August Billy, Andrew Handley, Dom Lepore, Aastha Agrawal, Luke Carlino, Wil Clifford and Bryget Chrisfield
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EDITORIAL NOTE
Do you feel that, my darlings? It’s the turning of a new leaf.
Æ The tan lines are beginning to form. The parks are calling our names. Those pretty white trees are in full bloom and there’s a certain smell in the air… Actually, what is that? Never mind. In honour of this zippy new energy, we’ve rounded up a bunch of artists that give us the warm and fuzzies. And good luck finding a band with better vibes than our cover stars, King Stingray. Inside, they chat about building a welcoming environment and their upcoming co-headlining slot at Queenscliff Music Festival.
Keep reading, and you’ll find Slim Krusty discussing the power of community, Bbno$ talking about being a professional goofball, and The Prize musing on fulfilling their teenage fantasies. Becca Hatch shares how she ended up on stage with Coldplay, Skunkhour honour the enduring magic of their biggest hit, and Mama Kin Spender explain how music can help break us apart and put us back together. And much more! Is it a little sappy? We don’t care. So, grab a good pair of headphones, go find a patch of grass pages and try to cure that vitamin D deficiency. Happy days
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 November cover star is King Stingray shot by Sam Brumby.
NEWS
WHEN PIGS FLY GEARS UP FOR A MASSIVE NYE CELEBRATION
When Pigs Fly has unveiled its biggest lineup yet. The farm-based festival is bringing together an eclectic mix of artists, including Yolngu funk group Andrew Gurruwiwi Band, genre-benders Close Counters, ’90s boom bappers So.crates, Indonesian soul ensemble Thee Marloes and ambient act Wilson Tanner.
AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST PRE-LOVED STUFF FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES DATES
Garage Sale Trail 2025 is rolling back into town on 8, 9, 15 and 16 November with two epic weekends of secondhand treasure hunting. It’ll give punters the chance to clear out their clutter and maybe score some bargains as well. This year’s lineup includes ARIA Award-winner Montaigne.
STUDIO GHIBLI’S CLASSIC COMPOSITIONS TO BE PERFORMED BY THE MSO
The Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will bring the music of composer Joe Hisaishi to life with a new concert series. Taking place at Hamer Hall, this event will run from 6 to 8 November, featuring music from Studio Ghibli classics including My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, Howl’s Moving Castle and Spirited Away.
CHINATOWN’S SPIEGEL HAUS IS HOSTING JAPANESE MAGIC
Maho Magic Bar is making its comeback this November with new magicians, fresh illusions and premium cocktails at the brand new Spiegel Haus venue. After stunning audiences in 2023, the experience transports punters into a neon-lit Tokyo night where Japan’s sleight-of-hand specialists perform exclusive tricks right at your table.
MT BULLER IS GETTING FIVE NEW MOUNTAIN BIKING TRAILS
Construction kicks off on 10 kilometres of fresh single-track at Mt Buller thanks to the Victorian government’s Regional Tourism Investment Fund, expanding the 60-kilometre network. Two beginner options will ease newcomers into the sport, while three gravity trails promise descents and big jumps.
ENDOVIT FEST RETURNS TO CHAMPION ENDOMETRIOSIS AWARENESS
ENDOVIT Fest returns for its second year of platforming artists with endometriosis while raising awareness about the chronic condition impacting roughly one million Australians. This year’s event takes over Thornbury Bowls Club on 23 November and features The Vovos, ViperSnatch, Clit Split, Winksy and more.
Melbourne’s cultural calendar just secured one of its most glittering additions yet. Melbourne Winter Masterpieces 2026 will see Australia’s largest exhibition on Cartier taking over the NGV with more than 300 resplendent pieces on exclusive display, including jewels and objects that have never been seen in the country.
AT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDANTLY RUN MUSIC VENUE
03/12 DAYSEEKER (USA) SOLD OUT 04/12 FLIPTURN (USA) SELLING FAST 05/12 THROWING MUSES (USA) 09/12 DON WEST SELLING FAST 12/12 WRESTLEROCK 19/12 TOOLS DOWN: JOEY LIGHTBULB’S WORK XMAS PARTY 20/12 MICK THOMAS’ ROVING COMMISSION 21/12 DAN & AL (XMAS SHOW) 06/01 MCLUSKY (UK) SELLING FAST 16/01 THE TRUE BATUSHKA (PL) 17/01 HASAN RAHEEM 23/01 FLY BY MIDNIGHT
24/01 THE TALKING HEADS EXPERIENCE 25/01 SWALLOW THE SUN PLUS, GOT YOUR XMAS PARTY SORTED? LOCK IT IN AT THE CORNER. CHAT TO OUR FUNCTIONS TEAM — FUNCTIONS@CORNERHOTEL.COM
GIG GUIDE
01/11 SCREAMFEEDER 03/11 CLONING
05/11 THE VEILS
06/11 JEWEL OWUSU
07/11 EMILY WURRAMARA SELLING FAST
08/11 YOUTH GROUP
09/11 TAMS/N OTWAY
10/11 SOCIAL SANCTUARY WITH GREAT AUSTRALIAN BANK, HANNAH KATE + TILE
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
23/11 ESSENDON AIRPORT (LATE MATINEE)
25/11 MOUNTAIN BOY (NZ)
27/11 FAMILI PRESENTS BLOODFIRE 28/11 WILLOWBANK GROVE SELLING FAST
29/11 KHAN
30/11 PARANOID ANDROID - RADIOHEAD CELEBRATION
04/12 SCEPTER OF THE ANCIENTS
05/12 SEX ON TOAST
06/12 CENOTAPH (MX)
07/12 WHISTLE AND TRICK (FAMILY FRIENDLY MATINEE) SELLING FAST
07/12 SHAYNE P CARTER (NZ)
11/12 MAD VANTAGE
12/12 CORDRAZINE W/ ALEX LLOYD
13/12 BIIG TIME
14/12 CARUS THOMPSON (MATINEE)
19/12 SEB SZABO
20/12 ICECREAM HANDS
31/12 CRY CLUB (NEW YEARS EVE)
THERE’S A UNIQUE MUSIC FESTIVAL HAPPENING IN AN ABANDONED QUARRY
Grounded Festival returns on 29 November with Sam + Sam headlining on sacred land. Located just 20 minutes from Shepparton, Dookie Quarry provides a raw, weathered backdrop carved deep into Yorta Yorta Country.
FED SQUARE IS HOSTING A FREE MOODYMANN SHOW AND AN EPIC NYE PARTY
Melbourne’s most iconic meeting spot has announced the details of its latest free events. Moodymann will arrive on 27 November alongside Melbourne electronic pioneer DJ Jnett, then the venue will close out the year with Barry Sunset, MzRizk and Gavin Campbell spinning at the New Year’s Eve celebration on 31 December.
PITCH MUSIC & ARTS TEASES 2026 HEADLINER AND REVAMP
Pitch is returning for its ninth edition happening 6 to 10 March on the Grampian Plains. The festival is shaking things up with a reimagined Pitch Black stage and a brand new Rock Pool swimming space. Pitch recently dropped its launch video which featured a track by Charlotte De Witte, teasing her as a potential performer.
MEREDITH COMPLETES LINEUP FOR 33RD EDITION
Meredith Music Festival, happening from 3 to 5 December, has locked in Chet Faker, Oddisee & Good Company and Ninajirachi for its upcoming edition, while Thee Sacred Souls can no longer make the trip from Los Angeles.
DIGITISED ARTWORKS FROM THE LOUVRE JUST LANDED IN MELBOURNE
Alliance Française Melbourne launches the Micro-Folie Digital Museum, bringing masterpieces from over 200 cultural institutions. The virtual gallery opens with free entry at the French Hub on Bourke Street, offering rotating exhibitions spanning fine arts, architecture, science and performing arts.
GOLDEN PLAINS DROPS MASSIVE 2026 LINEUP
Golden Plains Eighteen has just unveiled its lineup for March 2026 and it’s absolutely stacked. It’ll be headlined by UK house icons Basement Jaxx, Norwegian art-pop duo Smerz and Australian synth-pop band Cut Copy, alongside Marlon Williams, Jalen Ngonda, Ty Segall, Obongjayar, Nourished by Time, Frost Children, Water From Your Eyes and more.
WARRNAMBOOL ART GALLERY HOSTS EXHIBITION ON REGIONAL EXCELLENCE
Warrnambool Art Gallery is launching The Regional, a landmark exhibition celebrating five artists born or based in regional Australia. Running from 15 November until 15 March, it brings together artists Atlanta Eke, Gus Franklin, Paul McCann, Bronwyn Razem and Peter Tyndall, who work across visual and performance arts, sound and design.
VICTORIA’S WORK FROM HOME LAWS EDGE CLOSER
Victoria’s work from home laws are looking increasingly likely after the state’s biggest-ever survey backed the policy. More than 36,000 Victorians weighed in on the government’s plan to legislate the right to work from home two days a week, with the numbers painting a clear picture: people want this protected.
BLASPHEMOUS BROADWAY HIT THE BOOK OF MORMON RETURNS
The Book of Mormon returns to Princess Theatre from February 2026 for another season. The Tony, Olivier and Grammy award-winning musical created by Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Robert Lopez follows two mismatched Mormon missionaries sent on a journey about as far from Salt Lake City as possible.
AUSTRALIA REVEALED AS THE WORLD’S MOST POLYAMORYFRIENDLY COUNTRY
Dragon Toys, a London-based adult toy retailer, analysed 17 countries to figure out which nations are most open to non-monogamous relationships and Australia came out on top with an Open Love Score of 75.61, beating out New Zealand at 65.60 and Canada at 65.59.
BAXTER IS THROWING AN ALL-DAY WAREHOUSE RAVE OVER CUP WEEKEND
Melbourne’s underground is about to get a proper workout this Cup Weekend courtesy of Warehouse Rave 4.0 and Baxter All Day Long. The rising Melbourne selector is taking over The Industrique in Coburg for an all-day session on 1 November, running the decks solo and throwing down back-to-back sets with a crew of heavy hitters.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA LAUNCHES PENINSULA LIVE
Mornington Peninsula Shire has partnered with the Live Music Office to roll out Peninsula LIVE, a program designed to amp up the region’s music scene. Over the next 12 months, Peninsula LIVE will deliver gigs, micro-festivals and industry forums aimed at strengthening the area’s music ecosystem and connecting the community.
CHER, PRINCE AND MORE DIVAS TAKE OVER ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE
DIVA opens at the Australian Museum of Performing Arts on 11 December, pulling together over 250 objects including 60 knockout costumes, jewellery, photography, art and music. Running until 26 April, the exhibition spotlights creativity, ambition and resilience of divas from 19th century opera legends and silent movie stars to today’s global powerhouses.
FISHER TO CLOSE OUT MELBOURNE CUP CARNIVAL WITH TRACKSIDE PARTY
Grammy-nominated DJ Fisher is bringing his electric energy to Flemington Racecourse for TAB Champions Stakes Day on 8 November. For the first time, the racetrack past the winning post will open up after the last race, letting racegoers step onto the track for the performance.
TOUR THE COSMOS WITH SCIENCEWORKS’ MONTHLY STARGAZING SERIES
Scienceworks has been running Discover The Night Sky, a monthly stargazing series exclusively for adults with astronomer Dr Tanya Hill as host. The series mixes science education with proper entertainment, letting participants dive into different astronomical topics each month.
AUSTRALIA IS GETTING A HUGE NEW REGGAETON FESTIVAL
Love Reggaeton Fest is launching in Melbourne and Sydney featuring over 50 performers, headlined by American reggaeton pioneer Nicky Jam. It’s the first time an event of this scale has been dedicated to reggaeton and urban Latin sounds in Australia and it’ll land at PICA on 28 November.
NATIONAL COMMUNICATION MUSEUM INVITES PUNTERS TO PLAY WITH ROBOT COLLECTION
Hawthorn’s newest museum invites you to chat with therapy chatbots and spend time with a breathing teddy bear. FRIEND opens on 1 November, exploring relationships between humans and machines. The exhibition runs until 26 April and will feature robots from nostalgic toys to futuristic humanoids.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN MELBOURNE WILL BE FREE ON WEEKENDS THIS SUMMER
The Victorian government has announced free public transport travel on every tram, bus, Melbourne train and regional train from the first Saturday service in early December until 1 February. No myki required, no tapping on, no charges; just jump on and ride.
EX-NOBU HEAD CHEF OPENS ROOFTOP BAR 15 FLOORS ABOVE QUEEN STREET
Zekkai has opened on level 15 of 123 Queen Street, transforming the former Blue Diamond speakeasy site into a penthouse restaurant, cocktail bar and club with 270-degree views across the CBD. The venue comes from hospitality veterans including Lam Kai Fung, former executive chef at Nobu and American Club Hong Kong.
