SCREENS AT THE BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL

The festival has revealed its first highlights, with Daniel Day-Lewis making his screen return in Anemone. The Russell Hobbs British Film Festival runs from 5 November to 7 December across nine Australian cities, bringing British cinema’s finest to Palace Cinemas, Palace Nova and Luna Palace Cinemas.

ABBOTSFORD CONVENT OPENS INTERACTIVE DYSTOPIAN FASHION LABORATORY

Welcome to Abbotsford Convent in 2125, where clothing waste has buried the planet and your only chance of survival involves safety pins, creativity and some serious runway swagger. Fast Fashun teams up with Melbourne’s Snuff Puppets for Wasteworlds, a wild experience that transforms textile trash into high fashion from 1 to 5 October.

ROYAL BOTANIC GARDENS WILL HOST FIVE MASSIVE NOVEMBER SHOWS

Live At The Gardens is back for its third series at Royal Botanic Gardens, proving that sometimes the best venues are the ones that have been at it for 180 years. This season, it’ll host acts including RocKwiz, The Living End, Franz Ferdinand, Miami Horror and Songs From The Canyon.

MELBOURNE MUSEUM UNVEILS MASSIVE MULTISENSORY EXHIBITION

Melbourne Museum opens Our Wondrous Planet, featuring over 800 animals across four global ecosystems. Spread across 1800 square metres, the gallery explores reef, rainforest, ice and soil, showing how each plays a fundamental role in supporting life on Earth.

PAUL KELLY LEADS RED HOT SUMMER TOUR 2026

ALL-AUSTRALIAN LINEUP

Red Hot Summer Tour returns in 2026 with Paul Kelly leading an iconic Australian lineup. Supporting acts include ARIA Hall of Famer Missy Higgins, alongside The Cruel Sea, Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers and Jess Hitchcock. Victorian dates include Gateway Lakes in Wodonga on 28 February and Bendigo Racecourse on 14 March.

THE BLUES TRAIN SWITCHES TRACKS FOR UPCOMING SEASON

Victoria’s most unique live music experience has been chugging along the Bellarine Peninsula since 1994, and now, it has decided it’s time for a refresh. Starting 4 October, The Blues Train is adding day shows alongside their evening services, plus throwing in locally-sourced grazing boxes and drinks as part of the ticket price.

THE LAST DINNER PARTY ANNOUNCE AUSTRALIA TOUR

The London five-piece are bringing their baroque pop down under as part of a massive worldwide tour, with six shows locked in across Australia and New Zealand. Fresh off the back of their second album From The Pyre dropping in October, they’ll perform at Rod Laver Arena on 15 January.

OFFICIAL OPENING PARTY AUS DANCEHALL FEST

MELANIE CHARLES

WORDS BY SIMONE ANDERS

Jazz has always been a radical art form.

Æ It is the music of immigrants, of Black America, of a new formulation of what music could be.

The story of jazz is one of a unique group of artists dedicated to the sheer possibility and vitality of musical and artistic expression. But what is the future of this infinitely diverse, ever-expansive art form? According to Melanie Charles, who is set to perform a double header with WhoAllGonBeThere in a highlight of the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, jazz is more relevant than it ever has been.

“In every era, there are two different types of jazz musicians. There is firstly the everyday working jazz practitioner, the musician that plays the upright bass, that plays the music, plays a certain era of jazz, whether it is the blues, or bebop or new jazz. Or there are musicians like Rahsaan Roland Kirk back in his day, or Theo Croker now, who say that they don’t want to compromise as a performer,” Charles tells me, talking from her New York apartment after a long day of the life of a working musician.

Of these two, she is very much the latter: “There have always been those two sorts of groups. I feel like right now in jazz, we are in a time when people are more open to more radical interpretations of what we call jazz or Black American music. There is so much tolerance and curiosity in the jazz world at the moment, and I am very grateful to be part of jazz at this time.”

Not only does she infuse a diverse range of soul, hip-hop, and Haitian musical heritage into her work, she also looks to the past of jazz, while looking ahead to its future.

“When I was studying the history of jazz, that was when I started learning about the cultural underbelly of music. I learned about rent parties and realised that jazz music was the real pop music of the time,” she says.

“Over the years, it became ‘respectable’. It became a spectacle rather than participatory, even though the music is all about the idea of call and response. That is the core of this kind of jazz.”

The story of how jazz became divorced from these surroundings is part of what fuelled Melanie’s initial burst of creativity, creating work like Girl with the Green Shoes and her ambitious remix project Y’all Don’t (Really) Care About Black Women, which celebrated famous female voices in jazz, RnB and soul, from Dinah Washington to Marlena Shaw.

“The whole intention of the project was to create a body of work that gave voice to the black jazz women [who] paved the way for me,” she tells me.

Her embrace of jazz’s history has always been a part of her rebellious nature as she has attempted to bring jazz back to its radical foundations.

“I was a rebel when I was younger. When you’re younger, you want to fight somebody. I was interested in challenging the kind of jazz at places like the Lincoln Centre. It was such a north star for all of us young jazz kids in New York. But places like that and popular venues like the Coca Cola Club represented some of the more rigid jazz experiences out there. ”

Melanie is not only part of this modern movement in jazz, but is also one of its greatest advocates. She is not only a band leader, a flautist and a singer, but also a producer of the podcast/musical collaboration project Make Jazz Trill Again.

“I wanted to make a project called Make Jazz Trill Again where we could create a movement. It started off as a mantra, and then with time it evolved into a podcast. I am very proud of what we have done.”

Her coming down to Melbourne with jazz collective WhoAllGonBeThere is a unique event for jazz fans, given the opportunity for Melanie and the incredible range of talent to truly share their love of the art form.

“I was surprised at the curation for this event. We are all friends, and when I found out that we were all on the same bill I was like, ‘How did they even think of this? How is it that, even all of the ways over in Australia, they are so tapped into this specific community?’ Together, we all create a really beautiful sound. I think the audience is really in for a treat.”

“I was a rebel when I was younger. When you’re younger, you want to fight somebody.”

MELANIE

CHARLES + WHOALLGONBETHERE

WHERE: MAX WATT’S WHEN: 25 OCT

FESTIVAL GUIDE

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE

The ultimate indie and alternative rock tribute event is touching down in Melbourne for one night only. See sets honouring The Killers, Arctic Monkeys, Oasis and the Foo Fighters, and sing along to your favourite hits from across the decades.

HOTEL ESPLANADE 3 OCT

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL GAMES WEEK

Get ready to play, because the largest digital gaming celebration in the Asia-Pacific region is bringing plenty of fun for all ages to Melbourne. With international gamers, game debuts, socials, industry events and more, it’s a place where creativity runs wild and the competition heats up.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS 4–12 OCT

FREEFORM FESTIVAL

This brand new outdoor day festival bills itself as a “sonic adventure”. Running from day to night, it’ll bring experimental electronic trailblazers to the stage, including Four Tet, Floating Points, Skee Mask and more.

SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL 10 OCT

FLEMINGTON

MULTICULTURAL FESTIVAL

Celebrate the cultural diversity and community of Flemington at this free, all-ages street party. Featuring dancers from Ukraine, China, Russia, India, Cuba, Lebanon, Spain and beyond as well as plenty of multicultural bites, drinks and souvenirs, it’ll ignite the senses.

PIN OAK CRESCENT 11 OCT

FESTIVAL

All that training finally pays off at the city’s biggest running event. Kicking off at 6am and finishing at the MCG, the Melbourne Marathon is where elite athletes push themselves to the limit.

AROUND MELBOURNE 12 OCT

MELBOURNE ITALIAN FESTA

Yearning for that Euro summer? Experience the sights, sounds, tastes and smells of Italy for free at this two-day festival, with more than 50 food vendors serving regional delicacies, cocktails and imported wines, as well as market stalls, live music, dance, eating competitions and traditional entertainment.

ROYAL EXHIBITION BUILDING 18–19 OCT

MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL

While it may have kicked off in September, the bulk of this festival of fierce is happening in October. Think quirky theatre shows, comedy, cabaret, circus, experimental events, parties and so much more.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS UNTIL 19 OCT

MELBOURNE FASHION WEEK

Experience the glitz and glamour of Australia’s most magnetic designers with a week full of runways, workshops, talks and special events. Whether you’re in the industry, an influencer or just a fashion fiend, it’s the best place to discover what’ll be trending in the near future.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS 20–26 OCT

OKTOBERFEST

Who’s thirsty? Hofbrauhaus, a longstanding German restaurant in the heart of the CBD, is celebrating its 57th edition of the iconic event with live music and entertainment, authentic Bavarian cuisine, competitions and games and over a dozen different imported German beers.

HOFBRAUHAUS UNTIL 25 OCT

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Prepare yourself for funk, soul, RnB and jazz of all flavours as Australia’s biggest jazz festival touches down once again. With a lineup led by international stars Gergory Porter, LETTUCE, Melanie Charles, Bill Frisell Trio and Rita Marcotulli, it’s bound to be a good one.

VARIOUS LOCATIONS 17–26 OCT

OK ROCHESTER

OK Motels is back, encouraging city slickers to leave the big smoke behind and head out country for a day of music and small town fun. This edition’s lineup features Marlon Williams, Kacy & Clayton, Sylvie, Wrong Way Up and plenty more.

18 OCT

ROCHESTER

FRIDAYZ LIVE

Craving a little Y2K fire? The ultimate throwback party returns, and this year it’s bringing the heat with a lineup featuring Mariah Carey, Pitbull, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Jon and more. Plus, it’s all ages, so bring the little ones along for a boogie.

MARVEL

RIDIN’ HEARTS

Now in its third year, Australia’s top urban country music festival is delivering a hoedown of the ages, featuring American country stars Megan Moroney, Nate Smith, Avery Anna, Waylon Wyatt and more alongside local gems.

CARIBBEAN GARDENS 26 OCT

BUSTDOWN FESTIVAL

Fusing live performances, motorsports and streetwear, Bustdown festival is a celebration of youth culture. See live racing (including drifting and burnouts), spot celebrity guests and catch live sets by headliner Hooligan Hefs and more.

BURRATA FESTIVAL

Hosted by That’s Amore cheese, the first-ever edition of this event pays tribute to the gooey, creamy goodness that is burrata. Watch live cooking demonstrations, enjoy DJs and live music, shop market stalls and sample countless creations featuring the star ingredient.

SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET 30 OCT

NIKE MELBOURNE MARATHON

FLURO

Melbourne’s iconic rooftop Naked for Satan has cracked the code on keeping punters powered up all night long.

Æ Perched high above Brunswick Street in Fitzroy, Naked for Satan has earned its stripes as one of Australia’s most legendary rooftops.

The sprawling venue nails that sweet spot between old-school charm and modern edge; its century-old bones get a steampunk makeover while still delivering what today’s punters expect.

It’s all about finding that balance between respecting the heritage and embracing what’s next, and that philosophy drives everything from their wine selection to their furniture choices, right down to the tech they bring on board.

But even iconic venues face everyday headaches, and Naked for Satan’s was surprisingly common. Punters were constantly hitting the wall with dead phones mid-session, leaving staff scrambling with a mess of charging cables behind the bar.

For guests, it meant either bailing early or handing over their lifeline to the bartender. For staff, it was just another distraction from delivering the top-shelf service Naked for Satan is known for.

When Riverland Group stepped in to run the show, they were determined to fix this without stuffing up the vibe.

NAKED FOR SATAN

Enter Fluro; a Melbourne start-up that’s been quietly conquering pubs, clubs and bars right across the country. These guys have built their reputation on making tech that actually fits the space rather than screaming “look at me”. At Naked for Satan, that meant dropping in a charging station that melts into the scenery instead of sticking out like a sore thumb. “Taking over a place like this isn’t about ripping everything up and starting fresh,” explains Riverland Group Co-Owner Richie Ludbrook. “We’re more like caretakers of something special, so every new partner gets the full treatment. The Fluro setup had everyone happy from the get-go – staff and punters – so we knew we’d nailed it.” This wasn’t about chasing extra cash. It was about keeping the night flowing smooth –making sure guests could stay plugged in without surrendering their phones, while staff could focus on what they do best instead of playing cable manager. For venue owners, it’s a no-brainer: guests hang around longer and spend more, while the team stays locked in on proper hospitality.

