Beat 1745 by Furst Media

BACK TO THEIR ROOTS:

THE TESKEY BROTHERS

RETURN HOME TO OPEN MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

OCTOBER 2026 #1745

BEAT.COM.AU NAARM/MELBOURNE’S VOICE IN MUSIC, ARTS & CULTURE

TURN TOWARDS THE HEAT

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Perched at the peak of Melbourne Recital Centre, with floor-to-ceiling city views, The Beacon beats with a new kind of energy. A stage for musical matinees and latenight sets, The Beacon invites audiences to look out and listen in – look out as the skyline sparkles; listen in as storytelling and song intertwine. TICKETS ON SALE NOW melbournerecital.com.au/beacon

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1745

EDITORIAL NOTE

EDITOR Lucas Radbourne

This month the Teskey Brothers come home. Æ A decade on from Half Mile Harvest — the album they cut to tape in a shed and never expected anyone to hear — the Warrandyte pair open the Melbourne International Jazz Festival at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, with funk royalty Fred Wesley & the New JBs and Emily Wurramara alongside them.

ASSISTANT EDITOR Frankie Anderson-Byrne GRAPHIC DESIGNER Riley McDonald GIG GUIDE Jacob Colliver CONTRIBUTORS Molly England, Andrew Handley, Michael McCarthy, Bryget Chrisfield FOR ADVERTISING OR SPONSORED CONTENT ENQUIRIES advertise@furstmedia.com.au

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, meanwhile, built themselves a modular synth they named Nathan and an album, Alien Metal, that nearly broke them in the making; both turn up at their own Croxton Block Party. Rowena Wise sits with the unresolved on Bad Things Feel Good, Juice Webster chases the gap between the self you perform and the one you are, and Philip Slabber steps out of Crooked Colours on his own for the first time. Plus, down at the Workers Club, Swampfest turns a punk-rock day into a fundraiser for the Black Dog Institute.

ACCOUNTS accounts@furstmedia.com.au ENQUIRE ABOUT HAVING BEAT MAG DISTRIBUTED AT YOUR BUSINESS OR VENUE distribution@furstmedia.com.au PUBLISHER Furst Media Pty Ltd FOUNDER Rob Furst

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.

“We want to bring people in on the party.”

KING STINGRAY

ST KILDA FESTIVAL

take on Queenscliff Music Festival

Mo’Ju, Bag Raiders, Mallrat and more lead Australia’s largest free music festival.

THE FLAMING LIPS Wayne Coyne reflects on the band’s punk origins: ‘We weren’t compared to The Beatles back then’

NOVEMBER 2025 #1735

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BEAT.COM.AU NAARM/MELBOURNE’S VOICE IN MUSIC, ARTS & CULTURE

DECEMBER/JANUARY #1725

BEAT.COM.AU NAARM/MELBOURNE’S VOICE IN MUSIC, ARTS & CULTURE

FEBRUARY #1715

DISTRIBUTION

COVER

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

Our cover stars in October are the Teskey Brothers, photographed by Ian Laidlaw.

BEAT.COM.AU NAARM/MELBOURNE’S VOICE IN MUSIC, ARTS & CULTURE

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CONTENTS 12–16

NEWS THE TESKEY BROTHERS

Abbotsford Convent

18–19

Desert Highways

Flowerclub

STAGE GUIDE

The Underpass

FESTIVAL GUIDE

REGIONAL GUIDE

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD 26–27 ROWENA WISE

JUICE WEBSTER

KITTYHAWKS

CROOKED COLOURS

PITT & GIBLIN

36–37

VENUE GUIDE

ALBUM REVIEWS

38–39

Julia Jacklin

The Gem

Ella Hooper

Overnight Success

Fat Dog

Cancel Me, I’m Tired

Vacations

Pursuit Of Anything

Logic1000

Confirmation!

GIG GUIDE

40–43

Never miss a Melbourne event. beat.com.au

CARLA GENEVE ‘GUARD DOG’ TOUR

AUSTRALIAN FOLK MUSIC AWARDS 2026

FAIRTRADE NARCOTICS

BALL OF THE DAMNED

FRIDAY 9 OCTOBER

WEDNESDAY 21 OCTOBER

FRIDAY 30 OCTOBER

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER

BRUNSWICK BALLROOM IN OCTOBER

BEAT 1745

NEWS

HOUSEWARMING REOPENS THE IAN POTTER STATE THEATRE

LUNA DARK DROPS A NEW HAUNTED HOUSE ON LUNA PARK

PUBLIC FIGURES TOP THE TOTE WITH THEIR TOUGHEST SINGLE YET

St Kilda’s amusement park goes bigger and darker for Halloween, with six after-dark sessions built around new headline maze Carnival of Screams, an abandoned carnival brought horribly back to life. Scare zones, roaming performers and gentler family daytime sessions round it out. Luna Park, 22 October to 1 November.

The Melbourne four-piece follow breakout EP Figure It Out! with Push My Buttons, a meaner, more industrial turn produced by drummer Gigi Argiro. A national run brings a Forum support slot on 7 November before their own hometown headliner. The Tote, 13 November.

Melbourne’s most iconic stage throws its doors open again with a free four-day party, handing out 18,000 tickets to a show blending dance, circus, music and theatre from more than 100 Victorian artists. Jude Perl hunts a lyrebird lost from the red curtain. Ian Potter State Theatre, 9 to 12 October.