AN EMPTY SHOPPING CENTRE WILL TRANSFORM INTO A RAVE FOR ONE NIGHT
Simpatico: Nightshift returns with a fresh format on 15 November, converting Footscray’s Metro West shopping centre into a nightlife destination. UK artists Jonny Rock, Karen Nyame KG and Anu headline alongside Andras Eden Burns, Moopie, Hannah D, suki, Babycino and ex ponto. A karaoke room and art installations fill the spaces between.
THERE’S A NEW BLOCK PARTY FESTIVAL HAPPENING IN DANDENONG
Dandenong West is about to shake things up with Hidden Gems, an electrifying festival that’s bringing major live music and cultural celebrations right to the heart of the southeast. West Alchemy Collective is behind this ambitious celebration which will run from 22 to 23 November.
ELECTRIC ISLAND EXPANDS TO MELBOURNE
Electronic music festival Electric Island is making its Melbourne debut in 2026, joining beachside parties across three cities. American electronic titan Armand Van Helden will bring his unrivalled DJ sets, alongside Above & Beyond, Flight Facilities and more.
VICTORIA’S MOST UNDERRATED FESTIVAL IS FINALLY RETURNING THIS JANUARY
Festival 23 returns to the Macedon Ranges from 23 to 26 January for three days of immersive music and creative adventures. The intimate camping festival brings together electronic acts across multiple stages, including a stage positioned between a freshwater dam and infinity pool, plus a second outdoor arena.
SOUTH MELBOURNE MARKET’S NEW TASTING EVENT SHOWCASES FERMENTED FLAVOURS
South Melbourne Market is serving up A Foodie Affair: Cultured & Cured, the latest edition of its beloved tasting tour series running from 5 to 15 November. This self-guided degustation is all about the ancient art of preservation – think pickled, fermented, cultured and cured delights reimagined by the market’s most creative traders.
ASIA TOPA MARKS INTERNATIONAL SUCCESS WITH ARTIST SHOWCASE
Asia TOPA Radar returns on 19 November with a showcase featuring some of the region’s most exciting creative voices at Arts Centre Melbourne. The event celebrates the international reach of Asia TOPA 2025’s commissioned works, with 14 shows now touring 17 cities across Australia, Asia and beyond.
PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES 2026 FUTURE FOLK PROGRAM
Port Fairy Folk Festival has unveiled the 10 young artists selected for its 2026 Future Folk Young Musician Development Program. The lineup features Bonnie Jackson, Grace Watt, Harriet Wraith, Isla Dixon, Jasmin Adria, Lucy Joy, Maeve Grieve, Mathilde Anne, Rupert Bullard and the Sam Curtis Collective.
ICONIC FLINDERS LANE GALLERY TO TRANSFORM FOR BRAND NEW ERA
Anna Schwartz Gallery is closing and reopening as Anna Schwartz Projects, a new venue for installations, performance and music. After 40 years in Melbourne’s contemporary art scene, the Flinders Lane gallery will wrap up with a John Nixon exhibition closing 13 December, before relaunching in 2026 as something entirely different.
RAINBOW SPIRIT FESTIVAL IS FINALLY RETURNING AFTER SIX LONG YEARS
Rainbow Spirit Festival is making its comeback in 2026 with Gathering Light, a reimagined event in Tallarook. The festival is shifting to a smaller, more intimate format while maintaining the spirit that has defined the event. It will feature multiple music stages, immersive art installations, performances and galleries.
THE LIVING END AND BAKER BOY ARE HEADLINING RIVERBOATS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Running from 13 to 15 February, Riverboats is back on the banks of the Murray River on Yorta Yorta country with what might be its biggest lineup yet. It’ll offer three days under towering river red gums, a single stage keeping things intimate, and a mix of talent that spans alt-folk, psych-rock, hip hop, soul and roots music.
KING STINGRAY
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
“We’re very untrendy people,” says Roy Kellaway, the guitarist and in-house producer for King Stingray.
Æ This might seem like false modesty. After all, in the last half-decade, King Stingray have gone from a group of unknown 20-somethings from the remote community of Yirrkala in East Arnhem Land to an award-winning and internationally recognised rock band.
They’ve released two albums and won ARIAs, AIRs, NIMAs and APRAs. They’ve had multiple songs in the Hottest 100, and taken home the coveted Australian Music Prize and Vanda & Young Global Songwriting Competition. In November, they’ll co-headline the opening day of the Queenscliff Music Festival.
But while there’s no denying King Stingray have been on a hot streak, the band’s success is not built on their ability to align with prevailing trends.
“We love inclusivity,” says Kellaway. “We want to bring people in on the party.”
King Stingray’s second album, For the Dreams, came out last November. Matching the success of its predecessor was always going to be a tough task. But Kellaway and his bandmates – vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Dimathaya Burarrwanga, drummer Lewis Stiles, bassist Campbell Messer, and yiḏaki player and vocalist Ngalakan Wanambi – didn’t try to manufacture a repeat.
“From the day of releasing album number one, we were working on album number two,” he says. “We were just really excited and stoked about things because we were touring and making a bit of noise off the back of our first record. So we just kept that energy rolling.”
King Stingray’s self-titled debut came out in 2022. Kellaway and the band’s original lead vocalist, Yirrŋa Yunupiŋu, had been making music together since they were teenagers, and the album condensed their musical journey up to that point.
“We pulled in songs that we wrote in high school and some old songs that we’d already been playing as a band for years,” says Kellaway. “We recorded it in a total of three studio days.”
“Touring and trying to get shit done on the run while having fun was the motto.”
By contrast, For the Dreams was written and recorded in the midst of the band’s hectic touring schedule, which saw them sell out theatres around the country, perform at Golden Plains, Beyond the Valley, BASSINTHEGRASS and the NRL Grand Final, and play their first shows in the US and Europe.
“Touring and trying to get shit done on the run while having fun was the motto,” says Kellaway. “I was booking out studios in all these cities we would be playing in just in case we had time to go in and work on stuff.”
Several songs on For the Dreams, such as Southerly and Best Bits, reflect the group’s aim to make music that draws attention to the joys of living.
“There’s a lot of serious things in the world, lots of stresses, and we always try to just celebrate and look at all the positive things about music, and that’s what we try and sing about,” says Kellaway.
This goal shines through. In a four-star review for The Guardian, Andrew Stafford wrote, “The sound is universally bright, up-tempo and uplifting. And there are no bad vibes, anywhere.”
King Stingray have been on the road since the album came out, completing a US tour supporting King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard last November and an Australian headline tour in May. During the former, King Stingray joined the headliners for a cover of Yothu Yondi’s Treaty.
“That was a bit of a dream come true,” says Kellaway. “And the version of it was really cool with all the guitars; it had a bit of a Talking Heads vibe about it.”
The significance of the collaboration was profound: not only did it introduce King Gizzard’s US following to the Yolŋu classic, but it was a nod to King Stingray’s deep ties to Yothu Yindi. Kellaway is the son of Yothu Yindi’s founding bass player Stuart Kellaway, while Yirrŋa is the nephew of Yothu Yindi’s late leader, Dr M Yunupiŋu.
Both Kellaway and Yunupiŋu are members of the current incarnation of Yothu Yindi, and King Stingray have learned a lot from the example of their elders.
“I remember my dad saying to me, ‘Look, the most important thing is that we’re having a good time and that we have fun.’ And you can see that – the camaraderie and the love and the bond that they all have is evident.
“That has definitely inspired us to do what we do, which is just playing music as friends and having fun on the road, enjoying what it is.”
KING STINGRAY
WHERE: QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
WHEN: 28–30 NOV
FESTIVAL GUIDE
CROXTON BLOCK PARTY
The Croxton Bandroom is throwing a massive, two-day bash to celebrate a decade of live music. Headlined by Spiderbait and Tropical Fuck Storm, the lineup also features Sex Mask, Girl and Girl, Floodlights, Cash Savage and the Last Drinks and more.
CROXTON BANDROOM 1–2 NOV
DEFECTED
The globally-acclaimed house music event is coming to Australia, stopping in Melbourne for one big night. With Low Steppa, Oden and Fatzo, Sam Divine and more on the program, it’s the perfect place for a boogie on Cup Eve.
170 RUSSELL 3 NOV
RHYME AND GRILL
This free community block party will showcase some of the region’s best ska, reggae and DJs, along with food trucks, chill-out areas and a dedicated kid’s zone with face painting and a silent disco to keep the little ones entertained.
KINDRED BANDROOM 8 NOV
BALACLAVA BOOGIE
Across Balaclava, 18 unlikely venues like coffee shops, gyms and barbershops will come alive with music at this free festival. This year’s program features acts such as Adalita, Archer, Xani, Daisy Kilbourne, Max Koenig and Charlie Lane.
CARLISLE STREET 8–9 NOV
POLISH FESTIVAL
Now in its 21st year, this free festival celebrates everything that makes Poland special. With traditional performers, stallholders selling artisanal wares and plenty of pierogi and sweet treats, this volunteer-run event is both entertaining and educational.
FED SQUARE 16 NOV
STRAWBERRY FIELDS
Okay, not technically in Melbourne, but we know plenty of you will be making the trek. This iconic event is celebrating 10 years of music, friendship and camping under the stars along the Murray River this year.
TOCUMWAL, NSW 21–23 NOV
AFRICAN MUSIC AND CULTURAL FESTIVAL
This joyful and high energy event brings the cuisine, performing arts, music, fashion and culture of Africa to the heart of the city. Grab a bite at a street food stall, enjoy live jazz, spoken word and more, watch short films, or take a drumming workshop – all for free!
FED SQUARE 21–23 NOV
ODDITIES AND CURIOSITY EXPO
Lovers of the strange, spooky and surreal, this one’s for you. Stop by to take a gander at weird and wonderful artifacts including taxidermy, preserved objects, animal skulls and bones and handcrafted wares.
MELBOURNE SHOWGROUNDS 22-23 NOV
EAST MALVERN FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
Celebrating a decade of operation this year, this annual day festival celebrates local wine and food under the sun. Buy a tasting ticket package, and enjoy plenty of beverage samples, before scoring lunch or dinner at one of the vendors.
CENTRAL PARK, EAST MALVERN 23 NOV
A3
FESTIVAL
Fusing technology, sound, art and architecture, A3 Festival returns after an impressive inaugural run last year. Spread across multiple stages, the event creates immersive worlds, encouraging visitors to dance, explore and experience.
LARDNER PARK 28 NOV–1 DEC
GROOVE TUNES
This inclusive micro-festival returns, bringing live music to punters of all ability levels. The 2025 lineup features Dean Brady, Velvet Bloom, Dani Enli and Bel Kil, and accessibility measures include wheelchair access, quiet sensory spaces, haptic vests, Auslan interpreters and more.
29 NOV
CORNER HOTEL
LUCID DREAMS
This former club event now resides at Abbotsford Convent, making it a multi-stage day party not to be missed. This edition will feature Sleep D, Reptant, Bridget Small, Deepa, Fred P, Nice Girl, OK EG and Rakhi.
ABBOSTFORD CONVENT 29 NOV
HYPERSONIC FESTIVAL
This debut dance party has been turning a lot of heads, bringing world-class DJs to the stage for a day-long rave. The star-studded lineup includes Alesso, Steve Aoki, Adam Beyer, Andrew Rayel, MaRLo, John O’Callaghan, Sunset Bros and more.
MELBOURNE SHOWGROUNDS
30 NOV
STAGE GUIDE
THEATRESPORTS
It’s improv, but competitive. Cheer like you’re at a footy game as two teams go head-tohead to deliver the most over-the-top laughs and tender moments of theatre inspired by audience prompts. At the end of the season, a champion will be crowned.
IMPRO MELBOURNE THEATRE ALL NOV
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE
This hilarious affair is about forbidden love and hair cuts. Almaviva and Rosina are smitten with each other, yet Rosina is set to marry another. Luckily, the local barber is there to help out, with plenty of tricks up his sleeve to help the two love birds end up together.
REGENT THEATRE UNTIL 5 NOV
REBECCA
This spooky drama brings audiences into the world of Daphne du Maurier’s classic 1938 novel. The twisted tale explores obsession, murder and infidelity with shock and surprise around every corner, performed by an impressive cast.
MELBOURNE THEATRE COMPANY UNTIL 5 NOV
BLADDERWRACK
Trapped in a sunken ship, two ancient pirates muse on Bladderwrack, the slime-green substance that has allowed them to survive for many decades without new food, air or water. Full of sea monsters and mysteries, this one is horrifying and surreal.