The best nights are the ones that just disappear; good crew, killer venue, epic staff and zero interruptions. By binning the dead battery drama, Naked for Satan has locked in those magic nights just as Melbourne’s rooftop season fires up again.

Fluro’s tech reaches across Australia and Indonesia, tailoring charging solutions for every kind of venue.

WHERE: 285 BRUNSWICK ST, FITZROY

OPEN: MON–SAT 12PM–LATE / SUN 12–6:30PM

TECHNOLOGY PARTNER: FLURO (MELBOURNE-BASED START-UP) Made in partnership with Fluro.

STAGE GUIDE

SH!T THEATRE: OR WHAT’S LEFT OF US

From the makers of 2024 Sydney Fringe Best Theatre Award winner Drink Rum with Expats comes a new hit: a true crime show about folk music and grief, fit with a crowd sing-along at the end.

SOLIDARITY HALL 1–4 OCT

HORSE PLAY: AN EARNEST ONE MAN SHOW BASED ON THE SADDLE CLUB

The title really says it all. Created and performed by skilled improviser and comedian Jett Bond, this solo show will be equal parts hilarious and entertaining, with plenty of horsing around.

TRADES HALL: EVATT ROOM 1–5 OCT

TATTOO SHOW

Every night of the show, a volunteer will be interviewed and then tattooed live, on stage, with a design unknown to them. As the conversation and the ink flows, audience will consider taboos, trust, art, memory and the body.

SOLIDARITY HALL 1–19 OCT

LE AERIAL

Fusing dance, live music and spellbinding feats of circus mastery, this show will be as shocking as is awe-inspiring. Watch as performers twist, spin and fly through the air in this gravity-defying performance.

FAIRFAX STUDIO 2–5 OCT

ADORE HÄNDEL’S CAUTIONARY TALES

Straight out of the 18th century, the pansexual wonder returns with warnings on the dangers of desire and the perils of heartbreak. Blending humour, storytelling and original songs, it’ll be a feast for the senses.

SPEAKEASY THEATRE 6–12 OCT

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST

This classic story has been transformed into what has been described as a “hot gay trainwreck”. The team behind this work has set out to flip the traditional tale on its head and finally acknowledge the hunkiness of Gaston.

THEATRE WORKS 7–11 OCT

CHIP ON HER SHOULDER

This one’s dedicated to our favourite salty, crispy, fried friend. Living in New York with Broadway aspirations, Aussie expat Kat feels like a hot mess. This honest and playful one woman show explores coping and comfort foods.

TW EXPLOSIVES FACTORY 7–11 OCT

FLESH MIRROR

Bodies intertwine and the truth is blurred in this surrealist show combining sound, video and body work. Exploring identity, transformation and intimacy, this one is made by the Weave Movement Theatre and other artists.

ARTS HOUSE 8–12 OCT

FALLING HEADS

This dark and chilling tale is focused on Tomasz and Steph, estranged twins who find themselves on opposite sides of a battle to the death. Exploring facism, mind control, history and truth, it’s both haunting and thought-provoking.

SMALL HALL 8–18 OCT

REQUIEM

Part theatre, part dance and entirely mesmerising, this show fuses the mundane and deeply profound. Featuring original music and live vocals, it’s a captivating and all-encompassing performance.

BLACKWOOD THEATRE 14–17 OCT

THE VESSEL

This compassionate and heartwrenching story follows Mary, a woman in the late stages of dementia. Musing on aging, care, responsibility, empathy and more, this tender tale will have you holding your loved ones close.

THEATRE WORKS 14–18 OCT

WOMEN IN RED

Coming in as a cultural exchange between Hong Kong and Australia, this solo performance by Mo Lai Yan Chi tells the stories of women across generations and social backgrounds. Revised here in English, this feminist tapestry is intimate and impactful.

TRADES HALL 15–19 OCT

FIRST TRIMESTER

Krishna Istha and their partner are embarking on a worldwide quest to find the perfect sperm donor. This show features live, in person interviews between Krishna and a series of men to help find the perfect match for their future child.

ARTS HOUSE 16–18 OCT

CONTROL

A motley crew of characters is trapped in a spaceship together. The whole world is watching. This unnerving sci-fi odyssey by Keziah Warner brings viewers to new places in space and time, pondering the ambiguities of the relationship between humans and technology.

TW EXPLOSIVES FACTORY 22 OCT–1 NOV

DYING: A MEMOIR

After being diagnosed with terminal illness, acclaimed author Cory Taylor experienced a surge of creative energy. Lovingly adapted from her memoir by her longtime friend Benjamin Law, this play shines an unblinking light on the experience of dying.

FAIRFAX STUDIO 25 OCT–29 NOV

MELBOURNE ’ S BIGGEST halloween party

Experience Luna Park like never before with Luna Dark: Carnivale of Screams. Step into the circus this Halloween with spine-tingling scare attractions, live entertainment, unlimited rides and more sinister surprises. Select nights from October 23 - November 1. limited tickets available. book now, if you dare.

FESTIVAL AT GASWORKS

Mr Marmalade & Becky Bubbles La Folie WEEK

Mario Acosta-Cevallos the Scientwits

Kat Glass Creative APK Productions Sarah Bowers & Hamish Pickering

MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL

Sperm donors on stage. Dancing to power the future. A show in a box. Welcome to Melbourne Fringe Festival 2025, where everyday citizens become action

heroes.

Æ Forget caped crusaders – Melbourne Fringe Festival 2025 is calling on punters to become real-world action heroes. Not the kind who leap tall buildings, but the ones who dance, create, move and shake up the status quo across three weeks of boundary-pushing art.

The festival’s 2025 curated program reads like a fever dream of contemporary performance. Leading the charge is Power Move by Linda Catalano for Quiet RIOT, a free kinetic dancefloor that captures and stores energy generated by movement. Every day of the festival, Fed Square transforms into a cutting-edge energy hub with daily dance activities, live music, DJs and interactive arts. Real-time data tracks how much power punters produce, complete with public leaderboards and daily dance challenges.

Melbourne Fringe Creative Director and CEO Simon Abrahams says “This year’s Melbourne Fringe Festival is a rallying cry for creativity in motion. It’s about doing something – moving your body, participating in whatever way you can. Because action isn’t just about activism; it’s about participation. This year’s program is full of works that invite audiences to respond, to get involved, to step into the art. It’s a festival of art that reminds us that culture is something we all shape together.”

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIMENTS AND EXPERIENCES

The Passport program brings world-class performance to Melbourne without the jet lag. Krishna Istha’s First Trimester invites audiences to witness a public search for a sperm donor, blending performance art with social inquiry around queer family-making.

Belgian company Ontroerend Goed presents Handle With Care, a participatory work that appears as nothing more than a box on stage – audiences collaborate to create the performance themselves.

Meanwhile, Mammalian Diving Reflex’s Nightwalks With Teenagers flips the script on youth culture, with teenagers leading evening walks through suburban neighbourhoods for intergenerational exchange. The Taiwanese program expands with dance works including FreeSteps – Swinging Years, created with up to 100 local participants aged 60-plus, and We Need A Flower, a sensory performance designed specifically for babies aged zero to two.

RISK-TAKING LOCAL LEGENDS

The Pulse program showcases Australia’s boldest contemporary performance makers experimenting with form through creative risk-taking. Rawcus presents Tattoo Show, where a single audience volunteer gets interviewed on stage while receiving a live tattoo – but they don’t get a say in the design. THE RABBLE’s UNWOMAN (the protest) involves hundreds of participants publicly sharing real accounts of fertility, birth and bodily autonomy through spoken word, song and a long braid made from donated hair.

Harrison Ritchie-Jones delivers Requiem for a Cuddle, where audiences enter phone-free and encounter live choral music, movement and dreamlike imagery featuring an 80-person masked choir and trumpet-playing swan. The work blends ceremony with rave culture to explore intimacy, grief and connection.

FIRST NATIONS FUTURES

Deadly Fringe showcases bold, political and moving First Nations art through powerful new commissions. KUMMARGII YULENDJ BARRING GADHABA // PROJECTIONS OF A CURRENT FUTURE invites participants on guided bike rides or walking tours across Melbourne, tracing hidden waterways through projected imagery, storytelling and sound. Voiced by Boon Wurrung Elder N’arwee’t Carolyn Briggs with projection design by her granddaughter Amina Briggs, the work merges Indigenous knowledge systems with climate futures.

A Daylight Connection presents The BLOK!, interrogating dominant narratives of artistic genius, masculinity and cultural power through genre-bending performance exploring authorship, spirituality and Blak womanhood. Amelia Jean O’Leary’s Ngambaa tells the story of two emu sisters who birth the world through contemporary dance, movement and visual design exploring cycles of destruction and renewal.

NEXT GENERATION CHAOS

The XS Program proves experimental art isn’t just for grown-ups. The Censor, created in collaboration with children, explores censorship and media classification, asking who decides what young people can watch, read or hear. The MNY transforms Melbourne into an augmented reality scavenger hunt where kids discover sentient face-like creatures hiding in plain sight.

Polyglot Theatre’s Whirlwind creates a freeform playspace filled with paper and powered by fans, encouraging experimentation and creative chaos within a safely managed environment. House of Muchness presents The Square, a participatory installation where audiences respond to provocative questions by physically moving to zones representing yes, no or maybe.

The festival kicks off with an Opening Night Gala hosted by Sammy J at the Capitol Theatre on 30 September, featuring comedy, cabaret, circus and surprises. Audiences are invited to dress as their childhood hero.

MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL

WHERE: VARIOUS LOCATIONS

WHEN: 30 SEP–19 OCT

Made in partnership with Melbourne Fringe Festival.

Credit: Tom N oble Creative

Credit: Jordon Rossi & Emily Drake

ACOPIA

WORDS BY GABRIELLE DUYKERS

It’s

an overcast day in South Yarra. You slip into an abandoned office building, past rows of bulky computers and barren cubicles. Fluorescent lights blink as

you

climb the echoing stairwell. Waiting at the summit? A recording studio, hidden above the wreckage.

Æ From this liminal space, Acopia carved their third album Blush Response — a record that lingers in the tension between resilience and fragility.

True to their elusive nature, Acopia’s first full-length interview didn’t unfold face-to-face but arrived in writing, delivered between shows on their European tour. Such distance feels deliberate, in harmony with the delicate restraint that makes their music so enchanting.

Formed in 2018, the Melbourne band, made up of Kate Durman, Morgan Wright and Lachlan McGeehan, have quietly shaped a sound that sits somewhere between dreampop, downtempo electronica and post-punk minimalism. On Blush Response, the trio beckon a new era of sonic expression and emotional clarity. Across the eight-track record, Acopia’s lyrics carry their trademark melancholia, but yield to deeper vulnerability.

“In the past, I often approached relationships in a more avoidant way,” Kate says. “Writing about that has been a way to take some accountability and reflect.”

Blade Runner fans will recognise the title — a reference to the Voight-Kampff test used to distinguish humans from droids; an index of feeling. It’s fitting imagery for a band whose music has always explored the space between emotional thresholds.

“It created a Pavlovian-like response for our creative hive mind.”

Part of the album’s ephemeral tone comes with the territory. “It sort of looked like a ’90s movie set of a washed-up office building,” Kate says of the South Yarra studio. “It had an alienating, cold atmosphere, isolated from everywhere else.”

Morgan remembers their journey through the vacant corridors like conditioning. “It created a Pavlovian-like response for our creative hive mind,” he says. This marked a shift from their 2022 debut Chances, and 2023 self-titled album, both written at home. “Having a space where the sole purpose was to write and record forced us to be much more focused, and come to the sessions with ideas to impress one another,” Morgan says. When they learned the building was set for demolition, that sense of transience seeped into the music.