TW EXPLOSIVES FACTORY 5–15 NOV
RAHWANA: THE UNTOLD STORY OF RAMAYANA
Myth meets modernity in this retelling of the Hindu epic Ramayana through the eyes of one of its most misunderstood characters. This multicultural performance shares an intimate, personal side of the epic story.
THE CAPITOL 8 NOV
WHERE IS JOY?
This new solo theatre work by Emma Louise Pursey follows Melbourne-based modern artist Joy Hester, the only woman who was part of the original Heide Circle. This show honours her legacy and her bold, passionate archive of work.
FORTYFIVEDOWNSTAIRS UNTIL 9 NOV
COSÌ FAN TUTTE
Mozart’s lighthearted comedy opera lands in Melbourne in a new production by Suzanne Chaundy. Witness impressive arias and a hilarious plotline where two men conjure up a test to see if their girlfriends are faithful.
ANTHENAEUM THEATRE UNTIL 9 NOV
WHITEFELLA YELLA TREE
From the mind of multi-award-winning playwright Dylan Van Den Berg comes a charming tale about Blak queer love. It follows two Aboriginal men who meet under a lemon tree in the early days of colonisation, and the way their relationship unfolds alongside modern history.
UNION THEATRE 13–15 NOV
TITUS ANDRONICUS
Shakespeare’s violent and nightmarish tragedy is brought to life here, following the titular Roman general as he returns from the war with the Goths and sets out on a grizzly path to his own end.
THEATRE WORKS 13–22 NOV
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
This original rom-com follows Beatrice and Benedick, Shakespeare’s most modern couple, as they bicker their way through many twists and turns. Full of drama, laughs and plenty of banter, it’s a classic for a reason.
SOUTHBANK THEATRE FROM 14 NOV
HERE YOU COME AGAIN
The ultimate Dolly Parton experience comes to Melbourne for an encore performance after wowing the world. Featuring all of the icon’s top hits, this musical comedy extraordinaire stars co-creator Tricia Paoluccio and Australia’s Dash Kruck.
COMEDY THEATRE UNTIL 15 NOV
CARMEN
Lust and jealousy swirl as Carmen and Don José form a magnetic connection. This iconic opera is adapted here by Anne-Louise Sarks in an explosion of sexual energy and heartwrenching moments, all with an undercurrent of danger.
REGENT THEATRE 15–25 NOV
JAMES WATSON: PROUD
This timely emotional monologue unpacks the reasons modern men are falling into the clutches of the far-right. After his brother marries an immigrant, tragedy strikes and James turns to an extremist Youtuber for guidance.
THE MOTLEY BAUHAUS 18–33 NOV
HAIR: THE TRIBAL LOVE ROCK MUSICAL
One of the world’s most iconic rock musicals will be re-envisioned here by Glenn Elston. Touching on the hippie movement, politics and sexual freedom of the 1960s, this powerful piece is filled with hit songs, stunning costumes, and good vibes.
ANTHENAEUM THEATRE UNTIL 23 NOV
THE TALENTED MR RIPLEY
The talented Joanna Murray-Smith brings this beloved novel to the stage for the first time ever. Set in 1950s New York, orphan Tom Ridley (played by Heartbreak High’s Will McDonald) used his skills in mimicry and deception to get a leg up.
PLAYHOUSE ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE UNTIL 23 NOV
Ludovico Einaudi
The Summer Portraits
Australia & New Zealand Tour
“A sonic massage for the brain”
London Evening Standard
Arts Centre
THE PRIZE
WORDS BY ANDREW HANDLEY
The Prize’s punky power pop debut album In The Red has no shortage of catchy choruses or hooky riffs, and is a hell of a good time.
Æ Since forming in 2021, it’s taken The Prize until now to release their debut album. That doesn’t mean the Melbourne five-piece haven’t been busy – they’ve already toured Europe twice, supporting King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and The Chats. Their honed skills shine through on In The Red, which is bursting with catchy choruses and hooky riffs.
A few days before moving, drummer and vocalist Nadine Muller joins a video chat from her Brunswick West home. “They’re selling the house… so we just got evicted,” she says. “I’m currently packing up, which is fun.”
Even dealing with Melbourne’s rental market doesn’t dull Muller’s smile. It’s an enthusiasm that can be heard in The Prize’s punky power pop. “It’s very heavily influenced by ’70s and ’80s rock’n’roll that I grew up listening to, like The Ramones and Divinyls and Blondie and that kind of era of music,” she says of her songwriting.
Also on vocals is guitarist Carey Paterson, joined by Joseph Imfeld and Austin Haire on guitars, with Ethan Stahl on bass. “The boys all love heavy guitar stuff, like Thin Lizzy and Cheap Trick and those more classic rock bands,” says Muller. “That’s where the heavy guitarmony stuff comes into it.”
“I think Joe always wanted to be in a band with three guitars because he wanted to do the Thin Lizzy twin lead thing,” she explains. “It’s unique – there’s not a whole bunch of bands with three guitars, probably because it’s a little bit extra, and it costs a lot to tour.”
Muller is self-taught at drumming and singing, and learning to do them simultaneously was even more of a challenge. “You can hit a bum note on an instrument, and it’s not as personal,” says Muller. “It scared the hell out of me, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do it because I’m scared of this.’ Then you do it, and you realise nothing bad happened. I didn’t die.”
Muller and Paterson share lead vocal duties. “We were both reluctant to start with, and now we’re like ‘Oh, I’m going to sing this one,’” she jokes. “Everyone else does a lot of backing vocals. There are always five microphones on stage, which the sound people love.”
Recording for In The Red started before the band went on tour with King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard in late 2023, and was paused again to go on tour with The Chats. “There was a lot of going on the road, and then when you get back, you’re like, ‘the last thing I want to do is see any of you guys,’” jokes Muller. “You don’t want to go straight back into the studio, so it takes a few months for everyone to feel enthusiastic again.”
Though it may have delayed the release of the album, Muller says the touring experience was invaluable. “We were running before we could walk,” she says. “When we did that Gizzard tour and would walk out in front of 2,000 people, I was like, ‘Someone’s screwed up, what am I doing here?’
But I think we pulled it off, and we all learnt a lot of lessons that will carry over into any future touring.”
It was the band’s first EP that nabbed them such impressive support slots. “I think the Wrong Side of Town EP we were super naïve… in an endearing way,” says Muller. “We didn’t think about anything. We just wrote the songs and didn’t overthink them or reevaluate anything. It was just very raw and authentic for us at that time.”
For In The Red, the band used a more polished approach. “Some of the songwriting happened really quickly, but there was a lot of mulling over things, so it was a much slower process,” explains Muller. “I think the songwriting has developed a bit over the last few years, which is good. You always hope you get a bit better at your craft as you do it more.”
Muller says it is a collaborative songwriting process, with her and Paterson writing the lyrics together. “Melodies just fall into my brain sometimes, so I’ve got a lot of voice memos on my phone of me humming something, which probably sounds horrific,” she says. “Then sometimes one of the guys will show me a riff, and I’ll be like, ‘Oh, this vocal melody will work over the top of that.’”
The band wear their influences on their sleeve, paying homage while staying original. It’s a balance Muller says she doesn’t think too much about. “I’m not ashamed of being influenced by things,” she admits. “You can only do so much with influences. At the end of the day, with my voice and my style of drumming it’s not going to sound like a Blondie song or something. I’m not as good as Clem Burke and I don’t have Debbie Harry’s pipes, so it’s going to be more punk.”
“It scared the hell out of me, so I was like, ‘I’m going to do it because I’m scared of this.’ Then you do it, and you realise nothing bad happened. I didn’t die.”
The Prize will launch In The Red on Saturday, 15 November at The Curtin, and will perform new songs for the first time too. “Since we’re not all caught up in the last album, everyone’s got a bit of spark again and an enthusiasm for writing,” says Muller. They’ll also play Meredith Music Festival after many years of attending. “I reckon I wrote in a diary when I was like 14, ‘I will play Meredith one day,’” she confesses. “My teenage girl dreams just came true. It’s a special one.”
THE PRIZE
WHERE: THE CURTIN
WHEN: 15 NOV
MIAMI HORROR
WORDS BY DOM LEPORE
The mastermind behind Australia’s beloved indie-dance act discusses their first album in nine years and upcoming Royal Botanic Gardens gig.
Æ
Australian electropop is incomplete without Miami Horror, the brainchild of Melbourne-born, LA-based producer Benjamin Plant.
When that genre of EDM was the craze in the 2010s, Miami Horror’s laidback, summery songs were highlights – and still are. Their 2010 debut Illumination boasts multiple classics: the uplifting I Look to You ft. Kimbra, the nu-disco banger Holidays with chillwave star Alan Palomo, plus the youth anthem Sometimes.
They continued writing, releasing album two in 2015 and an EP in 2017, but kept quiet shortly after. Miami Horror were figuring out where to go next.
“We wrote a lot of songs in 2017–18 that were funk, soul-oriented like KAYTRANADA and Calvin Harris with Frank Ocean on Slide,” Benjamin says. “We spent two years on it, but were like, ‘Nah, this doesn’t sound like it makes sense.’ We came back to writing the new album around 2020.”
That album is We Always Had Tomorrow, which was released back in February. More mature than the electro-heavy Illumination, the warm and poignant Avalanches-esque stylings are a marked evolution.
The shift to mellower arrangements wasn’t an accident. “One thing I’ve always done is try to find where we fit in,” Benjamin explains. “So, around 2020 when COVID happened, I reassessed what was important and trends went out of the window.”
Benjamin sums up Miami Horror’s new reflective direction as “deeper and meaningful”. The songs explore the cycle of life, the universe and humanity’s role in the cosmos – all things he was interested in as a kid. “I was trying to bring that in which Illumination touched on, but in a deeper way,” he says.
Writing on piano, a first for Benjamin, helped him organically unleash those themes: “It was a new way of finding nuance and emotion that felt like it meant something, so you could start with that feeling, as opposed to it being an aesthetic choice.”
The album’s not all wistful – Glowin’ and Remember are some funkier songs Benjamin reveals were “actually written later”.
“We were at one point considering only having emotional stuff on the album, almost doing two halves – one more sampling fun, the other more emotive,” Benjamin shares, noting it would’ve been “weird” for people to choose a side.
We Always Had Tomorrow wouldn’t exist without the stellar homegrown collaborators like Tim Ayre, Alice Ivy and Telenova’s Angeline Armstrong laying down their talent. I ask Benjamin what was different between his US collaborators and those down under. The answer? He’s on the same wavelength as the Aussies.
“I felt a lot of the [US] sessions were strange… Like, we’re culturally quite different,” Benjamin says plainly. “When I started doing sessions with Australian artists, it was like you were working with somebody on the same level, who’s interested in the same things.”
He adds: “A lot of them, the younger people, had their moment with Miami Horror at some point. That felt really cool – not doing a session with a random person that didn’t know our stuff really helped.”
Benjamin admits it’s sometimes “quite hard” to have fun creating as Miami Horror, so doing it with peers who understand him took him out of that stress. Tim worked on three sample-based tracks. Alice Ivy helped get songs across the line when Benjamin felt lost. Angeline’s voice was the “special” cherry on top that finished We’re All Made of Stars.
Now, Benjamin’s taking the album to the Royal Botanic Gardens. As part of Live at the Gardens, Miami Horror are set to perform alongside Sneaky Sound System and Bag Raiders, with DJs AROHA and Joey Lightbulb joining in. It’ll be a night celebrating local electropop royalty.
Part of him is unsure – “I don’t know how people see us anymore. I’ve let go of that because that’s the only way I can move forward without overthinking,” he shares – but he admits this lineup is special.
“It builds this super strong nostalgic thing,” Benjamin says. “We didn’t even really get that combo back in the day. The sum of it is so rare that it just makes it a better experience than us doing three separate shows.”
“Around 2020 when COVID happened, I reassessed what was important and trends went out of the window.”
Miami Horror’s return may be tinged with nostalgia, but that’s why it’s wonderful, and doing to one of Melbourne’s most gorgeous gardens makes it all the better.
MIAMI
HORROR
WHERE: LIVE AT THE GARDENS
WHEN: 29 NOV
Swinging 60s
Image: Jean Shrimpton on Derby Day, 1965, Clive Mackinnon, The Age newspaper | Swinging Sixties was researched and curated by the Old Treasury Building in partnership with Public Record Office Victoria
MAMA KIN SPENDER
WORDS BY KAYA MARTIN
Not all songs come easily.
Æ Sure, some slip off the tongue, seemingly as if writing themselves. But others take grit, determination, and the bravery of looking at hard things head-on. That’s what Mama Kin Spender discovered while working on Promises.
The duo, made up of Danielle Caruana and Dingo Spender, released their sophomore album on 15 August. For Danielle, it couldn’t come soon enough.
“Get these out of my system and out of my body, please!” she says of the new songs. “Some of them were excruciating to write. The content even sometimes feels like a raw confession. I’m not proud of the behaviour that prompted the songs, but I’m so proud of the songs that changed my behaviour!” Dingo agrees: “Honestly, it’s a huge cathartic relief.”
Written over the span of three years, the album charts a period where both artists were going through “parallel experiences of heartbreak and despair”. The lead single Arrows offered only a taste of the emotional turmoil to follow.
“It’s basically a bunch of songs about all the stages of romantic love,” says Dingo. “The first drug-like euphoria, the domestic grind, all the way through to white-hot rage and despair, back to the deep realisation that the love we seek in others always lives within us first.”
It was only through working on the project that the two were able to find some solace and work towards healing.
“I am so grateful to have a friend and collaborator in Dingo,” Danielle says, “to have been able to sit in the centre of what felt like an abstract and frozen fog, and to extract meaning, to scratch a map together. To brew up a body of work that would guide us both through and back to love.”
The pair’s musical journey began more than 25 years ago when they met in a chance encounter on a Qantas flight from Melbourne to Los Angeles, “when neither of us were parents and there were no iPhones,” Dingo shares.
After being housemates for a while, they parted ways, moving to opposite sides of the country. They were brought back together when Dingo’s project, Spender, supported Danielle’s project, Mama Kin, on a national tour.
“Later, we decided to put a band together because we were both miserable being solo artists and trying to do a music career with young kids. Then we made a record that was ARIA-nominated and toured around the world,” says Dingo.
Joining forces opened many doors for them, from bouncing songwriting ideas back and forth to crafting intricate vocal harmonies.
“A song will emerge as a clue and then hibernate for a couple of years until our lives catch up with the sentiment. I love that.”
“We are word nerds,” Danielle says. “We need the words to mean something to us, to hit us and break us open. None can be wasted, so we work hard for them; sometimes that means being patient… A song will emerge as a clue and then hibernate for a couple of years until our lives catch up with the sentiment. I love that.”
Early on in their collaboration, Danielle and Dingo envisioned working with choirs –something they now do regularly, on their recordings, but also as part of their Choir Camp events, which bring together people from across Australia for weekends of workshops, somatic practices and fireside sing-alongs.
“We write all our songs knowing that there is space for a choir to fit in, because we’ve worked with choirs all over the world and understand the power that it brings – not just to our sound, but the energy is magnificent,” Dingo says. Danielle adds they use choirs more like instruments, layering human voices to build chord beds. “We are just hot for harmony! Romantics for resonance! Okay, I’ll stop now,” she jokes.
In mid-September, the duo took over the Brunswick Ballroom for a sold out show, their first Melbourne appearance since before the pandemic. Full of magnetic harmonies, raw force and touching moments, it gave Promises the welcome party it deserved. Now, they’re bringing the same energy to the stage as part of Queenscliff Music Festival.
“Our voices harmonise in a really wild way after years and years of belting out songs together. We make a hell of a racket for a two-piece band – people always can’t believe it’s just the two of us,” says Dingo. “Think garage gospel, heartbreak storytelling, and deep, powerful joy.
MAMA KIN SPENDER
WHERE: QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
WHEN: 28–30 NOV
WORDS BY AASTHA AGRAWAL
Credit: Ed Gumuchian
On a Friday night in Canada, Alex Leon Gumuchian – better known as bbno$ – is juggling a late dinner and an interview about the biggest project of his career.
Æ Between bites, he can’t help but grin. “I’m really excited for this album,” he says. “I think it’s my best project.”
That album is bbno$, the first to bear only his stage name. Out on 17 October via Broke Records/CMG, it lands just as he embarks on his biggest Australian and New Zealand run yet: the It’s Pronounced Baby No Money Tour, with multiple shows already sold out and extra dates announced.
Eight albums deep, Alex didn’t agonise over the title. “I didn’t really want to come up with a name, to be honest. I was like, ‘Well, Baby No Money is good enough,’” he laughs. But there’s more to it than that. “I always think self-titled is a representation of your best work and what you deem Baby No Money to be. Now that I actually have the production budget to do something more than nothing on stage, people will be able to fully understand what Baby No Money is all about.”
That vision? A rave-like live show where fun trumps all else. “It’s not whether or not you listen to the album or whether or not you like it. If you come to a show and listen to this music, it’s going to be lit and fun. I only have so much steam left in the tank, so I want to go out with a bang.”
Despite the weight of a self-titled album, don’t expect bbno$ to suddenly veer into earnest confessionals. “Absolutely not. There is no seriousness for this album whatsoever,” he says. “There’s like a love song on it, but otherwise I’m saying the dumbest shit front and centre. And I like it that way. There’s so much negativity in the world that when you listen to my music, I want you to separate from reality. Especially when you come to the show – it’s just all positivity.”
That philosophy – “nothing is ever that deep,” as he puts it – has become his mantra. “Everyone is so uptight about something. You don’t need to share that. Just take a day off and have some fun. We’re all gonna die, so why not enjoy it?”
Part of bbno$’s appeal has always been his instinctive grasp of internet culture. He’s called himself the “Gen Z Eminem”, a claim he admits he semi-regrets, though it did wonders for the algorithm. His new single Hot Topic, featuring streamer JSchlatt, was born from a YouTube rabbit hole.
“I’m saying the dumbest shit front and centre. And I like it that way.”
“I saw this rap battle parody, bbno$ vs Schlatt,and it was the cringiest thing I’ve ever watched. I sent it to him, and he was like, ‘We should do something.’ So I asked if he wanted to be in a music video. That was it.”
He thrives in this hybrid space where memes, streams and music collide. “Music used to be such a monopolised business, but now it’s incredibly democratic. Anyone can just make a song, put it out and explode. That’s inspiring. At the end of the day, creating music should be fun.”
The upcoming tour will mark his biggest ANZ shows yet, and Alex couldn’t be happier to return. “I love Australian and New Zealand shows. They’re absolutely wild. I don’t know what it is, but the culture out there is just so much more fun,” he says. “Honestly, I didn’t expect to sell this many tickets. I’m kind of blown away.”
He chalks some of the connection up to cultural kinship. “Australians are very similar to Canadians,” he reflects. “Maybe that’s why people here get me.”
Beyond this run, bbno$ has a world tour, TwitchCon appearances, and his own charity festival, Baby Bonanza, on the horizon. But right now, his focus is squarely on the new record and the chaos leading up to it. “We’re still mixing the album,” he admits. “I got the cover finished 15 minutes before I posted it. We run on really tight time – it’s pretty cooked.”
Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. Whether it’s the playful lyricism of his favourite track Gigolo, the sweetness of Main Squeeze (his girlfriend’s favourite), or the VNLLA collaboration on Bing Bong, the songs are designed to soundtrack parties, mosh pits and dancefloors.
“Making music for me is like a day off. It’s everything. If I can make people have fun, then I could die happy,” he says.
BBNO$
WHERE: FESTIVAL HALL
WHEN: 3 & 4 NOV
Credit: Diego Dutra
DIVEBAR YOUTH
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
There are solo projects, and then there’s Divebar Youth.
Æ Vinnie Barbaro leads the Adelaidebased indie rock project, and not only does he take care of the songwriting and producing, but he’s also the project’s manager, booker and record label.
It’s a hefty workload, but Barbaro has overseen three years of continuous growth for Divebar Youth. He’s released a handful of EPs, including this year’s LATE FEE and last year’s petrichor, and had multiple songs exceed one million streams.
Barbaro wrapped his first European tour in early October, where he played Reeperbahn Festival in Hamburg and did headline shows in Berlin, Frankfurt, Paris and various cities in Switzerland.
“It was honestly surreal. Like, really, really crazy,” says Barbaro, who’s speaking Beat the day after arriving back in Adelaide. “I know online and listenership on Spotify and stuff, I’d seen there’s a lot of traction in Europe, but then going there and [having] that many people showing up, and meeting people, and just talking to people about my music on the other side of the world… It was really, really rewarding.”
“I feel like this is the point where it’s like, ‘OK, now let’s really try to do this forever.’”
Barbaro is eager to get back to Europe for a more comprehensive run of shows, but he’s got an Australian headline tour to get through first. Divebar Youth will play at the Bergy Bandroom on 29 November, where Barbaro will be joined onstage by a live drummer.
The new single, Tides, is the third taste of a forthcoming EP that’s due out on 21 November, just in time for the tour.
“It’s called Modern Expectations,” says Barbaro. “The recent singles How You Doing? and Nonchalant are going to be on it, and a bunch of new songs as well.”
Before the tour kicks off, Divebar Youth will perform at Adelaide’s Harvest Rock festival over the final weekend of October. Getting booked for Harvest Rock is another major milestone for Barbaro, especially considering the festival headliners, The Strokes, are one of his formative influences.
“When I got booked for it, I wasn’t aware of the lineup or anything and we jumped on because I had been in previous years and it’s just such a well put together festival,” he says. “And then when I got the hint that it was The Strokes, I lost my mind, to be honest.
“To be getting to start to share the stage with some of the acts that got me into music and shaped me wanting to play guitar and record my own music, and [who] kind of lean into that DIY stuff, it’s full circle and inspiring and it’s so exciting.”
Barbaro started releasing music under the Divebar Youth moniker in 2019, but it wasn’t until his 2023 EP, SONDER, that he began to see major traction on streaming services. The listener numbers have only grown since then, but there’s never any guarantee that streaming success will translate to real fans. This is why the recent tour and festival opportunities have been so rewarding for Barbaro.
“Looking at the stats and seeing all these people from different parts of the world listening is really exciting,” he says. “But then getting [to Europe] and meeting people face to face – I was in Aarau, which is in Switzerland, and these people are coming up and knowing the words and talking to me. It’s like, ‘OK, all the hard work that I’ve put in is paying off.’
“So many artists work so hard to get to this point, and I feel like this is the point where it’s like, ‘OK, now let’s really try to do this forever.’”
Barbaro isn’t making any assumptions about where things will go next. In fact, he wrote about this on his 2024 single, all you ever wanted, which begins with the line, “What you’ve already got is all you ever wanted.”
“It’s this whole back and forth, thinking, if you’re not enjoying it right now, isn’t this what you wanted?” Barbaro says. “And this whole conversation of, well, you’ve just got to enjoy it for what it is now and embrace it, because ultimately, you’re always going to be looking for the next thing. And if the next thing doesn’t come, you’ve just missed out on what already happened to you.
“It’s not even music, it’s just life,” Barbaro adds. “You can either always be looking at what’s next, or you can actually just sit back [and realise], wow, what I’ve got in my life is great right now.”
DIVEBAR YOUTH
WHERE: BERGY BANDROOM
WHEN: 29 NOV
SLIM KRUSTY
The folk-punker will absolutely make it to a venue near you, one way or another.
WORDS BY LUKE CARLINO
Æ Slim Krusty just got back from New Zealand to play a show in Alice Springs. He drove 23 hours after that show, hit a kangaroo on the way, scored a lift with some mates from Cooper Pedy to Adelaide, then traded tattoos for a Honda Civic to get back home to Melbourne. Oh, and got done by the cops for the Civic being unroadworthy.
This type of chaos is pretty standard for Slim, and he loves every minute of it. “I forgot my passport in NZ, and probably spent like five or six hundred bucks on Ubers. It’s like one thing after the other, but that’s why the party hat’s on, man,” he explains as an AI-generated party hat dances around our video call.
Slim Krusty is a modern punk-rock troubadour who is constantly playing shows, big and small, from tours with Drunk Mums and Frenzal Rhomb to little house shows and gigs in tattoo parlours.
“Every day off I end up just playing another show in someone’s house or something,” he explains. “I like driving as well. I wouldn’t do these lengths of drives for any other job. I wouldn’t drive 23 hours to do a shift somewhere.”
Slim Krusty may be sharing stages with some of the best to do it, but there is also a DIY ethic behind what he does that fosters a culture around him, no matter the size of the room he is playing. As an example, Slim played a show in a tattoo shop recently, and chucked $400 of his own money into a pot as part of an honesty system to make sure everyone attending could get a $100 tattoo.
“I was tattooing for a little bit there, and that’s another industry that’s just struggling, and people don’t have money for tattoos, so we did a pay-it-forward system. If you can’t afford a tattoo, you take out of the kitty, and if you can afford to chip in extra, all good. I said, I’ll play a free show, and this should get new people coming through the store. I thought the kitty would have gone immediately, but it stayed up for ages. Loads of people got new tattoos, and every artist got paid properly for their work and got some new clients. It was wholesome, and it was in the middle of a bloody hurricane as well.”