Blush Response grapples with love in decay: breakdowns in communication, unresolved feelings and the weight of words unspoken. But beneath the arc of longing is an undercurrent of endurance. It’s acutely visceral on Falter, a track Acopia call their grandest, most “anthemic” to date. Driving guitars fuel Kate’s defiant chorus: “Even if I fall/ I will never falter.” All three members are accomplished electronic producers, but Acopia was born from a shared curiosity in the genre’s softer, ethereal corners outside the club space. Blush Response distils their seven years of refining into a voice more direct and self-assured.

“We were quicker to make decisions this time because we trusted our instincts and didn’t overthink,” Kate says. “It had also been a while since we’d written something together in person, so we came into it with a lot of energy.”

Acopia’s sonic hallmarks remain intact – airy, gossamer-like vocals, moody basslines and subtle crescendoes that build quiet intensity. But the record unfolds into something more expansive, with dense synth textures, tinkling keys and grittier rock edges. It even reveals long-hidden talents as Lachlan makes his vocal debut on the sombre duet, Let Down.

“I didn’t even know Lachie could sing,” Kate says. “I remember when he showed us the first demo and I was like, ‘Who’s singing that!?’”

“They were both immediately encouraging and interested in taking the song and working on it together,” Lachlan recalls. “Having another voice feels like another tool at our disposal.”

Their minimalism lingers, but Acopia have outgrown the “bare-bones” ethos of their early days. “When we started the project, we definitely had preconceived ideas of how we wanted the band to sound and develop,” Lachlan reflects.

“As time went by, we eventually let go of those limitations and allowed ourselves to just focus on what felt right for each individual album or song.”

While Blush Response is their most forthright chapter, Acopia want to keep the project in flux. “I don’t think it’s a stagnant thing,” Kate says. “It’ll probably change, but right now it feels very us.” Morgan frames it best: “Acopia is our friendship, and what we love to do most when together is make music.”

ACOPIA

WHERE: HOWLER

WHEN: 24 OCT

Credit: Jess Fine

Æ

COFFEE FOR WILDLIFE

This daily ritual can help save wildlife.

Zoos Victoria has brewed up a new way for coffee-loving Melburnians to help save wildlife.

Orangutans, monkeys and tree kangaroos will directly benefit from the four varieties of shade-grown Arabica coffee launched by Zoos Victoria today in partnership with Melbourne-based family-owned business Genovese Coffee. Melburnians consume more than 22 million cups of coffee at home each week, however this can impact biodiversity through the clearing of forests. Zoos Victoria CEO Dr Jenny Gray said shade-grown Coffee for Wildlife products support farmers, protect forests and save wildlife. The beans are sourced from partners in Ethiopia, Sumatra and Papua New Guinea who know the importance of wildlife conservation.

“Rainforests are rich in biodiversity – that is where you get all kinds of amazing animals living,” Dr Gray said. “That is why we have looked for farmers with the same ethic we have, the same ethic of protecting biodiversity into the future.”

Rather than rapidly growing coffee in the sun, which removes habitat where wildlife lives, shade-grown Coffee for Wildlife is grown beneath rainforest tree canopies. While it takes longer for the coffee to ripen in the shade, this also produces more complex and delicious flavours and, importantly, preserves precious wildlife habitat. Genovese Coffee Managing Director Adam Genovese said this shade-grown form of coffee production provides a livelihood to millions of people around the world.

“When grown in a genuinely sustainable way, coffee plantations can benefit the environment, support local communities, and produce a great brew,” Mr Genovese said.

Dr Gray says we can all play a role in protecting the planet’s biodiversity – whether that’s through the coffee we consume or any other product we purchase.

“What we can do with every purchase is think carefully about its impact. We have done some of that thinking for you through Coffee for Wildlife products. So, we have sourced coffee that is good for wildlife and good for you.”

The Zoo’s Ethiopian coffee is a chocolatey single origin from the forests of Ethiopia, while protecting the home of vulnerable Vervet Monkeys. The Sumatran beans have a spicey and herbal freshness, and are sourced to protect Orangutan habitat. The Papua New Guinean coffee has a honey sweetness with a hint of almond and helps protect species including the Matschie’s Tree Kangaroo. The Survival Blend is a unique blend of all three single worigin coffees that tastes like bergamot and blueberry with a light body and mild acidity.

Coffee for Wildlife products are packaged in certified at-home compostable bags, which are biodegradable along with the coffee grounds. All coffee consumed at Zoos Victoria is served in biodegradable cups, with the cups, coffee grounds, and Coffee for Wildlife packaging processed in the Zoo’s industrial composter. Coffee for Wildlife products can be purchased at Zoos Victoria shops, the online Zoo store and Genovese.

COFFEE FOR WILDLIFE

AVAILABLE NOW

Made in partnership with Zoos Victoria.

EVERY CUP COUNTS

Coffee for Wildlife supports projects that empower people to live in harmony with forests and wildlife.

FREAK SLUG

WORDS BY ASHLYNN HANNAH

The British artist dives into her cathartic songwriting, artistic expression, and why Honest Man had to arrive on an eclipse.

Æ Xenya Genovese doesn’t waste time. “I make music in world record time,” she states matter-of-factly. “I’m telling you now, I don’t mess around in the studio. I’m making a song, maybe three in a day, maybe two in a day. I’m very quick and I’ve always been that way.”

This same sense of urgency is written into every layer of her new single Honest Man, lifted from her next EP Loose Tooth And A Short Skirt out on 7 November.

Released in the lead up to an eclipse, Honest Man is as symbolic as it is sonically striking. The track rushes forward with instinct, catharsis and an energy that refuses to be tamed. At the start, listeners are greeted with distant voices and laughter, which are samples of Genovese’s father joking from a hospital bed after a heart attack. It was also the first day of an eclipse when her father was rushed into hospital.

“It’s a full circle moment” and “quite symbolic” she reveals on her decision to coincide the release with another eclipse.

“It’s exploring the archetype of a man, a father, and the relationship between woman and man, or daughter and father. Everybody has that, whether he’s there or not. Whether he exists or not in your life, you have a relationship with something invisible or physical,” Genovese explains.

While Honest Man explores the intricacies of human relationships, it does so in a burning matter. “I love a good slap with a song,” she says. “I like things that just hit you in the face, like, unexpectedly. Honest Man does that –you know how it all just comes in at once? It’s giving, like, Yellow by Coldplay or some shit, and you’re like, ‘Whoa, damn.’”

As a multi-disciplinarian, Genovese brings her background in painting and videography into her music. Visualising Honest Man as a painting, she explains, “The verses would be light blue and white – chill vibes. But the chorus comes in with a bit of a ruckus, like navy, speckles of black, rugged textures from the street, cardboard, plastic, remnants. Composition is really important to me. In a song you have the chorus, that’s the focal point – same as in a painting.”

The speed at which she creates has always been at the centre point of her process. In art school, a teacher once described her as “a machine”. She talks of this inherited energy as coming through messages she receives from the universe. “They come very quickly and I just act,” she tells me. “A real artist doesn’t work from the ego. It works from a place beyond that. It works from a place of being a messenger. You don’t care how you’re perceived – that’s a little bollocks. You make art from a much purer place, for a higher good.”

This energy has no doubt influenced the upcoming EP, where Genovese’s lyrical style continues to sharpen and deliver. “I think lyrically, I’m being a little bit more indirect in some ways, even though I am direct,” she confesses. “There’s only so many direct ways of saying, ‘I love you, I hate you’ until you have to start being more poetic. I don’t have much fluff in the way I talk and I don’t like to make things flowery for the sake of it. That’s how I’d describe the EP.”

Where releasing music is concerned, we can expect a lot more to come from Genovese. When asked what excites her most about what’s next, she reflects with a grin, “Bro, I’ve finished the album already and I’m so excited. I can’t even be assed. I’m literally not listening to it ’cause I have to focus on this EP, but I’m really excited in the direction Freak Slug’s going. It’s crazy.”

This October, Freak Slug will be gracing us with her presence on stage with her debut in Australia. She promises to take her audiences along with her on an emotionally charged and eccentric journey.

“I’m so excited to see Melbourne. I’ve always wanted to go there,” she shares.

“I feel like people there are just with it, in ways some English people aren’t. I’m interested to meet them as a collective in one space. That’s what I’m most excited for.”

FREAK SLUG

WHERE: NIGHT CAT

WHEN: 14 OCT

Wesley Anne Wesley Anne

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Melbourne International Jazz Festival returns with over 500 artists from 18 countries performing across 10 days.

INTERNATIONAL HEADLINERS

Two-time Grammy Award-winning vocalist Gregory Porter arrives at Hamer Hall on 24 October, bringing his warm, resonant baritone that fuses timeless elegance with soul and gospel influences. Also at Hamer Hall is fivetime Grammy Award-winning vocalist Samara Joy — a once-in-a-generation talent redefining classic jazz singing for the modern era.

Japanese virtuoso Hiromi pushes boundaries with her genre-defying compositions and boundless energy, joining forces with multi-Grammy-nominated PUBLIQuartet for a breathtaking suite. Grammy-winning saxophonist and modern jazz titan Gary Bartz premieres The Eternal Tenure of Sound in collaboration with Australian pianist Barney McAll, spanning six decades of landmark recordings.

Panamanian pianist Danilo Pérez, a Grammywinner and UNESCO Artist for Peace, brings nearly four decades of composition and improvisation to Melbourne Recital Centre. One of contemporary music’s most distinctive guitarists, Bill Frisell, returns for an exclusive six-show residency at The JazzLab, uniting with longtime collaborators Thomas Morgan and Rudy Royston

Lebanese-French trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf headlines on 23 October with The Trumpets of Michel-Ange, bringing his 10-piece ensemble to Australian stages for the first time. The next evening, American funk juggernaut LETTUCE takes the stage, delivering their high-energy grooves that have been redefining funk since 1992.

SIGNATURE EVENTS

Night Crawl transforms Melbourne’s CBD into a musical adventure on opening night, 17 October. Over 100 musicians will perform across 11 venues in a choose-your-own-adventure of free live music. Fed Square hosts UK multi-instrumentalist Tenderlonious with Melbourne groovers Horatio Luna, soul champions Surprise Chef and DJ Natasha Diggs

Jazz at the Bowl returns on 25 October with Harry Connick Jr headlining a six-hour celebration of jazz, soul and New Orleans classics. The masterful performer has exemplified excellence across music, film, television and Broadway for decades.

Joining this formidable lineup is guitarist Bill Frisell, plus homegrown talent Emma Donovan with her brand-new show Take Me to the River, a tribute to the timeless sounds of soul icons.

It’s an explosive double bill on 25 October at Max Watt’s, featuring Brooklyn-born vocalist and activist Melanie Charles alongside the dynamic collective WhoAllGonBeThere in a night celebrating the intersection of jazz, soul and hip hop.

COMMISSIONS AND COLLABORATIONS

The festival continues its tradition of bold new work with five major world premieres. Grammy-winning bassist-composer Linda May Han Oh unveils Invisible Threads at Melbourne Recital Centre, featuring vocalist Pamela Z and illustrator Keith Henry Brown in an experience fusing live music, visuals and storytelling.

Kamilaroi composer Adam Manning , the festival’s First Nations Artist in Residence, presents First Rhythms, reimagining clapsticks as vessels of cultural memory. Multi-instrumentalist SOLUNE premieres brand new material from Mad Vantage, a bold fusion of nu-jazz, prog-metal and electronic sound design channelling Greek, Persian and Middle Eastern modal traditions.

FREE EVENTS

More than a third of the program comes free to attend. Big Band Saturday at Fed Square on 18 October features the Air Force Big Band channelling swing’s golden era, along with the Melbourne Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Melbourne Conservatorium Big Band. Jazz Westside heads to Moonee Valley on 19 October, with venues in Ascot Vale, Moonee Ponds and Essendon hosting live sets. Footscray Sunday Sessions on 26 October creates a walkable music trail through four local venues, while Inside Out: Jump, Jive, Jazz at ArtPlay invites young fans to create and move alongside live musicians.