Slim Krusty gives off more of a hurricane than a wholesome look due to his heavily tattooed… well, everything, but the friendly flower on his chin is the best representation of his personality. This is something that everyone he comes across notices immediately, if his adventures are anything to go by. “If you need a place to stay or a lift if your car breaks down, people have just been so generous with helping out. You get back what you put out, and you can’t get into music to be all about making money, but you can make a community, which makes everything a bit easier to deal with. It makes the world a little bit less lame.”
Slim never thought he’d be a touring, solo folk musician, but his friends pushed him into it. “I just hated the sound of my voice, but I really like playing and travelling and meeting people,” he explains. “The community is the main key to it all, especially with doing the sad stuff. It’s like, ‘Yeah, I’m sad, come watch me play.’ It’s nice to do sad stuff live, but it’s not a sad time, it’s cathartic and fun and you hear people’s stories and how they relate to stuff in different ways.”
“There’s one thing I know that I know how to do, and it’s fuck up.”
Slim is about to head out on an eight-date headlining tour of the country, which brings him to Revs at the start of November, and the shows will be an equal dose of good-sad and fun. “There’s one thing I know that I know how to do, and it’s fuck up. I don’t care if I forget a song or whatever, I’m not like a tight, refined player, but I think the honesty of what it is comes across when you absolutely just send it and don’t really give a fuck. A lot of other people get behind that, and you just end up screaming at each other, and it makes for some wholesome fun.”
He continues, “If you’re honest with what you’re doing, it will translate. You could write a sad song in a million different ways, but people will know if it’s bullshit. You can’t force funny, and you can’t force sad; you have to have some kind of authenticity behind what you’re actually doing. But I don’t know, if you think I sound like shit, I already know that, so just come out to a show and have fun.”
SLIM KRUSTY
WHERE: REVOLVER BANDROOM
WHEN: 1 NOV
BECCA HATCH
Every artist faces challenges. But getting called upon by one of the biggest bands in the world to deliver a verse in one hour? That’s as high-stakes as it gets.
Æ Luckily, Becca Hatch can deliver. The 24-year-old songstress, whose mum is Samoan and dad Kamilaroi, has been preparing for this moment since she started out in the music industry at age 16. She grew up in Campbelltown in south-western Sydney and is now based in Naarm.
Last year, she dropped her debut EP Mayday, which set her out on the path towards one of the wildest twists in her career. The EP was more dance-oriented than Hatch’s previous releases, with elements of drum and bass (Bass Keeps Calling), Jersey club (Think Of You), house (Settle Down) and amapiano (Leave Me Low) entwining with Hatch’s pop and RnB influences.
Off the back of Mayday, Hatch won New Talent of the Year at the National Indigenous Music Awards and was nominated for the Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist award at the 2024 ARIAs.
After supporting multi-platinum musician Tinashe on her Australian tour and performing at Yours & Owls festival, Hatch was asked to join Coldplay onstage at Sydney’s Accor Stadium, where she added an original verse to the British band’s song WE PRAY.
“That definitely was the craziest thing to ever happen to me,” she says. “The way that it happened was so crazy.”
Hatch was in Sydney on the Friday before Coldplay arrived. She got a call from her manager, who told her Chris Martin was hoping to meet up with a few local artists and play some songs.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, yes, I would love to play some music for Chris Martin,’” Hatch says.
An hour later, the phone rang again. “My manager’s like, ‘I don’t want to freak you out,’” Hatch says. This time, Martin was asking if Hatch could write and record a verse for WE PRAY. “‘But the catch is we only have an hour to get it through and the show is next week,’” she recalls.
She was in a car with her mum at the time, driving to a fitting. “So I’m, like, writing this verse in the car. I was just trying to make anything up. Nothing was coming to me. It was so stressful,” she says.
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
“I was just bawling my eyes out. I just couldn't believe it.”
Once the fitting was over, she filmed a video on her phone of an improvised verse. “It felt so cringe,” Hatch says. “I was singing to the camera and just, like, fingers crossed.”
After what could have only been an anxious weekend, Hatch got a call on Monday morning to say that Coldplay liked the verse and wanted her to join them in front of 80,000 people at Accor Stadium two nights later. “I was just bawling my eyes out. I just couldn’t believe it,” she says.
Since then, Hatch has carried that energy into 2025 and has been busy working on new music, some of which will see the light of day in early 2026. Soon, she’ll be taking the stage at Strawberry Fields, backed by DJ Nicole Tania.
“I’m going to play a bit more of a dance set and less of the RnB, poppy songs that I have,” Hatch tells Beat. “I love festivals like this because I can really play the dance music that I like to listen to and the ones that I feel like I’m a bit more creative on.”
With her latest work, she’s been drawn back to the RnB sound of her early releases, but she isn’t saying goodbye to dance music. “For me, it would be good to carve out a space that sits between dance and RnB and alternative,” she says.
She also excels at emotive ballads, as demonstrated by the Mayday centrepiece Crash, a song about “being in the midst of what feels like a really hard time.” A couple of months after releasing it, Hatch put out an acoustic version of the song with lyrics in Samoan. Her mum and uncle handled the translation.
“I showed it to my mum and I was like, ‘Maybe I should make a Samoan version?’ She was like, ‘Oh my gosh! Yeah! I’d love to help you.’”
The experience allowed Becca Hatch to forge a deeper attachment to her Samoan roots.
“My mum is from an island called Savai’i and her village is called Salelologa. She was born and raised there, [then] came here. So it was a really good way to connect with my culture and with my mum,” she says.
BECCA HATCH
WHERE: TOCUMWAL
WHEN: 21–23 NOV
LEIGH BARKER
Jazz bassist and bandleader Leigh Barker is launching his latest album, Cross Street, at jazz club The Count’s this month.
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
“I would have never recorded it if we didn’t live in France.”
Æ Leigh Barker established himself on the Australian jazz scene in the early 2000s. Barker, a bass player, specialises in 1920s and 1930s swing and early-20th-century New Orleans jazz.
After 13 years on the local scene, Barker relocated to France in 2016. His repertoire still consists of jazz standards popularised by US artists such as Billie Holiday, Duke Ellington, Jelly Roll Morton, Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman, but the change in context has significantly influenced Barker’s music.
“In June, I was rehearsing some new music with a Swiss trombonist who has lived a long time in Brussels and Paris,” Barker says. “There was a certain syntax in the melody and harmony that can only be European or French jazz. There’s just no way this music could have been composed by an Australian.”
Soon, Barker will return for a tour in support of his most recent work. He’s launching his latest album, Cross Street, at Monash University Performing Arts Centre’s dedicated jazz club, The Count’s, on 5 November.
The Count’s is known for its program of intimate midweek gigs and its fully licensed bistro. Barker’s gig kicks off a busy month at the venue, which also includes performances from Hetty Kate’s Bass² Quintet and French jazz singer Noria Letts.
Track two on Cross Street, Viper’s Dream, is a prime example of how Barker’s music has evolved as a consequence of the move to Europe. “I would have never recorded it if we didn’t live in France,” he says.
That said, Barker was primarily motivated to move to Paris for practical reasons. The French capital seemed like an optimal location from which to conduct a career as a touring musician.
“It’s logistically and physically the ‘centre’ of the world in terms of having a career as a performer,” he says. “It has changed everything and has surpassed all my expectations too.”
But Barker maintains strong ties to Melbourne. The new album was recorded at Brunswick’s Cross Street Music Hall in December 2022, part of a national tour that Barker has described as “a real homecoming.”
Barker has been working with several members of his Australian band since 2004, but the 2022 tour was the group’s first time playing together post-COVID. Despite the drawn-out interval, they’d lost none of their musical synergy.
“All the dates came together beautifully, and all the music too,” Barker says. “It was one of the most satisfying trips I’ve ever made.”
Barker will reassemble the same cast of collaborators for the November tour. He’ll also be bringing along pianist Max Teakle, who is from Melbourne but lives in Basel, Switzerland. Abby Constable will sit in on drums for some tour dates.
The show at The Count’s will revolve around the Cross Street album, including various 1920s and ’30s jazz staples and some lesser-known blues curiosities from the ’30s. The album includes a couple of newer compositions, including Great Big Heart, written by vocalist and violinist Heather Stewart. “It’s going to sweep the planet,” Barker says of the song.
In the Cross Street liner notes, Barker states that “it has always been the goal, mission, dream, concept, vision (whatever you want to call it) to try and cover the widest territory of jazz that we love whilst avoiding any feeling of pastiche.”
This might sound like a straightforward creative mission, but it’s not easily achieved when performing music with such an illustrious history. For Barker, pastiche is avoided by maintaining a commitment to authenticity
“It’s fun to mix styles and eras and genres, but you have to just keep trying to find the most authentic representation of yourself in this music,” he says. “So on one hand, I know exactly what I want to play and hear on stage, but it’s ephemeral, and you can lose it really quick in the noisy thoughts –is the band enjoying this? Is the audience on board? Are people dancing? Do I like this?”
But none of these thoughts got in the way when Barker and the band were making Cross Street, he says.
“With Cross Street, I’ve made the most selfish choices, more than ever before. So, to a jazz scholar or hardcore aficionado, we’re a little bit all over the map, but I think the personalities and talents of these eight musicians make the whole bigger than the parts.”
LEIGH BARKER
WHERE: THE COUNT’S
WHEN: 5 NOV
SKUNKHOUR
Skunkhour
dished out their take on
funk-rap fusion in the ’90s, and no one before or since has done it like them.
WORDS BY WIL CLIFFORD
Æ 30 years on from their acclaimed sophomore album Feed, they’re ready to embark on the Up To Our Necks In It tour, playing some of their biggest tracks and fan favourites.
“That was our most successful album, and there’s a lot of songs that we’re going to be bringing that we might not have played as much in the last few years,” said vocalist Aya Larkin.
After the release of their self-titled debut in 1993 through indie label Beast Records, Skunkhour saw rotation on the recently rebranded Triple J and cultivated a dedicated fanbase through opening slots for the likes of Beastie Boys and INXS. When Sony came knocking with a record deal, it gave the band the chance to go big.
“[The first album] was us gelling as a group who all had an underlying love of rare funk and many other influences,” said Aya. “For the second album, it was a conscious decision for us to do stuff that nobody else was doing.”
Enter 1995’s Feed; 11 tracks flying between ravenous grooves, acid jazz jams and touches of hip-hop via Del Larkin’s verses. At a moment in time when rock ruled the airwaves and local dance music was shining bright, Skunkhour arrived with a funk-rap hybrid that was like nothing else on national radio.
“Triple J was important for us. They made [Feed] album of the week and it got played quite a lot,” Aya said. “A couple of people in the industry were pretty into it. We got a lot of respect.”
Songs like the laid-back That’s The Way and the groovy Sunstone showcased the band’s tight rhythms and performances. But the crown jewel of Feed, the track Up To Our Necks In It, revealed itself immediately. The single speaks to the band’s day to day experiences of sharehouses and inner city living around Sydney in the ’90s.
“All of our living circumstances were pretty basic and we were spending a lot of time out on the streets, walking along that edge of the city,” said Aya. “You’re rubbing up against all that stuff.
You’re coming in from the suburbs where we’d grown up as kids and being immersed in all those things.
“You had your own preconceptions and views growing up about what hits you and what doesn’t, and what feels good. Some aspects of city living are so great, but this was also just talking about…some of the edgier forces that can make it a bit gritty.”
Beginning life as an assortment of riffs by guitarist Warwick Scott, Up To Our Necks In It features Aya’s strong vocal choruses with Del’s spoken word verses. In comparison to some of the other parts of the album, the song came along surprisingly quickly.
“The thing that took the most time was just me coming up with lyrics, because [Del] was already sitting on some and I just needed a couple of weeks and it was there” said Aya. “[Then it] was ready to head on out and become our most well known song.”
The tour will mark their first set of shows since the passing of former drummer and founding member Michael Sutherland last month. Sutherland performed on the band’s debut album as well as Feed, contributing to some of Skunkhour’s biggest songs.
“Michael’s recent passing has in some way made me reflect on what was going on in those tracks and his input and what we shared together,” said Aya. “I dare say when we come to play this run of shows, there will be an added emotional kind of ballast in the whole thing. We can do our best to honour him and all his input by really being on the top of our game and really in the moment with the songs and the crowd.”
Fans rocking up for the tour can expect to hear many highlights from Feed as well as some deep cuts, including reworked tracks from the self-titled debut.
“When we roll [Up To Our Necks In It] out, those opening guitar notes, you get this great reaction from people if they recognize what it is,” Aya said. “That’s always going to feel really gratifying. The song can still do its thing.”