JAZZ AT THE CHAPEL

Chapel Off Chapel becomes a hub for innovative artists and special encounters. Acclaimed Sydney label Earshift Music presents triple bills capturing their adventurous spirit, featuring pianist James Bowers, guitarist Hilary Geddes and Visions of Nar blending mystical jazz and folk traditions.

Singapore’s Jeremy Monteiro returns with the Jazz Association Singapore Orchestra, a dynamic 16-piece big band. In a longawaited moment, Italian piano grand master Rita Marcotulli makes her local debut, bringing nearly five decades of experience.

CLUB SESSIONS

JazzLab serves as the festival’s late-night heartbeat with intimate performances. Aotearoa jazz pioneers Goldsmith Baynes make their Australian debut performing entirely in te reo Māori, while Japan’s technically fierce Banksia Trio bring their emotionally rich sound inspired by Australia’s native plant.

International super-group Ivdf unites drummer Myele Manzanza, saxophonist Alex Hitchcock, bassist Michelangelo Scandroglio and pianist Daniel Hayles in a thrilling collaboration fusing electronic, indie, dance and classical influences. Late Night Jams led by Melbourne favourites The Rookies keep music flowing into the early hours with spontaneous, improvised sessions.

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

WHERE: VARIOUS LOCATIONS

WHEN: 17–26 OCT

Made in partnership with Melbourne International Jazz Festival

THE THING

WORDS BY GABRIELLE DUYKERS

Every few years, someone declares rock and roll dead. And every few years, it crawls back from the grave, lights a cigarette and plugs back in.

Æ Metal bands are edging back into the charts, and hard rock streaming numbers have been outpacing the usual suspects. The Thing are part of this latest wave. Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, the four-piece knows a thing or two about survival.

“Some days you get eaten alive, and some days you’re on top of the world,” says bassist/vocalist Zane Acord. The familiar struggle that comes with trying to break through as an independent band in an arts capital is not for the weak-willed.

Rooftop gardening, furniture restoration and restaurant shifts were just some of the odd jobs the quartet worked to cover rent until music could take over. Still, the hard slog continues, with the band playing over 300 shows across Europe and the US since dropping their debut, Here’s The Thing, in 2023. With the release of their third record, self-titled The Thing, the group are psyched to begin their opening run of Australian shows later this month.

Cutting their teeth outside the crowded city was crucial in establishing their audience. “It gave us a ton of confidence,” recalls guitarist Michael Carter. “When we got back to New York, we had a ton of energy and excitement to book shows and do things that would grow our band’s presence.”

Recording in a poolhouse behind their tour manager’s childhood home, they tasked themselves with producing an exclusively analog album in under a month, all tracked live to tape. Barring a swift adjustment period, the medium’s restrictions only elevated their creativity.

“Your hand is forced and you have to commit to things,” Zane explains. “It kind of squashes overthinking.”

“Even the accidents are amazing,” adds vocalist/guitarist Jack Bradley.

“Somebody will mess up, and you just play off of it. You might think it’s shit in the moment, but when you listen back, it’s actually added to the song.”

The result is a record that captures the group’s raw chemistry with palpable warmth thanks to its unpolished charm. Alongside jazz drummer Lucas Ebeling, the band self-produces everything under their label, Onion Records. The DIY ethos applies to all they do, designing their own visuals, merch and music videos – all shot on VHS between tour dates.

Michael says this practice has kept them honest and helped unearth what makes The Thing unique. “It just feels super authentic and homemade, and people have told us it really comes through. I think it allows people to latch onto what we’re doing a little more, because it doesn’t really look or sound like anything else.”

After honing their craft through relentless touring and sheer chutzpah, The Thing decided their latest work should sport their name.

“Most bands, especially in the ’60s and ’70s, have a self-titled album, and it’s usually the coolest and strongest,” Jack says. “I think this is the most realised our project has ever been.”

There are clear shades of The Kinks, Byrds, and Rolling Stones, but The Thing meld those influences into something wholly theirs. While the instrumental weaves through classic elements of garage, jangle, and psych-rock, their lyrics dig into the chaos of modern life: feelings of uncertainty, messy situationships and the strain of surviving in a city forever on the move. A perfect culmination of these themes is the album’s closing track, Irresistible, a seductive, dance-floor banger that doubles as a love-hate letter to New York.

“It’s a very real place,” Zane says, dubbing it equal parts beautiful and insane. “It’s a rollercoaster of feeling.” Despite the city’s hefty price tag and fierce competition, they can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“Everything’s pretty much against you being an independent rock band,” Zane admits. “But it’s also the epicentre of rock and roll right now.”

Praising the likes of Model/Actriz, Geese and YHWH Nailgun, they say that being surrounded by New York’s wealth of rising acts helps them stay nimble.

“They’re making truly new sounds and styles of music,” Michael says. “So it’s definitely cool moving forward to try to find something new to contribute, and they’re helping push us to that point.” Down-to-earth and playfully cheeky, it’s no wonder The Thing have always dreamt of playing to their Australian counterparts. “Good to hear we should expect rowdy audiences,” Jack laughs. “We really appreciate the energy people give us. Even a boo is fine!”

“Even the accidents are amazing. Somebody will mess up, and you just play off of it.”

THE THING

WHERE: THE CURTIN

WHEN: 18 OCT

Credit: Seana Adame

AARON D’ARCY

WORDS BY LUKE CARLINO

Aaron D’Arcy has lived in Yarraville for a long time, watching it change significantly over the years.

Æ

“It reminds me of a small country town through its community, even though it’s so close to the city,” he explains. “I really just wanted to honour the suburb that has given me so much.”

There really is no better way to honour something than by writing and recording a whole album for it, which is exactly what D’Arcy has done with his new, aptly titled record, Yarraville.

With his third full-length, coming in four years after his sophomore effort, Good To See The Girls Again, D’Arcy chose to take full control of the process, from writing to recording and producing.

“I’ve been an audio engineer and composer for TV most of my life, and one of the perks of that is having a great studio. Producing the album myself allows me to put down what’s in my head at any time of the day and work quickly. Plus, it’s very cost-effective!”

The new album explores themes of love, memory, place and identity, all based on Aaron’s personal experiences. The singles, Borrowed Ground and A Good Place to Grow Up, blend a little nostalgic reflection into their storytelling, while the music furthers D’Arcy’s penchant for blending folk, country and even rock elements.

The juxtaposition of the Australian Americana genre doesn’t seem to faze him, either. “I really hope genre doesn’t matter anymore, but people still like to categorise you and I’m okay with that. Australian Americana is the alt of country and, really, all you have to have is great songs, great storytelling and heart and soul in your music. I mix styles all the time. Yarraville has country, Americana, heartland, pop and rock, which at the end of the day becomes my style, I suppose.”

AARON D’ARCY – YARRAVILLE

LABEL: INDEPENDENT

RELEASE: OUT NOW

Made in partnership with Aaron D’Arcy.

INNER WEST ART FAIR

WORDS BY MOLLY ENGLAND

Earlier this year, your Instagram might have been plastered with images of the NGV’S KUSAMA exhibit.

Æ The bright colours, funky geometric prints and immersive design was brought to life by the brother duo behind many of Victoria’s Instagram-worthy installations: Decently Exposed.

Will and Ethan Taylor will be on the artist’s side at this year’s Inner West Art Fair. The duo first partnered with the event in 2024, and they return this year to continue to support and cultivate the next generation of artists.

The commission-free art fair is one of few in Victoria, and focuses on engaging with community, creativity and the desire for connection.

“It’s like planting a seed in your own backyard. You can engage with these artists and talk to them, and watch them grow, and you’re now a part of it and you will move along the path with them. You might even start your own creative path, and then watch those artists do the exact same thing for you. It’s a beautiful community like that.”

Will and Ethan will be creating an interactive exhibit at this year’s event called The Lounge. The space will offer the opportunity to linger on the small details, lean into your curiosity and explore. Carving out a physical space in our digital world for those artists creating with tangible mediums is integral, Will states, to capturing the essence of the creative process.

“I really think that a physical work, the work of another human that has been slowly refining their craft for years. Such a work carries a message, and that message can only be passed on once you step into its space. It’s a feeling. And we need that feeling – we need it all around us, we need it in our rooms, or in our cafes, or our train stations. Without it we become dull. It feeds our soul. And feeding the soul is the most human thing we can do.”

INNER WEST ART FAIR

WHERE: WILLIAMSTOWN TOWN HALL

WHEN: 17–19 OCT

Made in partnership with The Inner West Art Fair.

MAC THE KNIFE

WORDS BY LUKE CARLINO

Mac the Knife’s beginnings are somewhat cliché.

Æ A punk band formed in a Sydney garage by friends who are just looking for an excuse to hang out and make noise; it’s almost like the perfect sub-story for a show like Heartbreak High.

In fact, let’s chuck in a cast member from Heartbreak High to be a little bit meta.

There’s a point where the Mac the Knife story deviates from that of other Australian garage bands, however. The band has played some big shows with support slots for Polish Club, Johnny Hunter, Eliza and the Delusionals, and most recently, The motherflippin Preatures.

We caught up with vocalist Bryn Chapman Parish (who is also Spider from Heartbreak High), guitarist Curtis Van Haasteren and the newest addition to the lineup, bassist Borna Crvelin, to hear about their recent shows and their upcoming headline tour.

“I think I was probably 17, and snuck into a pub in Newtown to see The Preatures play a Halloween gig where they were all wearing nun outfits,” explains Chapman Parish. “I’d never heard of them before. A friend took me, and it was just so incredible and captivating. Izzi, as a frontwoman, is so inspiring. When we got the call for the support, I’d actually booked a trip to France, and the two shows landed two days after I was meant to have left. I had a quick negotiation with my partner and was like, ‘Fuck it, I’m going to change my flights’, which I think was well worth it.”

Crvelin adds, “On a big tour like that, you really get thrown into the deep end of logistics and equipment and setting up and dealing with people on the fly while being under pressure. It’s all those pressures that you first experience when you first start a band, but now the pressure’s really on. I don’t want to degrade any young bands who are just starting out, but you think that you are under pressure on your first gig? It’s not real pressure. A support spot for a stadium tour is different. You’re excited, and you regret it at the same time.”

Any learnings the group may have picked up from The Preatures will surely come in handy as they get ready to tour their new EP, Down to the Wire, throughout October. The eight-show run sees them hitting new spots like the Sunshine Coast, and even has some all-ages shows in Adelaide and their hometown of Sydney.

“We don’t want to give everyone the same show,” explains Van Haasteren. “We try to make each show tailored to the local area, and get to know people who have come out. We want to make sure that everyone gets the same Mac experience, but make things a little unique as well.”

Down to the Wire, the band’s third EP, came out in July and features six tracks of “the most evolved and thought-out music we’ve put out,” according to Chapman Parish. “The whole thing has a through line and a bit of a story to it, which is around time and how it affects different things in different parts of your life. It’s also one of the first things that we’ve really worked on together as a band. We all sat and wrote together and really workshopped the songs, as opposed to the last EP we put out, which was written individually in COVID lockdowns. It’s kind of like a documented growth of us as musicians, which is cool.”

Van Haasteren adds, “We all have a lot of different musical influences, and we’ll sit down and think, ‘Okay, we want to do a song like this, but is it Mac the Knife enough?’ We have an almost-ballad on the new EP, and once we brought it in and workshopped it, it just felt like a good song, and an enjoyable listen and play. I think that we all have a sonic idea that we’re wanting from the music, and that’s quite cohesive between the five of us. There’s something in there that ties them together to make everything we do still sound like us, plus we know what doesn’t sound like us, which will always allow us to do different things and still be Mac the Knife.”

“You think that you are under pressure on your first gig? It’s not real pressure.”

MAC THE KNIFE

WHERE: BERGY BANDROOM

WHEN: 25 OCT

Credit: Jonathan Kounthapanya

SWIMMING BELL

WORDS BY DOM LEPORE

Los Angeles-based songwriter Katie Schottland is bringing her intricate countrypolitan sound to Australia for the first time.

Æ The first notes of Katie Schottland’s latest EP, Somnia, instantly soothe the ears. Shimmering keyboards and warm pedal steel twangs softly flutter beneath her gorgeous voice, transporting the listener to a stress-free place.

This healing concoction of cosy folk and dream pop has defined Swimming Bell since its inception in 2017. Initially bouncing between a solo and rotating band while in New York, Katie moved to Los Angeles in 2020, to another halt: the pandemic.

As the world reopened, Katie built Swimming Bell into the six-piece “dream team” she says it is today. Everyone’s thrilled to perform the music down under.

Katie explains that her latest EP Somnia first came together after taking a break from live shows.

“I had a serious infection that I was dealing with, and after some less-than-fun shows, I just needed a break,” she says, “I still wanted to stay active though, so I was still writing and messing around with ideas.”

One idea was ditching live drums entirely, which catalysed the EP’s flowing feeling.

“I wanted to have everything based around percussion,” Katie explains. “Grooves and vibes, and not overly lyrical.” That’s where Somnia deviates from her previous 2024 album, Charlie, which “had very little pedal steel and not a lot of big reverbs on it.” This was also a conscious departure from her 2019 debut, Wild Sight.

Simultaneously, the band’s live sound shifted: “I play more acoustic guitar now. It’s a softer sound, meant to relax you – and me,” Katie says, laughing.

She continues: “I wanted Charlie to be a bit rawer and closer. With Somnia, I just wanted to feel the groove. I also didn’t want to get hypercritical about my lyrics. That’s always the hardest part in my experience, so with this, I allowed them to be what they wanted to be.”

Her dismissal of self-criticism, letting her writing flow without second thought, led to Somnia’s inseparable aquatic theme. Not only is it felt in the music, with the sensation of suspension more pronounced, but it also emotionally feels like calmly floating on water. This concept seemed too deliberate to be conceived by accident, but Katie reveals it organically found its way into the music while recording.

“I would gravitate towards certain sounds that ended up with this kind of floaty, watery feel. I guess that’s what my heart wanted.”

That theme made its way onto the EP’s sleeve: an eye-catching, atmospherically lit photograph of Katie submerged in a pool, with

a bouquet of vibrant flowers in one hand and her eyes gazing at the viewer. It’s like she’s inviting the listener to sink into her tranquil underwater dreamworld.

The photo was taken by her “talented photographer friend” Lisa Bolden, who’d been playing with similar underwater photography with her friends.

“I thought they were remarkable, and it would look super sweet as the album cover, and also encapsulated the feel of the EP,” Katie says.

Recently, she covered Beck’s The Golden Age, the opening track from his melancholic 2002 acoustic-based album, Sea Change, which has become a live highlight for the band.

“I first heard Sea Change when I was in my early twenties, before I started playing music, and it had a huge impact on me. When I started recording my own music, I would always reference that Nigel Godrich production,” Katie says.

She adds: “I have a song that kind of starts similarly, so I was messing around at practice one day saying how we should play Golden Age sometime because it’s a great song.”

Given the changes that’ve turned Swimming Bell into what it is today, I ask Katie how playing live in front of an audience compares to recording in the studio. She says she never thought about it until Somnia.

“Sometimes, you can’t let that dictate how you record. I think it’s much more important to get what you want in the studio because the options are endless, so why not shoot for the moon?”

Going with the flow and figuring it out later is what feels right to her. After all, that’s always been at the heart of Katie’s work.

“I would gravitate towards certain sounds that ended up with this kind of floaty, watery feel. I guess that’s what my heart wanted.”

SWIMMING BELL

WHERE: GEORGE LANE, LULIE TAVERN, BARWON CLUB HOTEL

WHEN: 11, 12 + 15 OCT

Credit: Lisa Bolden

Regional GUIDE

WORDS BY FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE

FESTIVALS

CHOPPED

Melbourne bands are leading the charge for the 13th year of this unique three-day festival combining cars, bikes and live music. Private Function, Battlesnake, CIVIC and Mannequin Death Squad will lead this year’s Chopped festival, promising three days of high-octane entertainment with some of Australia’s finest punk, rock, garage, psych and country acts.

Car and motorcycle action runs alongside the music program, featuring dirt drag racing, Gasser elimination shootouts and muscle car madness presented by Hard Metal.

CARISBROOK 3–5 OCT

RIVER FOLK FESTFOLK SESSIONS

The full River Folk Fest might be on pause for 2025, but the biggest River Folk Sessions ever is swooping in to save the day, starring Stringmania and Friends with the full Stringmania orchestra, plus special River Folk guests, including the incredible international duo Shark & Fox!

This special single-day Sessions party runs until late, celebrating the River Folk crew and it’s wider family while giving everyone a taste of what River Folk Festival 2026 has cooking.

WARBURTON 4 OCT

QUEENSCLIFFE LITERARY FESTIVAL

Happening over the last two weekends of October, this seaside literary party celebrates Australian authors, books and big ideas with some of the country’s best writers and thinkers. At the 10th anniversary bash in 2024, the festival brought together Australian literary legends like Tim Winton, Pip Williams, Alexis Wright and Candice Fox, plus heaps more.

QUEENSCLIFF 17–18 OCT

ASYLUMFEST

Come hang out at this wild book and pop culture fest inside the old Mayday Hills buildings – a former 1800s psychiatric facility in Beechworth that’s properly atmospheric. There will be horror film nights (obviously), ghost story comps, author signings, tabletop gaming, collectible vendors, rare books, history walks and ghost tours to keep you busy.

BEECHWORTH 24–26 OCT

MALDON FOLK FESTIVAL

Kicking off in 1974, this Central Victoria folk fest has been going strong for years, with 2025 being the big 5-0. With every edition, they nail a long weekend of top-quality entertainment that won’t break the bank, perfect for everyone from kids to grandparents. Get amongst the legendary festival vibes with loads of music, dance and theatre happening throughout the gorgeous, heritage-listed Maldon township.

MALDON 31 OCT–3 NOV

WANGARATTA JAZZ AND BLUES FESTIVAL

Wangaratta Festival of Jazz & Blues is back for round 35, with four days of celebrating Australian jazz and blues across cosy venues around Wangaratta, mixing old-school legacy with fresh new sounds and today’s best artists. Since starting up in 1990, this fest has been huge for shaping Australia’s jazz scene. From hosting absolute legendary gigs to helping new talent blow up, it’s earned serious respect as one of the country’s most loved and longest-running music festivals.

WANGARATTA 31 OCT–3 NOV

TOURS

KATIE NOONAN: JEFF BUCKLEY’S GRACE TOUR

Five-time ARIA winner Katie Noonan is hitting the road for a massive 20-date tour across Australia, doing her take on Jeff Buckley’s legendary album Grace. Katie first brought her killer version of Grace to life on stage, smashing out five sold-out nights at Sydney Festival recently. Fans and critics went absolutely wild for how she keeps the magic of the original tracks while adding her own incredible voice and style to create something pretty special.

THE PLAY HOUSE, GEELONG 3 OCT

CIVIC HALL, BALLARAT CENTRAL 4 OCT

WEST GIPPSLAND ARTS CENTRE, WARRAGUL 5 OCT

WANGARATTA PERFORMING ARTS &

10 OCT

THE SMITH STREET BAND

Since getting together in 2010, The Smith Street Band have carved out their own lane in Australian music, mixing rowdy punk attitude with brutally honest storytelling. Right before kicking off a huge 24-date regional tour last month, these Melbourne punk legends dropped a brand new single and announced their much-anticipated seventh album, Once I Was Wild, landing 21 November.

PORPOISE SPIT

One exceptional album (2023’s Don’t Quit) and 200+ gigs later, and they’re one of the most reliable and well-respected projects roaming bandrooms today. Back in April, they dropped Land, a ballad about finding your way through the mundanity of day to day life. It’s one for old and new fans alike, and a peek behind the curtain for what people can expect from a sophomore record. On 4 October, they’re heading up the Calder with best pals Loveboner to give everyone at Major Tom’s a big cuddle. MAJOR TOM’S, KYNETON 4 OCT

TRANSPORT HOTEL

LIVE MUSIC: might not have been the first thing you think of when you think of Transport these days, but the times they are a-changin’. The venue’s fresh Shut Up and Dance Saturdays series is bringing out live bands each week, with free entry and late night happy hour drink specials.

FAMOUS FOR: being that place in the CBD where you somehow just end up. Before or after gigs, Fed Square events or games at the MGC, this conveniently-located gem is always ready to welcome you with open arms.

INFAMOUS FOR: that rooftop, providing one of the best river views in our fair city. Jostle for a good spot and don’t give it up.

Æ If you’ve ever been in Melbourne, even for just a weekend holiday, you’ve definitely been past Transport. Quite possibly the most centrally-located venue in the city, the three-level bar has stood as a beacon in Fed Square for two decades, luring in customers for a cheeky little drink or two. With a location that good, Transport could quite easily just sit back and rest on its laurels. But it doesn’t!

The new Shut Up and Dance series is evidence of that. Every Saturday night, bands will take over the Public Bar on the main floor, before deal specials kick off at 9pm. Think funk, soul, singer-songwriters and more, with $12 pints and classic cocktails, and $10 shots, bubbles and vodka lime sodas. Other nights, DJs handle the soundtrack, keeping things moving and shaking.

Maybe make a night of it by grabbing dinner at the venue’s glitzy Australian Asian kitchen Taxi. With Tuesday cocktail deals, special wine pairings and unforgettable set menus, you definitely won’t regret coming by early. On top of the prime location, the great food, tunes and views are just extra excuses for making your way down to Transport.

WHERE: TRANSPORT HOTEL, GROUND LEVEL FEDERATION SQUARE, MELBOURNE

OPEN: DAILY 11AM–12AM

SPIEGEL

HAUS

LIVE MUSIC: is only one of the types of entertainment on offer at this sprawling inner-city playground. In other nooks and crannies, find circus, cabaret, theatre and so much more.

FAMOUS FOR: popping up almost out of nowhere and becoming the place that everyone is talking about. Toss ‘have a drink on the Spiegel Haus rooftop’ on your summer bucket list as soon as possible.

INFAMOUS FOR: taking up a good chunk of real estate in the heart of Chinatown, but repping an extremely German name. We dig the cultural crossover!

Æ Though it’s featured here in the venue section, Spiegel Haus is not just a venue. It’s a whole damn entertainment precinct, a spider’s web dotted with curious spaces to explore and enjoy. Located on the rooftop of Golden Square Car Park on Lonsdale Street, the area will feature a Black Box theatre, an open-air space, a Dome Bar rooftop, and a glitzy, mirrored and impressively-vast Speigeltent. With the ability to host more than 1000 guests all up, it’s without a doubt one of the CBD’s biggest hospitality openings this summer.

Are you looking for cruisy drinks and bites with a view? Spiegel Haus. Festivals, activations and cultural events? Spiegel Haus. Performances of all stripes and sizes? Spiegel Haus. It’s just fun to say, isn’t it?

The space will officially open at the end of October with an encore presentation of Blanc de Blanc, a champagne-soaked frenzy featuring thrilling acrobatics, seductive cabaret and Parisian charm. The team is keeping their cards pretty close to their chest with regards to what else they have in store got us, but more information is expected to drop closer to the opening, so keep your eyes peeled. Big, bold and a little bit different than anything else happening in the CBD, this one’s going to be a hotspot.

Pictured: Alzzy

BAKER BOY

Djandjay

Æ Album number two finds Baker Boy strutting into his man era – multi-faceted, fearless and keen to make bold moves, all while rocking a lux Gucci tracksuit.

What sounds like an ancient wind instrument beckons. Deep chanting in language follows. At Peacekeeper’s 15-second mark, we slingshot from the chair – that beat won’t quit! Rumbling drums, crisp production, Baker Boy’s staccato, metrical flow – you can’t not move to Djandjay’s trilingual lead single, delivered in English, Yolŋu Matha and Spanish.

As well as his beloved late grandmother’s name, Djandjay is also a spiritual being in Yolŋu culture. Taking the form of an octopus, Djandjay gently guides souls into the afterlife.