SKUNKHOUR
WHERE: PELLY BAR – FRANKSTON, CORNER HOTEL – RICHMOND
WHEN: 13 & 14 NOV
Regional GUIDE
WORDS BY
FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE
FESTIVALS
KYABRAM COUNTRY MUSIC FESTIVAL
Dust off your boots because there’s about to be a week-long hoedown at the Kyabram Showgrounds. Featuring a Bush Market, food and drink trucks and the crowd favourite Country Music Marathon, this not-to-be-missed event will see Brian Letton, Sandie Dodd, Rodney Vincent, Vanessa Sanger, Lance Birrell and more take to the stage.
KYABRAM 3-9 NOV
SOUNDTRACKS MUSIC FESTIVAL
Part of Warrnambool Live, SoundTracks will celebrate the city’s long, rich history with music, spanning from the songs of the Gunditjmara people to Waltzing Matilda. Live music will take over all kinds of venues from laneways to bars, with acts from big bands to soloists and everything in between.
WARRNAMBOOL 7 NOV
INTERNATIONAL ROSE GARDEN FESTIVAL MORWELL
Showcasing thousands of blooming roses at the Centenary Rose Garden, this free, family-friendly event offers workshops, market stalls, Devonshire Tea, and live entertainment. Friday night launches with food trucks, performances, and a kids’ disco, while Saturday features aerial theatre Bloom!, Costa the Gnome, dirtgirl and scrapboy, and a Storytime session. Highlights include the AGL Loy Yang Night Light Installation, transforming the garden into a kaleidoscope of colour with fairy lights, roving performers and music.
GIPPSLAND 7–8 NOV
NORTH BELLARINE FILM FESTIVAL
The North Bellarine Film Festival was established in 2017 with the objectives of bringing high quality and diverse cinema to the Bellarine Peninsula and to help foster regional, state and national filmmaking talent. Held at Parks Hall in Portarlington, come along for a fantastic program of feature and short films by some of Victoria’s finest young filmmakers.
PORTARLINGTON 14–15 NOV
TOWN FOLK FESTIVAL
The beloved regional music festival has unveiled an impressive lineup combining international indie royalty with Australian favourites across multiple venues. Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory lead the charge this year, maintaining the festival’s reputation as one of Victoria’s most accessible and family-friendly music experiences.
CASTLEMAINE 15 NOV
PENINSULA VINEHOP FESTIVAL
Discover seven stunning Mornington Peninsula venues featuring more than 30 craft drink legends as well as live music, DJs, food trucks and a festival atmosphere like no other. Choose your adventure: shuttle tickets for the classic hop-on hop-off experience visiting four venues, or Festival Hub tickets for one epic location with headline DJ John Course.
MORNINGTON PENINSULA 22 NOV
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL
Since 1997, Queenscliff Music Festival has been turning up the volume of the Bellarine with a diverse range of contemporary music. The three-day musical and cultural event is a frenzy of live music, local food and family-friendly activities. Queenscliff Music Festival also runs the annual FOOT-IN-THEDOOR competition, giving emerging artists the opportunity to perform in front of up to 10,000 festival attendees in a battle-of-thebands style program.
QUEENSCLIFF 28–30 NOV
TOURS
COSMIC PSYCHOS
Originally from rural Victoria, the now-legendary Aussie punk band will be hitting the road in honour of their passion for fine brews (and new album). They’ll be delivering their unique brand of raw-edged rock, featuring fuzzed out guitars, larrikin lyrics and grunge influence alongside special guests Good Sniff.
SINGING BIRD, FRANKSTON 7 NOV
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 8 NOV
CORNER HOTEL, MELBOURNE 9 NOV
QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC
FESTIVAL, QUEENSCLIFF 29 NOV
LENNY KRAVITZ
Global rock icon Lenny Kravitz is set to electrify Mildura this November, headlining a major concert event backed by the state government. Kravitz, known for smash hits like American Woman, Fly Away and Are You Gonna Go My Way, has cemented his legacy with a string of accolades, including a record-breaking four consecutive Grammy Awards for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance.
JOHN CAIN ARENA, MELBOURNE 25 NOV
SPORTING PRECINCT, MILDURA 28 NOV
RED HOT SUMMER TOUR
Red Hot Summer Tour brings a spellbinding series headlined by Crowded House, with a stellar lineup featuring Angus & Julia Stone, The Church, Mark Seymour with Vika & Linda, and The Waifs. These iconic outdoor shows will take place in October to December in spectacular locations around Australia.
BALLARAT, VICTORIA PARK 1 NOV
YARRA VALLEY, ROCHFORD WINES 2 NOV
MORNINGTON RACECOURSE 29 NOV
MORNINGTON RACECOURSE 30 NOV
COLLINGWOOD BASEMENT
LIVE MUSIC: bangs loud and late from the Funktion One sound system. House and techno music reigns supreme here, so expect to bounce to the beat until you can’t feel your feet.
FAMOUS FOR: the aura of mystery that surrounds this place. No website, no information, no IG posts. If you know, you know.
INFAMOUS FOR: being one of the most exclusive spots in the business. With only a hundred tickets sold each night, getting in is a prize in itself. Soho house, who?
Æ Walk down Smith Street these days, and with a keen ear, you may be able to make out a new beat thudding up from the depths. Recently, a new figure in Melbourne’s underground dance scene has emerged, and we mean ‘underground’ quite literally. Tucked away beneath the clubbing powerhouse that is New Guernica, Collingwood Basement is a highly exclusive and elusive “micro-club”.
Lately, it’s been throwing late night parties of all varieties, keeping the pulse pulsing and the revelers revelling. The space has welcomed everyone from international spinners to local legends, with events on fairly regularly. Queer techno, disco, breakbeat, Italo and beyond – any genre is up for grabs, as long as it makes the people move. These DJs need stamina, because the place is open until 4am.
And despite the devastation of missing out on a spot, there is something we love about these itty-bitty club spaces. The small size creates a sense of intimacy; a vibe that anything can happen at any moment. Fellow punters become friends, niche interests are welcomed and curiosities are explored in the propulsive, mesmerising environment. So descend into the red-lit basement, and let the sound and energy engulf you. You never know what the night may bring.
WHERE: 0 LANGRIDGE STREET COLLINGWOOD
OPEN: DURING EVENTS
THE TIMBER YARD
LIVE MUSIC: at the Timber Yard just got a big boost, with a huge upgrade that’s made the venue all the more magical. Expect many more gigs to come.
FAMOUS FOR: its versatility. The venue has hosted everything from food and wine festivals to luxury brand launches, as well as dozens of live music events in its industrial warehouse space.
INFAMOUS FOR: being pretty hot in the summer. Like, sweatdrenched dance floor kind of hot. But luckily, that won’t be the case this summer, as they’ve finally upgraded the air conditioning system (thank you!).
Æ You may think you know the Timber Yard. Think again.
Quickly becoming one of Melbourne’s premiere destinations for buzzy artists and big parties, the venue has decided it’s time to up its game. Recently, it unveiled a brand new look, after undergoing a $3 million renovation aimed at improving comfort and quality.
A whopping half of the budget went towards a complete AV makeover, giving the venue one of the most advanced systems in the state. With more than a hundred new lights, a new blackout aesthetic and a huge high-res LED screen, the gritty, industrial chic venue now feels a lot more professional. On top of that, it’s now got full climate control throughout the various indoor/outdoor spaces, keeping things comfortable during Melbourne’s chilly winters and sweltering summers.
All of this means The Timber Yard is likely to be hosting a bunch more events in the months to come, and punters are in for a whole new experience. Just minutes from the CBD, this large-scale venue is unlike anything else Melbourne has on offer, and we just can’t wait to see what it does next.
WHERE: 351 PLUMMER ST, PORT MELBOURNE
OPEN: 9AM–5PM, MON–FRI / DURING EVENTS
LANGO
LIVE MUSIC: will take place in the warm summer air, under the fabulous domed structure on the banks of the Maribyrnong River. Does it get any better than that?
FAMOUS FOR: its name meaning “on the edge” in the WoiWurrung language, thanks to its stunning riverside location. The word was gifted by Wurundjeri Elder Aunty Annette Xiberras.
INFAMOUS FOR: causing a stir with its contemporary canopy design, merging beautifully with the surrounding landscape. Featuring three overlapping shells decorated by the work of First Nations artist Moorina Bonini, it’s not your average bandstand.
Æ There’s a new contender for best venue in the west, and it’s coming in hot. Set to open this month, Lango is Footscray Community Arts’ brand new open-air stage. Nestled among the palm trees, the venue is replacing the former bluestone amphitheatre and is designed to host live music, performances, markets, community events and everything in between.
For the past 50 years, Footscray Community Arts has been a cultural meeting point in the region, spotlighting contemporary works across mediums with a focus on artists who are First Nations, culturally and linguistically diverse, LGBTIQA+ and living with disability. Lango is set to take that reputation to the next level. Brought to life by a state government investment, the stage will also feature a pathway that connects it to the galleries and the riverfront, making it easy for punters to visit by foot, bike or board.
The first event on the calendar is a big party held on 31 January that’ll feature neo-soul singer NOV KAIIT and Indigenous spinner DJ PGZ. But first, the venue’s aiming to fundraise the final part of the budget. It’s accepting donations, so consider helping out if you can, because this project is going to do a world of good for the west’s arts, music and culture scene.
WHERE: 45 MORELAND ST, FOOTSCRAY
OPEN: DURING EVENTS
BROWN ALLEY
LIVE MUSIC: at Brown Alley now has a new host: Nerve, a hard techno party happening every Friday night. Loud, experimental and adrenaline-inducing, it’s exactly what Melbourne needs.
FAMOUS FOR: being one of Melbourne’s biggest nightclubs. With multiple dancefloors, an outdoor terrace and smoke spots, it’s an underground playground of light and sound.
INFAMOUS FOR: its booming bass and late-night longevity, which those who live in the surrounding apartments don’t always love… But hey, that’s city living for ya.
Æ Have you really been out clubbing in Melbourne if you haven’t been to Brown Alley? Going strong for the past 20 years, the inner-city behemoth is a maze of spaces from rooftops to dancefloors, and on any given night you’ll find multiple DJs hard at work. Equipped with a state-of-the-art D&B Audiotechnik soundsystem and technicolour lighting, the venue curates the quintessential nightclub vibe, which is why it’s commonly regarded as one of the city’s best nightlife offerings. Go hard in the main room, check out the garden bar or cool off in the lounge-like bathroom… The place is yours to explore.
And to make things even better, it’s now hosting a weekly event dedicated to hard techno for everyone who likes their BMPs fast and their bass blasting. Each Friday night, Nerve unveils a stellar lineup of talent from overseas and closer to home. A recent previous edition featured Germany’s Tanja Miju, Ireland’s Kirk and Aqua-X. Plus, $6 beers, $11 basics and other drink specials don’t hurt either. If you haven’t stopped by in a sec, here’s your excuse, just remember to dress the part so you make it through the doors.
It’s not just hype. With two decades of party-making behind it, Brown Alley knows what it’s doing. Swing by and see for yourself.
WHERE: 585 LONSDALE STREET, MELBOURNE
OPEN: 10PM–4AM, FRI–SAT
TEEN JESUS & THE JEAN TEASERS
Glory
Æ There’s something Runaways-cool about Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers, whose unison gang vocals catch you looking and holler, “Take a picture it’ll last longer!”
Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers formed in Canberra when all members were aged 15, the day after they watched School Of Rock during a sleepover. We choose to imagine these rebels plotting world domination while smoking behind the shelter sheds. Originally a fivepiece but now a party of four, they’ve been honing their musical chops together for a decade.
Opener Watching Me Leave’s sinister underbelly features crawling bass and dense riffs. Overlapped vocals – melodic meets monotone – double the stalkerish creepiness of this one. “Sippin’ on my whisky on the balcony…” – Balcony chronicles a secret tryst, with insouciant verses bringing Wet Leg to mind. Channelling a wild night out where nothing’s off limits, this standout track closes out with a cheeky chuckle – vivacious, like the one that opens Hungry Like The Wolf by Duran Duran.
Glory is not all self-assured, aspirational party-girl fodder, though. Sometimes they’re feeling sassy, other times they’re secretly willing hotties at the bar to Turn Around and take notice – too shy to approach: “I’m not sure what I would even say if you walked up to me in real life someday.”
Daylight is a sweet, “everything is better with you” love song: “I wonder what it’s like to be someone like you in love with me/ I hope you don’t hate it” – everyone deserves to experience a crush of this intensity at least once in their lifetime. And if you have, this song will spark fond memories.