“I come from the biggest mob, but I ain’t no Italian…” – opener Biggest Mob serves mobboss energy over Drop It Like It’s Hot-inspired, 808 beats. Baker Boy’s humble-brags are always smile-inducing (eg. “Black tie/ Bare feet/ Looking fresh…”). Gotta love the ka-ching cash register sound, which calls to mind M.I.A.’s Paper Planes, as well.

Danzal Baker (aka Baker Boy) artfully peppers old-school hip hop and pop culture references throughout this record, and we get to know the man behind the moniker a whole lot more.

“I really wanna dance with J.Lo,” he sings during The Neptunes-esque Keep Up. Vibratory bottom end, flashes of funky Prince guitar – every sonic detail counts (think: Justin Timberlake’s Rock Your Body). Freak Out (ft. Briggs and Haiku Hands) interpolates iconic phrases – including Chic’s “Le freak c’est chic” – and teases The Message: “Don’t push me, ‘cause I’m close to the…”

Featuring a striking guest hook from Minnesota-born hip-hop artist Pardyalone, Running Low drops the tempo to a casually head-bopping pace. “I was talking about being on the road, the pressure to create – but also the sacrifice of living away from community, of missing funerals and carrying that weight,” Danzal has revealed of this one.

Don’t be fooled by the laidback, reggae-tinged Lightning (ft. REDD), it’s a slow-burner: “Make your speakers jump (jump, jump, ja-ja, jump, jump, jump, jump)...”

“Wasn’t for the fame/ I just needed to survive/ Not a silent soldier/ My pigment is my pride” – written in the aftermath of 2023’s Indigenous Voice Referendum, Thick Skin channels punk spirit. During the sped-up section, Danzal’s technical virtuosity is shown off to perfection with some rapid-fire flow. His “Blak choir” – Emma Donovan, Thelma Plum, Kee’ahn and Jada Weazel – brings steadfast solidarity. “You can’t tear my thick skin” – Donovan’s powerful vocal performance, world-weary but indomitable, is right up there with her finest work.

The penultimate War Cry, featuring Jean Deaux’s shiny pop hook, closes out with a precious video-call snippet of Djandjay telling Danzal she loves him.

“I became a dragon from a caterpillar,” Danzal sings during the closing Mustard Yellow. With the release of Djandjay, Baker Boy’s metamorphosis from Fresh Prince of Arnhem Land to Global Hitmaking Superstar is complete.

LABEL: ISLAND RECORDS

RELEASE: 10 OCT

BUMPY Kanana

Æ In Return Home (from 2023’s Morning Sun EP), Bumpy sings, “I feel those stories that we couldn’t speak of/ And I feel your power flowing through my blood/ But I don’t know my native tongue.”

Since then, Bumpy has stepped up her language journey: she’s continuing the life’s work of her late nan, Rose Whitehurst, who compiled the first Noongar dictionary.

During her 2023/24 tenure as Melbourne International Jazz Festival’s First Nations Artist in Residence – which culminated in Tooni, a collaboration with Australian Art Orchestra –Bumpy returned to Noongar Boodja with her mother. Together, they traced the footsteps of family and Elders, reconnecting with Country and activating memories while visiting languageholders and gathering resources.

The opening River Skies eases listeners into Kanana (translation: land where the sunsets) as yidaki, clapsticks and layered harmonies enfold Bumpy’s flawless pipes. The listener feels transported – dropped on Country. Throughout this Wurundjeri Dreamtime story, Bumpy honours the land that has nurtured her creative growth.

Double bass adds rich warmth to the title track. Maambakoort (ocean) trickles in, encapsulating how connected Bumpy felt to her Ancestors while entering the saltwater on Country. This one is buoyed by a backing choir, which includes Bumpy’s siblings – Emmy, Ben and Dan – singing in language.

“Lead with love/ Bring me to safety” – the jaunty-paced Nan’s The Word lights the way, resplendent with brass accents. Crashing cymbals underscore Pressure – Bumpy’s response to the Referendum: “I think I’m gonna burn down and take what’s mine.”

Bumpy’s much-anticipated debut album is nourishing. Let it wash over you in its entirety with no distractions.

LABEL: ASTRAL PEOPLE RECORDINGS

RELEASE: 3 OCT

CUT COPY

Moments

Æ When this record’s fourth single, Still See Love, dropped, we were enamoured just a few seconds in – that playful, loose, descending verse melody! Wistful yet danceable, it’s classic Cut Copy. “I still see love in your heart/ No matter what you do…” –Dan Whitford’s vocals are understated, yet affecting. Lyrics are never schmaltzy, but each carefully chosen word aims straight for the heart.

There’s also something reassuringly familiar about Solid, which captures everything Cut Copy nail: intrigue, percolating beats, synth wonderment and caressing vocals: “Building a bridge to a place unknown/ Holding up walls and the cracks they show…”

Kate Bollinger’s dreamy vocal contribution joins the boppy Belong To You quite late in the piece – a sweet surprise. Former The Triffids member ‘Evil’ Graham Lee plays lap steel on this track as well. The swaying When This Is Over, featuring sighing synths, is further elevated by a children’s choir.

Children Of Fairlight oscillates between a grab-bag of percussive pops –shaker, woodblock, triangle. And how does a chipmunk choir punctuated by xylophone sound so good!?

The pulsing Gravity kicks off like a guided dancefloor meditation – “Deeper you go, deeper/ In silence/ In silence” – before what sounds like a sampled lecture gives the trippers some profound food for thought: “... Dreaming can happen at any time.”

Peaking with intergalactic pew-pews just begging for an accompanying laser show, More Alive enters the rave cave – what we’d do to experience this one in Shed 14! Then, after one last dance, closer Find A Place Among The Stars offers a soft landing.

MÁQUINA PELIGROSA

Chased By Goons/ Everybody Up!

Æ Máquina (pronounced Maa-key-na) Peligrosa is Spanish for dangerous machine, which perfectly suits this dynamic instrumental trio composed of bassist Logan Jeffs, guitarist Felix Potier and drummer Jose Tortabu.

Self-described as “a hectic surf-punk car chase, with spy-tinged tension and a big fuzzed-out groove”, Chased By Goons –this 7-inch’s A-side – blends blazing riffs with snappy drums and sneaky bass. Towards the song’s close, old-school movie dialogue samples (we hear, “Take ‘em out!... Run ‘em off the road”) alongside sounds of screeching tyres and hand-cranked siren complete the authentic, retro-soundtrack picture.

B-side Everybody Up! is The Shadowsesque, with showy guitar work from Potier – we picture classy go-go girls on podiums, possibly doing The Twist.

They’re beasts on their instruments, and we can’t help but imagine Máquina Peligrosa egging each other on – fast, faster! – which makes for thrilling listening.

HOBSONS BAY COAST GUARD

Weather Report

Æ Opener Heatwave, which features simultaneous double-drum (and bongo) takes, is giving Dick Dale’s Miserlou (from Pulp Fiction’s OST) – such a vibe! Surf’s up, the local milkbar stocks Golden Gaytimes and your future summer beach hangs have never sounded so good.

Tornado Time swirls around like its namesake, enhanced by an unhinged melodica solo. Whereas more instrumental songs chuck a King Gizz and pretty much chant the title throughout, Earthquake introduces actual verses and Beach Boys-inspired harmonies, with percussive piano stabs underlining thwacking drum rhythms.

Wipe Out-style shimmering riffs are a recurring motif throughout Weather Report, which is pure escapism – danceable and fun. Although most of these songs are named after natural disasters, they’re also metaphors for the fundamental stresses of human existence (Earthquake is about a breakup, for instance).

Cheeky bass ushers in the joyous Landslide, which repeatedly asks, “Are you stuck in a downward spiral?”

We really wanna see The Muppets performing standout track Rubbish, which is irresistibly kooky. “Put ‘em in bags, put ‘em in bags, put ‘em in ba-ba-ba-bags!” – a mass-singalong moment we simply must experience.

Elsewhere: Monsoon’s mounting vocal lines hit impressive highs; Sunburn tunefully warns, “Hole in the o-zone!”; Mega Cyclone’s mosh potential is off the Richter; and Tidal Wave’s beats dexterously replicate being dumped in the surf.

This Melbourne sextet’s love for what they do shines through every meticulously produced detail. The forecast is good. We predict Hobsons Bay Coast Guard are a hoot live, too.

LABEL: CUTTERS RECORDS/THE ORCHARD

RELEASE: OUT NOW

LABEL: ZENITH RECORDS RELEASE: OUT NOW

LABEL: CHEERSQUAD RECORDS RELEASE: OUT NOW

GIG GUIDE

OCTOBER 2025

THU 02 OCT

MANSIONAIR

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $53.95 - 59.05.

ANT GALLERY. DOC HALIBUT, I HOLD

THE LION’S PAW Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7.30pm. $16.31.

KILLING LEADERS. EDDY ST, MASTERS OF THE FLYING GUILLOTINE

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. $16.35.

BAD DECISIONS X KICK ON BATTLE OF THE BANDS: HEAT 1

FT: Social Afterparty, Bad Yoke, Peak Park, Kash, The Takes Bad Decisions Bar. Fitzroy. 7pm. $11.21.

AUDREY HOBERT

The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7.30pm.

TOMAS CLIFFORD GOT STOOD UP Trades Hall. Carlton. 7.30pm. $36.

THE ‘WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU’ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 8pm. Free.

RAY PEREIRA & SHANE O’MARA Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free.

SOPHIE KELLY. CHARLOTTE

BRIDIE, EMILOU

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $22.95.

JOSH WILLIAMS Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.

DAN & CYRIL

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 8pm.

TONY J KING

FT: Sunflower Jam, Ania Reynolds, Rosario de Marco, Nir Tsfaty, Gift Horse, Suzie So Blue, John Henderson, JimCo, Tim Scanlan & Mana Okubo Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

GARDEN LANE

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. Free.

LIFE CULT. BACHUS

HARSH, BLOOD IN THE CHAMPAGNE, CHIEF WHIP

The Tote Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $23.50. BRUCKNER & STRAUSS

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $51.

THE PUTBACKS

Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $20.

LOVE POLICE

DELIVER: JON SPENCER. THE GNOMES

Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $74.80.

FRI 03 OCT

CXNTRY

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $22.45.

ANDY BAYLOR & HIS CAJUN COMBO. KERRI SIMPSON Odeon Richmond. Richmond. 7pm. $56.10.

SONNY & THE SUNSETS

The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $40. THE KNEWS

Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $23.64.

CAMMY CAUTIOUS & THE WRESTLERS. BIMBO, EQUESTRIAN FIELDS

Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $12.25. INTERVAL: MILION. KIARA FRIEND, NDK Glamorama. Fitzroy. 11pm. $15 - 25.

DEAFENING RAW ASSAULT FEST III

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $28.60 - 50.50.

TV THERAPY. MILK PUNCH, EXIT PLAN Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $10.75. RADIUM DOLLS. HORSE, GUSH Old Bar. Fitzroy. 7pm. $34.70.

KITTY OF THE VALLEY: SECOND NATURE TOUR. MY DOG SATELLITE Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. Free.

REG COLE QUARTET WITH SERGIO ERCOLE

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $40. THE CINEMATICS. THE AGENTS OF REVERB Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. ED KUEPPER

JIM WHITE. MESS ESQUE

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $59 - 79.

SUZI Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $30.

MD DUO. DJ OBLIVEUS

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm. BLANCO TRANCO. TILE, TIN POT CLAY MAN

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85.

PORPOISE SPIT. LOOSE TOOTH, TWINE

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $29.10.

BRITISH INDIA. AMONG THE RESTLESS Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $50.10.

ARIE ROSE. TOMALIA, ERFURT LATRINE DISASTER

Mamma Chen’s. Footscray. 7.30pm. $15.

KLAXONS (DJ SET) Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm. $39.90.

THE GENIUS OF RAY CHARLES

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.

ONE PERCENT:

LABEL RELEASE PARTY

FT: Andrew88, Blake, JWalker, Luke Vecchio, Mara, Cheaptalk, Pong, Knox, Red Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 11.59pm. $21.42.