Guitarist Scarlett McKahey takes lead vocals for the first time on Mother, which is about “the built-up rage of watching incredible women being mistreated by inadequate men, over and over again since the beginning of time”. Aptly, this song concludes with a howling chorus.
Bait’s economical riff, executed with maximum conviction, stops us dead in our tracks every time we hear it: “Can’t play the player/ If you can’t play the game” – some of these pearlers are bound to make their way into schoolyard banter (see also: “Homebrand, not that hot”). Gotta appreciate those subtle cowbell accents, too.
All current Teen Jesus members contributed to the songwriting on Glory, which the presser brilliantly describes as “the conspiratorial eye roll you share with a girlfriend when a loser guy is talking”. Listening to Glory also helps build self-worth, thanks to lyrical affirmations that belong on your fridge (eg. “If I’m too scared of what could happen, then nothing’s gonna happen at all”).
Teen Jesus & The Jean Teasers create music to gift ride-or-dies.
LABEL: COMMUNITY MUSIC
RELEASE: 7 NOV
HARPER FINN
Silo Park
Æ Riverside gallery dates, vintage coats, “hot sauce on your pizza”, sitting on fire escapes – New York-based New Zealand musician Harper Finn is a vivid storyteller and brilliant musician, of impeccable pedigree, who favours nighttime songwriting sessions on piano.
The opening Fire Escape contains some fun vocalisation, especially the extended “Aaaah”s that sound like Finn’s just sipped a delicious drink.
“I thought I read your future with me/ I liked your sense of wonder/ The way you get your kicks for free…” – those Finn genes (Harper’s dad is Tim, his uncle is Neil) loom large during Doves, with its catchy riff The Strokes would surely be jealous of. Where Did She Go’s keys melody evokes Kelly Watch The Stars by Air.
The ridiculously catchy Broken Glass –with its blissful, escalating BVs – captures a honeymoon period: “Despite all of my crazy ideas, she got me… She could have whoever she wants, but she wants me!” – sync this one to a meet-cute scene, pronto.
“I can see you out there/ Shining on your own/ Like a satellite sending messages home/ I look up at night and think of you…” – written during a New York winter, Satellite bemoans the tyranny of distance. It’s a jaunty bop, though; our narrator must feel confident love will endure.
The closing title track is Split Enz quirky. Marrying insistent keys with conversational vocal melodies, Silo Park wraps with rattling tamba and carnivalesque squeezebox.
It’s worth noting that Finn throws some nifty shapes, as well.
LABEL: WARNER
RELEASE: 31 OCT
STELLA DONNELLY
Love And Fortune
Æ After touring relentlessly for a couple of years off the back of her previous record, 2022’s Flood, Stella Donnelly took a break from gigging to re-evaluate: should she even continue to indulge her musical passions?
Back in August, the Naarm-based, Boorloo-raised artist dropped some new tunes: a double A-side comprising Standing Ovation and Baths, the latter of which is a two-minute meditation – almost-a cappella over sustained, droning notes.
Donnelly first recorded the Baths vocal melody into her phone back in 2021, but it resurfaced more recently while she swam laps at Brunswick Baths. “I became fixated on how things sounded under the water,” she later recalled, “and began to think about all the sounds I would have heard from inside my mother.”
Opener Standing Ovation employs the same sonic palette of synth drone and pure vocals, until a perky guitar riff and jaunty drums enter around the halfway mark. Like two songs in one, it quickly amps-up to a jovial bop.
These stripped-back arrangements place Donnelly’s clear, bell-like vocals and intimate lyrics front and centre. “You’ll always be dear, my friend/ With your old lady hands…” – during her bittersweet breakup song Year Of Trouble, she takes accountability for the “lonely ride” on the other side.
(“You can’t…”) Please Everyone issues an important reminder, underscored by melodious birdsong (fun fact: Donnelly is an ambassador for 2025’s Backyard Bird Count, which starts 20 October).
Love And Fortune finds Donnelly discarding the weight of expectation to instead probe the beating heart of her artistry.
THE SOUTHERN RIVER BAND
Easier Said Than Done
Æ Humour, bucketloads of charisma and oodles of talent to back it up – Cal Kramer, The Southern River Band’s frontman, could be the love child of Robert Plant and Brian Mannix. During album highlight Suits Me Just Fine – with its cheeky, winking riffs –he admits, “I’ve got six Van Halen T-shirts,” which checks out.
Opener Don’t Take It To Heart’s blazing riffs make us nod like a bobblehead on the dash of a car negotiating multiple speed humps. This is rock ’n’ roll of the finest calibre. Cheesy vocal harmonies, bashing drums, curly riffage, unhinged harmonica and stopstarty moments of whiplash wonderment (see: Something’s Gotta Give – geez, these dudes lock into a groove so tight we suspect they share a pulse!). Hold up, did Kramer just drop a c-bomb? “You never know what these cunts just might have up their sleeve.”
“If I wanted to be a businessman I’d be sucking corporate dick in the city!” –Kramer’s a funny one, alright. Check out his quote from the One Of These Nights (I’ll Be Gone) presser: “If you ever need a release valve opened on your tear ducts, give this one a go and report back.”
Gratuitous guitar solos showcase impressive guitar chops. One Last Dance, with its metallic, shadowing riffs, is a strutting blast.
“There’s no such thing as a new idea…” – they admit they’re not chasing originality. Mullets, spandex and a whole lotta ‘tude – you’ve just gotta glance at these proud bogans from suburban WA to know they rock hard.
Unless you’re allergic to fun, The Southern River Band will win you over. Easier Said Than Done is harmless, dumb rock ’n’ roll (the best kind) played by top-notch musos. Double thumbs-up.
THE VASCO ERA
I Don’t Mind
Æ The Vasco Era is back. “I don’t need a warning/ Do you?”
Side A: Yelling (loud). Side B: Crying (soft). Frontman Sid O’Neil zigzags between these modes, sometimes within a single song, throughout the Surf Coast band’s fourth album.
From hating on cross stitch (“It’s fuckin’ kitsch”) and bemoaning the price of organic oranges (“Nine bucks!”) – It Wasn’t Supposed To Be Like This suddenly ticks over to witching hour at Earthcore; perfect for a barefoot stomp sesh.
The flat-out bonkers In Another Place, with its tribal drumming and mantra-like singing, would fittingly soundtrack one of Doctor Who’s parallel universes.
The Vasco Era tends to poke away at tolerance thresholds, which is a thrilling prospect live. Silver Bird, which opens Side B, screeches in like a rogue guitar being wrestled into submission. Then just barely-strummed guitar cradles O’Neil’s fragile falsetto – talk about a vibe shift!
You Were Going To Look, with its sighing strings and floaty atmosphere, features O’Neil in full Jeff Buckley mode, nailing that quivering vibrato.
Although he sometimes sings like a broken choirboy, O’Neil’s yowls are among the most spine-tingling you’ll ever hear. Now picture him flinging himself around the stage, ricocheting off amps.
A wee bit into the closing All This Time I’ve Been Waiting, a maelstrom of instrumentation invades, withdraws, returns and so on. At their heaviest, The Vasco Era can be dense and mighty as Sabbath. But I Don’t Mind’s delicate moments are equally as strong, if not more memorable.
How had we never before realised The Vasco Era is a natural fit for symphony orchestra-enhanced shows?
BOOM CRASH OPERA + MODELS Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $65.
LYNDON MCGAUCHIE
Freddie Wimpoles. St Kilda. 11pm.
HALLOWEEN FOR HUMANITY
FT: The Rest Is History, Aria Monet, Crushed Lavender, Fake Stanley, The Night Shift Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $12.75.
CACOWEEN
FT: Blowers, Super X, Bughunt, Strange Kind Of Future, Winternationale
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. $20 - 25.
MONSTR: THE BEST OF MTV UNPLUGGED. ERRIN KELLY
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $54.67.
HALLOWEEN AT THE BENDIGO HOTEL: THE BEST OF ELECTRIC WIZARD PERFORMED BY ISUA. BURIAL PIT, GHOSTSMOKER Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8pm. $33.70.
BLANC DE BLANC Spiegel Haus. Melbourne. 8.45pm. $79.
LOOK SHARP DUO
The Bay Hotel. Mornington. 9pm.
MD DUO + DJ BEC
The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.
TREATY OAK
REVIVAL. WADE FORSTER Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. SIMON PHILLIPS
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm. FELICITY
URQUHART & JOSH CUNNINGHAM
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. $45. THE WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ & BLUES
Various Locations. Wangaratta. 5.30pm. $0 - 100.
MATT MALONE & THE HOLY SPIRITS + ESTHER RIVERS (HALLOWEEN SHOW)
The Merri Creek Tavern. Northcote. 8pm. $16.66.
PULSE PRESENTS: THE SOUND OF THE UNDERGROUND
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. $23.46. NERVE MELBOURNE 2025 Brown Alley. Melbourne. 10pm. $11.67 - 30.
TORREN FOOT + AIRWOLF PARADISE
Max Watt’s (Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $44.90.
STUPID FUCK THE SILLY CLOWN: HALLOWEEN
SPECIAL FT: Tea Vandal, Yobbo The Clown, Electric Self, Mishto, Fomora, Vigilantonie, Aka Zeb, DJ Hell Slaywood Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6pm. $27.40 - 32.90.
HAUNTED HAUS X JAZZ & JAFFLES
Spiegel Haus. Melbourne. 7pm. Free.
DOOM GEN PRESENTS:
HALLOWEEN HELL RAVE
FT: DJ Kiti, Evisceratrix, Jess Kill, Jolt, Kristen Solury, Lobotomy, MBVR, Satanic Sisters, Stockholm Syndrome, ^ / Π
Laundry Bar. Fitzroy. 9pm. $25 - 45.
STEAMBOAT WHISTLERS
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm.
AZYMUTH + SABRINA MALHEIROS
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $79.90. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW SOUNDTRACK
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $40 - 50.
A NIGHT WITH TINA The Round. Nunawading. 8.30pm. $65.
CLUB GAGA: HALLOWEEN PARTY
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $14.80 - 22.95.
PHOEBE SENA PRESENTS LOVE DELUXE: THE SADE TRIBUTE SHOW
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm.
SAT 01 NOV
SOGAND
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 8pm. $129.
CRIIMES: 10 YEARS & ONE DAY. ARBORISTS
The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm.
SONGS FOR MND VICTORIA
FT: Thom Johnston, Mila + Lucas, Jack Paraiso, Nic Bosnic, Albert Steeze, Molly York, Bray, Ali Harman, Jasmijn Woods Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 12pm. $16.85.
MIKE GOLDSTEIN. EVAN HOCKING, JACINTA JAYE, YELUSELEMI
DIAKANUA
Railway Hotel. Fitzroy North. 7.30pm. $29.83.
THE NEW ORDER: HALLOWEEN
FT: Mortasha Kinski, Aristo G, Spyke, Eris, Anarki, DJ Skinny, DJ Wolf, Equinox, Daydream Deluxe, Zydrate Club Pandora. South Melbourne. 9pm. $20 - 25.
HALLOWEEN AT GLAMORAMA
FT: Myles Mac + B!TE Takeover
Glamorama. Fitzroy. 9pm. Free - $30.
SALSA & DANCEHALL
FT: DJ Foxy Fuzz. Gabss, Dub Matie, Danny Man
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 9pm. $20.40 - 28.56.
TO BE LOVED: A DEDICATION TO ADELE
Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Brighton. 8pm. $55. PINKO COLLECTIVE
Bar 303. Northcote. 3.45pm. Free. NANA KOIZUMI QUARTET
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9pm. $45. CHINA BEACH. POTLUCK, PLEASE PEOPLE
The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $17.75 - 20.80.
LA DISCOTHÈQUE
FT: DJ Randy Lipz XXX, DJ LadySoul, DJ Tanner Odeon Richmond. Richmond. 7pm. $23.50. RELAX WITH MAX Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $35. THE GROOVE BANDITS
Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $13.25.
MOTLEY JAZZ JAM
The Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 7.30pm. Free. MILLY JOEL TRIO + DJ ALEE
The Fifth Province. St Kilda. 9pm.
AM//PM EMO NIGHT HALLOWEEN
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 8pm. $20 - 30. JAMES REYNE. TAXIRIDE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $70. IN EDEN SLAIN. DANDELION WINE, OMNIPRESENCE, SHE WEAVES GROTESQUERIES
Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $23.75. I AM DUCKEYE. CHEAP COFFINS, NO HOPER, MOUSTACHE ANT, RUINSCAPES Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7.30pm. $20.
HAMMERS. ARABELLA & THE HEIST, FRON Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95. TEENAGE JOANS. BUKOWSKI, TOWNS The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $28.60. GUNS 2 ROSES: GUNS N ROSES TRIBUTE
Max Watt’s (Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $53 - 59.