NEMA

Morris House. Melbourne. 10pm.

DOUBLE PULSE

Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $29.95 - 39.95.

SARAH C PRESENTS

SOUL DIVAS Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $35 - 60.

SWORDFISH. RAPTOR, DUSTHEAD

The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8pm. $13.33.

TRIPSIDE LIFE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

ECHOLAB BEACH

VIBES OPEN DECKS

FT: Shoges, Geosonic, LUX, more Ellora. St Kilda. 6pm. Free.

SINCERELY YOURS: A TRIBUTE TO DAME VERA LYNN

FT: Victoria Mantynen Dingley Village Neighbourhood Centre. Dingley Village. 1pm. $20.

TOMAS CLIFFORD GOT STOOD UP Trades Hall. Carlton. 7.30pm. $36.

BRUCKNER & STRAUSS Costa Hall. Geelong. 7.30pm. $51.

SAT 04 OCT

SOUND OF INDIA: DIWALI AT HAWTHORN ARTS CENTRE

FT: Vinod Prasanna Hawthorn Arts Centre. Hawthorn. 7.30pm. $20 - 38.

REAL GOOD COMPANY. SOCIAL STREET

Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $16.32.

MOTLEY JAZZ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 7.30pm. Free. XO. LICUH, PINK KROSSES, JETANA, KLEFTIK

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $20.

JADEN BOJSEN Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm. $39.95.

BLUSH’KO

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $20.

MYSTIC TRIBE

FT: Roshin, Jimmy Strat, Sundari, Mickey Space Bar 303. Northcote. 7pm. $16.50 - 38.50.

NIUSIA

Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $44.

VANILLA TYS Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.

TOFF CLUB: DJ HAYLZ

The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11.30pm. Free.

TRIBQU TRIBE:

ZEPHERIN SAINT + ZJOSO

Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 5pm. $27.40 - 32.90.

TRANSCRIBED SONATAS

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $53. RORY MAHER

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 2pm. $16.85.

GROOVE

CONGRESS PLAYS POSTMODERN JUKEBOX WITH IMOGEN SPENDLOVE

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45. ELM STREET + DEVIL ELECTRIC. KINGS VENGEANCE

Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $19.99.

ARABELLA & THE HEIST. THE STRIPP, W.O.M.B.A.T. Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $13.30.

DAYDREAM80S #3: NEW WAVE. POP. ALTERNATIVE. DAYTIME. Inflation Entertainment Complex. Melbourne. 3pm. $23.

ROCK ACADEMY 41 Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 1.15pm. $10.75 - 22.95.

WHISKEY BUISNESS. DJ AHA The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

ALBARE & JOE CHINDAMO

PLAY JOBIM Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $45. NOTCH. DANIEL SERPA BAND, SAGA CITY

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 1pm. $17.85. WITCHSKULL. PSYCHIC MASS, DOG

Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $22.95.

DEAFENING RAW ASSAULT FEST III

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $28.60 - 50.50.

TRIBUTO ROCK: LA FURIA

Howler. Brunswick. 8pm.

GEM FEST 2025 FT: Body Maintenance, The Velvet Club, Party Pest, Checkpoint, Thee Cha Cha Cha’s, Hot Tubs Time Machine, Zipper, DJ Jeepster Gem Bar. Collingwood. 4pm. Free.

KITTY OF THE VALLEY: SECOND NATURE TOUR.

CAMOMILE, LAURA & THE HELLCUTZ Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.

I KILLED THE PROM QUEEN. EMMURE, TO THE GRAVE, THRESHOLD Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. $79.90.

30+ DAY PARTY

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 4.30pm. $43.90.

AMAYA LAUCIRICA

Tanswell’s Commercial Hotel. Beechworth. 7pm. Free.

TASH SULTANA. SOUTH SUMMIT, BEN SWISSA Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 6.45pm. $91.50.

PHIL SMITH

The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free.

DUCK POND BY CIRCA

The Round. Nunawading. 7.30pm. $68.

BRUCKNER & STRAUSS

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $51.

THU 09 OCT

CIDER SUNDAYS

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $12.75.

MERPIRE. ELIZABETH M. DRUMMOND, GIGI

Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $35.

LACHLAN BRYAN & JODI MARTIN

The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $30 - 35.

MIDNIGHT CHICKEN + HIGH ST DRIFTERS

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm.

JARRAH DUO

Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free.

LUME RESIDENCY Bar 303. Northcote. 7pm. $15.

TOM GRENNAN Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $79.90.

OWELU

DREAMHOUSE

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $30.

THE ‘WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU’ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 8pm. Free.

TOTTIE GOLDSMITH: TRIBUTE TO OLIVIA NEWTON-JOHN Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.

EVE DUNCAN & WHO ARE THESE GUYS

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.

BOND GIRL

The MC Showroom. Prahran. 8.30pm. $35.

PET THERAPY. NO QUESTIONS

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 8pm. Free.

AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA: WATER MUSIC

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $30.

SWEET NOTHING. DOPPLERHAUS, ECHO SOCIAL CLUB

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $15.

DAN & CYRIL

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 8pm.

AUS DANCEHALL FEST 2025: OFFICIAL OPENING PARTY

FT: Trouble Mekka, Bellyas, Sista Sara, Itations, Quashani Bahd Section 8. Melbourne. 6pm.

FRI 10 OCT

ZEBRAHEAD

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $79.

SURE BOY

Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm.

THE REPORES. RED ENVY, MOTION BLUR

Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8pm. $17.35.

LANDDOWNUNDER

Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm. $34.70.

THE IVY WALKERS. HANDGRENADE HEARTS, THE PEARLIES

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $11.25.

LOUIS NICOLL:

LISZTOMANIA

Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $28.

FLIGHT TO DUBAI. FAVOURED STATE, ARROWS OF DESIRE

Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35.

PEACH FUZZ. LOTTIE MCLEOD

Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $28.56.

QUALITY USED CARS. THE BRAKES, EMMA RUSSACK, LACHLAN DENTON

The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85.

YEAT

Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 8pm. $111.98.

JACOB JEAN

Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $9.18.

TAMARA KULDIN’S GENTS OF JAZZ

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9pm. $45.

GREASE: BABIRRA MUSIC THEATRE

The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $60.

THE MUFARO SHOW: LEGACY. JANELLE ASHLEY, JVME

Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. $28.

BEST OF BOTH WORLDS PARTY

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $14.80 - 22.95.

TAYLOR SHERIDAN

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $38.

NOW THAT’S WHAT I CALL DAD ROCK

Stay Gold. Brunswick. 11pm. $2.50 - 5.

BAD PENGUINS. DJ MATTY J

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

INTERVAL: INTERNATIONAL TBA + DEEP REMEDY SHOWCASE

FT: Lenny Lens, Bridget, Noah Power Glamorama. Fitzroy. 10pm. $15.

FLYYING COLOURS Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $33.15.

FUÁ DA TITA Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm.

SHAWN JAMES Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm.

MICHAEL KOLETSAS Morris House. Melbourne. 10pm.

DAVE GRANEY & THE CORAL SNAKES Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $67.

AUS DANCEHALL

FEST 2025: AUS

DANCEHALL

DJ CLASH + DANCEHALL

ROYALTY PARTY

Aces Bar. Brunswick East. 8pm.

AUS DANCEHALL

FEST 2025: RICE & PEAS DANCEHALL PARTY

Jungle City Studios. Preston. 4.30pm.

LUCKY ALI

Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $56.30 - 138.92.

SCRATCH THAT ITCH!

FT: DJ Lady Soul, Suzi Watusi, Mod Marie, Rob G Odeon Richmond. Richmond. 8pm. $20.

BETH CHIA

FT: Sunflower Jam, Ania Reynolds, Rosario de Marco, Nir Tsfaty, Gift Horse, Suzie So Blue, John Henderson, JimCo, Tim Scanlan, Mana Okubo Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

SAT 11 OCT

AVIVA. CHEZ, D’ARCY SPILLER

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $39.05.

PEZ

Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $44.37.

FRED SMITH: DOMESTICITY

The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $52.

EXPOSURE 2025

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 6pm. $51.10 - 61.90.

AMAYA LAUCIRICA

Major Tom’s. Kyneton. 8.30pm. $15.

SCARNON. GRINDHOUSE, TTTDC

Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $19.40.

BIG COUNTRY. FLEETING PERSUASION

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $89.90.

LAUREN ELIZABETH & BAND - LOVE LETTER: THE SONGS OF BONNIE RAITT. BRETT WOOD

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $40 - 50.

HANS: YOUNG, FUN & 21 Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $69.

MEL SEARLE PRESENTS SERENADE IN BLUE: 10TH ANNIVERSARY

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45. NORIA LETTS & THE STEVE SEDERGREEN TRIO Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $40.

EMILEE SOUTH + KATE ALEXANDER (AND THEIR BANDS)

Gem Bar. Collingwood. 3.45pm. $13. STELLA ANNING The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free. MELINDA SCHNEIDER

Bellarine Estate. Bellarine. 6pm. $45. AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA: WATER MUSIC

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $30.

SPY FOX SIX. THE GROUND APPLES, LILY JONES Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 1.30pm. $33.15.

TEISHA + KAT NOUTSO. NAOMI K, AANYA, NIKOLE BRADBURY Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 3.45pm. $22.95.

THE KAVS. PET THERAPY, HANDGRENADE HEARTS Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $17.95. NONTINUUM. ADULARIA, RAT TOMB, CENRIS Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $17.35. HEADBORE. ARMOURED EARTH, NOTHING, MALICY The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $19. WHEN WE WERE YOUNG: TRIBUTE PARTY Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $17 - 20. THE WINFIELD ROAD EXPERIMENT Bar 303. Northcote. 6pm. THE BAND SHE. DJ SHADOW The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

BEN LEE. SALLY SELTMANN, HUCK HASTINGS Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $74.90.

THE FIRST ANNUAL B-BASH FT: Blowers, Brat Farrar, Burning Effigy, DJ Britcoin Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. $18.10.

ME IN A DREAM PRESENTS LONDON SKYLINE. FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $17.10.

THE VASCO ERA. THE PRETTY LITTLES, ELLA JOAN

Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $30 - 40.40.

ANATREPTIX. DOE EYES, MCKIMMIE

Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 2pm. Free. MOTLEY JAZZ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 7.30pm. Free. GIFT HORSE

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

BOND GIRL

The MC Showroom. Prahran. 8.30pm. $35.

AUS DANCEHALL FEST 2025: OFFICIAL AUS DANCEHALL DANCE COMPETITION AFTER PARTY Chaise Lounge. Melbourne. 10pm.

AUS DANCEHALL FEST 2025

Howler. Brunswick. 12pm. LE BOOM Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm.

TILLY LOVELOCK Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.

A.DOT SYSTEM PRESENTS: FUNDRAISER FOR THE ASRC

FT: DJ Jnett, Eddie Guy, Ricky Nord, Slavic Spritz, Yowies, Jem The Penny Black. Brunswick. 5pm. $25.

JOURNEYS IWAKI

Auditorium @ ABC Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $55.

THU 16 OCT

SHAKAMOTO + FAVOURED STATE Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $10. FATHER DADDY Trades Hall. Carlton. 9pm. $30.

THE SOUTHERN RIVER BAND Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $48 - 50.

KICK ON’S FT: Vermantics, Bite My Tongue, Blondehouse Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $14.80.

REN BARLOW PRESENTS THE SONGBOOK OF MY HEART. TOM BARLOW

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $55.55 - 77.77. 50 LIONS.

HORSE POWER, NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE, T.C.B. Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $40.78.

BLEAK SQUAD.

SHOCK CORRIDOR

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $55.

MICHEL BÉNÉBIG

Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm.

GREASE: BABIRRA

MUSIC THEATRE

The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $60.

JD SMITH: UNCHAINED

MELODY Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $40. PETROL WILLIAMS. GLOOMIE, BEN E.O. & THE RAM BAND, SONNY LA MONTE Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $16.85. NAPALM FOR THE MASSES. MANSPLAINERS, HEADSPIN

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. Free.

REUNITED

FT: Angela & Jerson

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.