ZEKE. THE ONYAS, STEPMOTHER Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 9pm. $53.55. THE VANNS Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $64.90. SLIM KRUSTY Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7.30pm. $21.42. BERNTH & BERTHOUD ESCAPE THE INTERNET. THE OMNIFIC Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $89. THE CROXTON BLOCK PARTY
FT: Tropical Fuck Storm, Cash Savage & The Last Drinks, Party Dozen, Grace Cummings, Exek, NPCEDE, Loose Lips, more The Croxton. Thornbury. 12pm. NO CIGAR The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $55.05.
TANGLES: NEW MODULAR MUSIC CURATED BY ROBIN FOX Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37. GROOVE ALLIANCE X QQQ
FT: DJ Possum, Jo Christy, DJ Gracey, Bby Cass, Sleepy Jay QQQ ST. Park. Collingwood. 7pm. $10.95 - 14.25.
FLOATING DREAMS PRESENTS SEVEN DROPS. EM & NAT, FLOATING DREAMS Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $17.34 - 28.56. ANDREW MCSWEENEY
The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free.
THU 06 NOV
TENTENDO Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.05. SWINGING SPRING CARNIVALE: BOBBY VALENTINE & THE REVENGE OF THE BIG BAND Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $29 - 49. AARON SEARLE PRESENTS: IN IDLE HOURS Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.
DOOMSCROLL
REHAB
FT: Triography
Boardies Bar. Fitzroy. 6.30pm. $13. RAW FISH
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $49. GARDEN LANE. COOLDAD, A
STUDY IN RED
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. Free. GIG 4 PALESTINE
FT: Finn Kirby, Scumm Save, 40th Parallel, Charlotte Dirckze
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 7pm. $23.50.
COUNTRY STRUTS
BOOT SCOOTING
Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6pm. $16.50.
PSI PHI Bar 303. Northcote. 8.30pm.
SUCCULENT
THURSDAY
FT: Zoë Fox, ØTTA, Forever Son
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. Free.
GRACE FORSTER. GRACE WATT, ARIA MAY, SHYLAH ROSE, ISLA DIXON
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $15. JEWEL OWUSU Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24.
VIVIZ
Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $172.18.
TONY J KING
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
DUSTY BOOTS + BEN CAMDEN. JANIE GORDON Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm.
BADIEH: SONGS FROM GREATER KHORASAN
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 6pm. $50. GWYN ASHTON Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free. THE MUSIC OF JOE HISAISHI Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $88.
Glamorama. Fitzroy. 10pm. THE MEAN TIMES. THE VENDETTAS
The Thornbury Local. Thornbury. 8pm. FLEETWOOD MAX Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.
JAMES REYNE. TAXIRIDE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $70.
JACK LADDER
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $50.
SARAH MCLEOD
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $44.15.
THIRD EYE PRESENTS SOULS IN MOTION: AN EVENING OF TOOL Max Watt’s (Melbourne). Melbourne. 7pm. $33.15.
THE L.A WOMAN
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $39 - 59. HOT MACHINE. MONGREL, VIXEN SCREAM
Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 9pm. $22.95.
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. BIG NOTER Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $89.90. SOSO. ALL REGARDS, IVY BLACK
Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $21.42 - 38.76.
BABY MULLET. PROPERTY, FAVOURED STATE
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8.30pm. $16.35. DAMAGE INC.: OFFICIAL NIGHT BEFORE PRE-PARTY Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $49.90. THE CALABRIANS Bar 303. Northcote. 5pm. Free.
WILSN The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $33.45.
BLUE NOTE ‘62
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $45. UK GARAGE WITH DJ LADY ERICA
Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm. PARRA FOR CUVA. THE ODDNESS, NACANĀ Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 8pm. $36.92 - 67.52.
MARK NUNIS: PIANO BY REQUEST 12 Bar Belgrave. Belgrave. 9pm. Free.
KELI HOLIDAY Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. CALL ME MAYBE PRESENTS: 2000S + 2010S PARTY Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $14.80 - 22.95.
YORKE
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 7pm. $25.25. JEREMY ZUCKER Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $79.90. SKUNKHOUR Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $59.90. LOVE LETTER TO MUSIC Corner Hotel. Richmond. 12.30pm. $199.60. THE GNOMES.
LOOSE LIPS, THE PEARLIES, RIVIERA Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $28.15.
Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $16.32. DEAD MALL
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $16.35. AL MATCOTT. ALEX HAMILTON & HIS BAND, TAMBOURINE JESUS
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $17.48. SUPERDIVER. LEIPZIG LAB, EMPIRICAL PREY Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $15 - 20. ASTEROID B612. SWEDISH MAGAZINES, SIMON JULIFF BAND
The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $38.70.
PIANO MAN: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $73.
SAT 15 NOV
SCREENSAVER. TONGUE DISSOLVER, LOTHARIO, ARMOUR
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $25 - 30.
CAUTION:THIEVES. SOME HEARD TROUBLE, MISERY GUTS, CRUELTY IN THE CONSTELLATIONS
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $16.85 - 25. THE GOLDEN GAYTIMES. THE WRAYLETTES, FROB Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy).
St Kilda. 7.30pm. $10.75. HEISTS. OUTLOVED, SIGNALS, ST.SINNER
The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. LADDERS ON TABLES. THE LAST MARTYR, DAYS LIKE THESE
Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7pm. $48.35.
GLAMORAMA
SATURDAYS:
TINIKA + DOZIE
Glamorama. Fitzroy. 9pm. ECLIPSE METAL CLUB NIGHT
FT: Daydream Deluxe, Dangerbeard, Donna Kate Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 9pm. $22.95. STEVEN WILSON Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $142.35.
POP PUNK TRIBUTE PARTY Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $31.62 - 41.82.
VELOCIRAPTOR
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $29.13.
VAUDEVILLE SMASH’D
Spiegel Haus. Melbourne. 10.15pm. $39 - 59. THE PRIZE. AARDVARK, BLUE COMMUNICATIONS
The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85. THE WITCHING HOUR. FUNKYTOWN FISH, MALICY
Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $15.43.
COUNTRY STRUTS LINE DANCING CLASS & PARTY WITH DOUBLE DOLE STRING BAND. DJ
SALOONY TUNES
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $29.10.
SLEAZY LITTLE
THING VOL. 2
FT: Michael Badger, Clickbait
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. Free.
LISA MILLER TRIO. JANIE GORDON
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 2pm. Free.
AMY SHEPPARD
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. $60.
NICK ELLERBY
The Cosmopolitan Hotel. Trentham. 3pm. Free.
THE HUMAN HIGHWAY: THE MUSIC OF NEIL YOUNG
Wool Exchange. Geelong. 8pm. $34.70.
CHRISTINE MANETTA & THE CULTURE COMBO
Blues Train. Queenscliff. 6.30pm. $175.
SHOUSE: LIVE.
NALIITA
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $28.56 - 49.47. ALL INDIA RADIO. USER, DJ GLENN
BENNIE
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $29.10.
GORDO
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $71.30.
CHERUB COURTYARD TAKEOVER
FT: Special Guest, Lexï, Tabasclo, Disco Bitch, Graceless Grace, Flow, Alcatrax, BURG3SS Glamorama. Fitzroy. 6pm.
BBSANII
The Beast. Brunswick East. 8pm. Free. OUR CARLSON Young Street Tavern. Frankston. 8pm. $20. CAPITOL THEATRE ORCHESTRA
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 2pm. $23.05.
PAUL GRABOWSKY & MINDY MENG WANG: BETWEEN DREAMS
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 6pm. $55. MISS GEORGE: TRIBUTE TO DIANA KRALL
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45. Cocteau’s Circle
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $69. PIANO MAN: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF BILLY JOEL Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 1pm. $73.
THU 20 NOV
JORGE PARDO & HIS FLAMENCO LEGACY
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $50. ANIA Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. ELLA HABER. COLLEGE OF KNOWLEDGE DJS, NKECHI ANELE Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 8pm. $28.50.
THE DARRYN FARRUGIA PROJECT Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $40. BRIDGES OF SOUND: FROM SMYRNA TO SILK ROAD Kew Court House. Kew. 7.30pm. $20.
CORTO.ALTO
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7pm. $39.90.
BEN OTTEWELL & IAN BALL PRESENT: GOMEZ BY REQUEST Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $64.15. COUNTRY STRUTS BOOT SCOOTING Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6pm. $16.50. ERIC GALES. THE MCNAMARR PROJECT Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. PIXIES. ELLIOT & VINCENT Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $111.98. STAR-JOCK*. THE OPALS, DAY DREAMERS The Curtin. Carlton. 7.30pm. $17.75.
HEAVY FEST #4: THE MIDNIGHT DEVILS. KARLY JEWELL, CROSSON, ENGRAVED Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 7pm. $22.59. ARIE ROSE. BIG FAT ELEPHANT, DENNIS Creatures of Habit Bar & Bandroom. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $15. CHARM OF FINCHES Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $33.76.
DERRICK GEE
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $57.32.
SUCCULENT THURSDAY
FT: Sarah Mary Chadwick, Mystery Shopper, Grant Money Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. Free. BRIDGES OF SOUND: FROM SMYRNA TO SILK ROAD Kew Court House. Kew. 7.30pm. $20. ALISON FERRIER DUO Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 1pm. Free.
NOIZE MC
Max Watt’s. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $155. JESSIE MURPH Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7.30pm. SONOROUS XII: ROHAN REBEIRO & PRUDENCE REES-LEE
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $37 - 50. RYMAN HEALTHCARE
SPRING GALA: JOYCE DIDONATO Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $76.
FRI 21 NOV
GREAT FALLS. TOM LYNGCOLN, COMETS Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95. ROWLAND & THE HOWARDS. SOULS OF AMBIENCE, ETHEREAL GONE KIDS Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $18.90.
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. $89.90. LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME: NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $34.80.
WADE FORSTER. TORI FORSYTH
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. THE PLEASURES
Young Street Tavern. Frankston. 7.30pm. $40. KALANDRA
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $69.90.
RODRIGUEZ JR.
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 10pm. $35.70 - 49.50.
BLACK CAB. TONGUE DISSOLVER, SOOJI NORTHCOTE Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. KIROLLUS
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 11pm. $49.90.
THE REFLEX: THE AUSTRALIAN DURAN DURAN EXPERIENCE
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $39.
MSO MORNINGS: RESPIGHI’S ROME
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 11am. $62.
SAT 22 NOV
KURILPA REACH. SOPHIE KELLY
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85 - 22.95.
THE BLACK SORROWS Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $74.90.
ISEULA
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $45.
HIDDEN GEM
FESTIVAL 2025
FT: Ferguson Rogers Process, One Spirit Africa, Ruby & The Clumsy Dollies, Super Fed Leopards, The Deans of Soul, Delsinki & The Quiet Coachman, Charlie Needs Braces, The Pleasures, Damon Smith Trio, BJ & Nero Friktschn Duo, Skybelly Car Park. Dandenong. 10am. Free.
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $51.
FRI 28 NOV
SANDY DISH. WHIP, HAIL MARY JANE
The Penny Black. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $20. WILLOWBANK GROVE Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $17.35 - 24. CAMINO GOLD. MIDDLE PALMS, ATOMIC ENTOURAGE The Workers Club. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.85 - 23.50. PAINTERS & DOCKERS. ARABELLA & THE HEIST
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $59 - 79. AMONG THE RESTLESS. EMMA YUE, THE SATTS The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $15 - 23. MOODYMANN. DJ JNETT Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $67.52 - 88.94.
TAMARA KULDIN’S DIRTY MARTINI
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS PRESENTS: CLUB WICKED Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 9pm. $14.80 - 22.95.
EVERCLEAR. DOSE Chelsea Heights Hotel. Chelsea Heights. 8pm. $70.40.
DUNCAN GRAHAM & THE WAY IN. GOOD MOON, OLD PLACES
Grace Darling Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $10. MADONNA: THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $17.48.
MAHO MAGIC BAR Spiegel Haus. Melbourne. 6pm. $81.40 - 86.40.
DAMON R. + SUZY SHEER Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $62.80.
LOVE REGGAETON FEST
FT: Nicky Jam, Garet tt, Jess Makaveli, Sebastian Lugo, DJ Bryan Flores, DJ Castillo, more PICA (Port Melbourne Industrial Centre for the Arts). Port Melbourne. 6pm. $109 - 315.
LEILA. WILL ROUNDS, KAYLAH THOMAS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 7.30pm. $23.20.
NEW WORLDS: JAIME CONDUCTS CHEETHAM FRAILLON & DVOŘÁK Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $51.
SAT 29 NOV
FLITCRAFT. AARDVARK, CULT OF THE NIGHT Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 1pm. $9.70 - 18.90.