JASMINE MATTHEWS.

KAVIITÁ, JUST JAMES

Eureka Hotel. Geelong. DAN & CYRIL

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 8pm.

THE ‘WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU’ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 8pm. Free.

JULIEN WILSON

TRIO

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. SALLY FORD & THE IDIOMATICS Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free. MARVEL STUDIOS’ INFINITY SAGA CONCERT EXPERIENCE

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $86.

TABATA MITSURU. CAT HOPE

Old Bar. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $19.40.

FRI 17 OCT

SIGH. ASCENDED DEAD, MOURNFUL CONGREGATION

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $73.95.

POLLY & THE POCKETS. DEPORSAL, LUCY LORENNE Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $12.25.

HEX: COVEN

FT: Terra Rouge, This Space Is Ours, My Safe Word Is Murder, Sage Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $28.05.

WHITNEY Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $59.90.

BETH SEYMOUR & THE LIZZIES: BETHDAY GALA. HORMONES, ELKIE KERSHAW, SELF TALK

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $16.35.

EVERYDAY I WRITE THE HOOK: THE ELVIS COSTELLO

SONGBOOK - A LIVE TRIBUTE

FT: Victor Stranges & The Futurists

Sooki Lounge. Belgrave. 7pm. $35.

LAID BACK COUNTRY PICKER. HEADSPIN

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $47.45.

FATHER DADDY

Trades Hall. Carlton. 9pm. $30.

MERPIRE. BAD JUJU, MELTING, CYPHER

Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $34.

MIDGE URE: CATALOGUETHE HITS TOUR

Palais Theatre. St Kilda. 7pm. $99.90.

KAT GRETA & MARCELLE

PHOENIX PRESENT

RHYTHM & REVERIE

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7.30pm. $15 - 30.

KRUSTY

VIRUS. BRAVE

DASTARD, TALA

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $10.75.

HOLLY ROLLER

TRIO. DJ ALEE

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

GARY PINTO: A SONG FOR YOU

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $55.

ROBBIE

BELCHAMBER

BAND. INDIGO

KING, BEDE BENNY Bar 303. Northcote. 7.30pm. $15 - 20.

CAFFEINE FIEND: A COFFEE CABARET

The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $40.

WORTH THE WALLET

FT: Chimes, Denzil Green, Disconnector, Lapidatus, Eamonn Conor Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. Free. NORIA & THE PARISIANS

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45. POWERPLANT. BILLIAM & THE SPLIT BILLS, SCREENSAVER, DRAGNET

The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $35. BABA FUNDRAISER FT: Big League, The Opals, Catie Smillie, Red Eyed Rumours Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $20.25. SHAKAMOTO. SPECIAL GUEST, FUR BLOSSOM

Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $11.25.

THE FARAWAY

THREE

The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 7.30pm. $40.

SAT 18 OCT

MONOLIYTH. MUNITIONS, KNIVER, HOOF

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $23.50.

KELSEY JEAN & THE BAD HEALTH. DOE EYES, MCKIMMIE Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $15 - 20.

VOLLIE + NO QUESTIONS. CASS AWARE, LAURA & THE HELL CUTZ Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.45pm. $17.35.

THE THING

The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $49.90.

DANILO PÉREZ Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 2.30pm. $74 - 84. KNIFE. SERENE AILMENT, FUMIGATOR Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $14.30.

DALLAS FRASCA PLAYS LED ZEPPELIN

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $40 - 50.

THE SWELLS. THE CLONES, B-SIDE Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7.30pm. $12.50.

BONE REAPER. BLUDGER, INSCRYPTIONS, SHLAUGG

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $16.35. A NIGHT ON BROADWAY Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 8pm. $40. DREAM FLAVOUR. HOT PISS, VERTICAL GARDEN

Grace Darling Hotel. Collingwood. 8pm. $10 - 15.

BIBI

Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $101.79.

NADIRA & EAMON MCNELIS PRESENT THE MAGIC OF JAZZ DUETS

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.

BRITISH ROCK INVASION: IRON MAIDEN / THE CULT TRIBUTE

Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $15.43.

OCEANO

Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $59.95.

ENTERTAINMENT

UNIT

Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $18.10.

ELIZA & THE DELUSIONALS

Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 5.30pm. $33.15.

SALT TREE. ROD COOTE

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $35.30.

THE PARTY OF A SHOWGIRL: TAYLOR ALBUM RELEASE PARTY Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.85 - 35. LIAR. EARTHBOUND, MATAHARI, DETESTOR Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85 - 28.05.

JOY RAINBOW SESSIONS

FT: Emeree

George Lane. St Kilda. 7pm. $18.44.

RICK PRICE

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $38.

GREASE: BABIRRA MUSIC THEATRE

The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $60.

BONE THUGS-NHARMONY. XZIBIT, TOO $HORT RIVIERA Beach Club. Elwood. 8pm.

IGNITION X RISE & SHINE

Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7am. $26.52.

NU.TECHNO PRESENTS... 3 YEARS OF NU.TECHNO

Howler. Brunswick. 5pm. $31.62 - 46.41. DECADANCE

FT: Jack Popper, Nasti Goreng, Neo The DJ

The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. Free. BUGSKIN

CHAPTER 2: METAMORPHOSIS - AN IMMERSIVE AUDIO-VISUAL DESCENT

FT: nabii, syrup-E, Top Hun, Soares, M/EMERY, missmaraschino

Mission to Seafarers. Docklands. 4pm. $30.

BONNIE & CLYDE TRIO. DJ MCB

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

S:BAHN. BLOOD IN THE CHAMPAGNE

Old Bar. Fitzroy. 6pm. Free. MOTLEY JAZZ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 7.30pm. Free.

TONY YANG

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

JUSTIN BERNASCONI

The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free.

MARVEL STUDIOS’ INFINITY SAGA CONCERT EXPERIENCE

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $86.

THU 23 OCT

JUMP: THE VAN HALEN TRIBUTE. POIZON’US: THE AUSTRALIAN POISON TRIBUTE SHOW

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $69.90. THE GHOST INSIDE. BLEED FROM WITHIN, DAY OF CONTEMPT

Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $109.90.

ARTISTS FOR KIDS CULTURE ANNUAL ART AUCTION 2025

FT: Vika & Linda, Dylan Lewis

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $55.

GIANNI MARINUCCI SEXTET

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $40.

FAMOUS DUETS

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.

OLIVIA BRASIL + MIGUEL

PALMEIRA DUO

Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm.

BEFORE NIGHTFALL:

BANKSIA TRIO

Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 8pm. $15. THE ‘WHAM, BAM, THANK YOU’ JAM

The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 8pm. Free.

CARL PANNUZZO & THE INDULGENCE

Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free.

PANIA

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.05.

ADELE OLIVER/ TANYA RANSOM/ MISTY HARLOWE

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm.

IMPRESSIONS OF PARIS

FT: Nicholas McCarthy, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $75.

DAN & CYRIL

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 8pm.

FRI 24 OCT

GRAND BAXTER + WOOLTON

The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8.30pm. $17.19.

WE LOST THE SEA. FOLLOW Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $54.10.

EMO DIVA

Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm. $14.30 - 29.60.

BOB STARKIE’S SKYHOOKS SHOW

Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $35 - 55.

COFFIN CAROUSEL. FALSE DICHOTOMY, ATRIOX, ALL MONSTERS ARE HUMAN Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $16.32.

THE LG PROJECT: IT’S NEVER TOO LATE Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $35. THE CREATURE FROM OUTER BASS: THE PROG-ROCK, SCI-FI MUSICAL.

GUAVA CANAL Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $15.85.

DAY OF CONTEMPT. FOREWARNED, DEMISE, SEVEN HELLS

Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $29.13.

NOT SO BIG BAND: A TRIBUTE TO KIND OF BLUE

FT: Gianni Marinucci

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45. BOOMARAA MUSIC FESTIVAL Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 4.30pm. $111.01 - 151.79.

LORETTA MILLER Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $35.30.

BEAT’N TRACKS PRESENTS: TIM ROGERS. MILLY STRANGE The Shiraz Republic. Cornella. 7pm. $40 - 50.

MÖTLEY CRÜE LÖÖKS THÄT KILL TRIBUTE SHOW. METALLICA THROUGH THE NEVER TRIBUTE SHOW

Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $30.76.

ANA. DEMONHEAD, SLIME DIMENSION

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $16.85.

HANNAH FERGUSON - CHEEK LIVE: EVERYTHING IS F*CKED

Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $49.

SOUL OBSESSION

TRIO. DJ MATTY J The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

ACADEMY DRIVE. SUGARGUM, SCARLETT MITCH Bar 303. Northcote. 7.30pm. $17.19.

LUNA DIRT. HOT TUBS TIME MACHINE, FRONS Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $13.30.

PAVLOV’S DOG Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm.

DAMIANO DAVID. IXARAS Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 8pm. $65.30.

CONNOR PRICE. GRAHAM Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. RETRATOS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

COMEDY IN THE VINES

FT: Rueben Kaye, Michelle De Swarte, Ray O’Leary, Abby Howells, Takashi Wakasugi, Ivan Aristeguieta, more CherryHill Orchards. Coldstream. 10am. $59 - 229.

SAT 25 OCT

FEST FOR LÉ

FUCK OF IT

FT: Bitumen, Dogworld, Frons, Garage Sale, Lunar Dirt, Sleepazoid, Split System

Shotkickers. Thornbury. 4pm. $23.45 - 28.80.

TIN LIZZY. BANJIG, THE THONGS

The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 1pm. $20.

DARK RITUAL PART 2

FT: Noveaux, Rise From Ashes, T-Rex Autopsy, Shatterface, Desolate Symphony Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $19.

FORWARD EVER #22: A CELEBRATION OF SOUND SYSTEM

FT: C:1, GGEM, PaceNotes, SpinFX, more The Croxton. Thornbury. 6pm. $20 - 30.

RAPID FEST

FT: Speed Bumps, Grevillea, Bin Stompers, The Rartel, Uneduc4ted, Penalty, Lapidatus, Muddy Rivets, Pintman, DJ JD

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. $28.60.

TOM WAITS FOR NO MAN

Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $50.

BEAT’N TRACKS PRESENTS: TIM ROGERS. LORETTA MILLER & BAND

Shedshaker Taproom. Castlemaine. 8pm. $40 - 50.

SOLOMON SISAY & HIS BAND

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.

MAC THE KNIFE. OH DAISY, THE MUNDAYNES

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $28.05.

LOOK SHARP TRIO. DJ SHADOW

The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.

JUNIPERO (LEZ & QUEER): NAARM

POP-UP

FT: Milo Hartill. Daddy Charles, Juniper Fox, Orion Stone, Foxxy Brown, Ugliest Hottie, Citrus, DJ Freshxprincess, Gay Dad

Stay Gold. Brunswick. 9pm. $18.65 - 26.05.

SETH SENTRY Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $70.

RINRIN. PENI PARKER, EXCUSE FOR AN EXIT

Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $24.

KIM SALMON

The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8.30pm. $30. MARK CAMPBELL & THE RAVENS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $23.20.

BLU WINDOWS

The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free.

MELANIE CHARLES + WHOALLGONBETHERE

Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 8pm. $75.

SPRING OF MELBOURNE CONCERT

The Round. Nunawading. 6.30pm. Free.

FESTIVAL OF RAGAS: GURUKUL MUSIC IN MINDS Kingston City Hall. Moorabbin. 7pm. $12 - 47.

LINDA MAY HAN OH Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $54.

THE SOUTH EAST GENTS 12 Bar Belgrave. Belgrave. 9pm. Free.

MARK FARINA: DAY PARTY Howler. Brunswick. 12pm. $23.46 - 44.37.

COMEDY IN THE VINES

FT: Rueben Kaye, Michelle De Swarte, Ray O’Leary, Abby Howells, Takashi Wakasugi, Ivan Aristeguieta, more CherryHill Orchards. Coldstream. 10am. $59 - 229.

AMAYA LAUCIRICA. PUNKO, PHIA EXINER

Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7.30pm. $24 - 29.10. IMPRESSIONS OF PARIS

FT: Nicholas McCarthy, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra

Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 2pm. $75.