PUSH OVER MARKS 40 YEARS AT THE BOTANIC GARDENS The charity behind a generation of under18 gigs turns 40 with a Live at the Gardens party on 21 November, led by Bodyjar, Frenzal Rhomb, Killing Heidi, Magic Dirt and Regurgitator. Each headliner brings a one-off guest collaboration built for the day. Royal Botanic Gardens.

THORNBURY CRAWL TURNS HIGH STREET INTO ONE FREE FESTIVAL

GABRIELLA CILMI RETURNS WITH HER FIRST ALBUM IN 13 YEARS The Melbourne-born singer behind Sweet About Me steps back out with Pure Love, a soul, blues and classic-pop record cut live to tape in Devon. She plays Bird’s Basement on 15 October, with regional Victorian dates in Moorabbin, Lara and Werribee to follow.

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL UNVEILS ITS PROGRAM The full bill has landed: 550-plus artists from 18 countries across 150 events and 30 venues, from 16 to 25 October. The Teskey Brothers play debut Half Mile Harvest in full at the Bowl with funk legend Fred Wesley, and a big chunk of the program is free.

Twelve venues along Thornbury’s High Street line up for a day of free live music, from family-friendly afternoon sets through to midnight. Set times are staggered so you can amble between the pubs and bars and catch each at its best. Register online for a ticket. 24 October.

BRITISH FILM FESTIVAL BRINGS COLMAN AND GARFIELD The Palace-run festival returns across Melbourne’s Astor and Palace cinemas from 28 October to 29 November, led by Olivia Colman rom-com Wicker and the Andrew Garfield medieval drama The Uprising. Documentaries, period romps and a Michael Parkinson portrait fill out the first slate, with the full program landing in early October.

ARMIN VAN BUUREN HEADLINES HYPERSONIC’S RETURN The trance titan tops the second edition of the electronic festival, back at Melbourne Showground on 20 November across multiple stages of techno, drum and bass, hardstyle and more. W&W, Showtek, Timmy Trumpet and Hybrid Minds fill out the mainstage.

MARK SEYMOUR REWORKS HUNTERS & COLLECTORS WITH AN ORCHESTRA The frontman reimagines four decades of songs with a full orchestra behind him for one night, marking 40 years of Human Frailty. Expect Holy Grail, Throw Your Arms Around Me and When the River Runs Dry pulled into a bigger, cinematic space. Palais Theatre, 26 November.

QUEENSCLIFF MUSIC FESTIVAL ROUNDS OUT ITS BILL The coastal weekender adds its comedy, DJ and family program, led by Denise Scott and Gillian Cosgriff, atop a 70-plus music bill of Matt Corby, Baker Boy and more. The Blues Train also chugs back through the Bellarine after seven years away. 27 to 29 November, 90 minutes from town.

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SIMONA CASTRICUM FRI 02 OCT

LUCY WISE SUN 04 OCT

ALEX THE ASTRONAUT THU 08 OCT

FOOL NELSON SAT 10 OCT

SUZI HORATIO LUNA THU 15 OCT THU 22 OCT 26/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY W/ MUNROE, GIG GUIDE NORWOOD + GRACE DE VOS 01/10 ETHAN MILLER 02/10 SIMONA CASTRICUM 28/10 THE SONOBOTS 03/10 PAPA M & MICK TURNER SELLING FAST 29/10 THE JOLT FUSION: AFRICUBISMO 04/10 LUCY WISE + GUESTS 05/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY W/ RACERAGE, 31/10 LEV SHIV HUNNY MACHETE + CAPTAIN 01/11 BLACK CAB SELLING FAST BEEP- BOOP 08/10 ALEX THE ASTRONAUT 02/11 IRATION STEPPAS 09/10 SIDNEY PHILLIPS SELLING FAST 04/11 ANTHONIE TONNON 10/10 FOOL NELSON 06/11 LOOSE BRICKS 11/10 BALAGAN BLUE 12/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY W/ PIGGIETAILS, 07/11 SAMSCOUT HARD RUBBISH + WRIDING 08/11 AMOS ROACH 15/10 SUZI 12/11 CAIN CULTO 16/10 SISTERS DOLL SOLD OUT 13/11 ALTA FALLS 17/10 DYLAN BURGOS 14/11 NEFELI FASOULI (GR) 18/10 THE LOST GIRLS SELLING FAST 15/11 TERRIBLE MURIEL 19/10 SOCIAL SANCTUARY W/ NO QUESTIONS, TURI THARMA 20/11 ERIC HUTCHISON (USA) + FRANCESCA FIMERI 21/11 PARANOID ANDROID 22/10 HORATIO LUNA 22/11 SACRED COWBOYS (LATE MATINEE) 23/10 MOUNTAIN BOY SELLING FAST 27/11 ROMANIE 24/10 EPICURE 25/10 JEFF LANG & DOM TURNER 29/11 BAD DEBTS

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GOOD THINGS LOADS UP A MONTH OF DECEMBER SIDESHOWS With the heavy festival hitting Flemington on 4 December, a swag of its touring acts stick around for club shows. Millencolin, P.O.D., All Them Witches and The Home Team all play Melbourne rooms on 2 December, with The All-American Rejects, Kami Kehoe and more across the following week.

HILLTOP HOODS HEADLINE NEW FESTIVAL CASTAWAY IN MORNINGTON The one-day festival rolls into Mornington Racecourse on 12 December with a heavily homegrown bill. The Adelaide hip-hop trio top a lineup taking in the guitar heft of Violent Soho, the pop hooks of Amy Shark and sets from Playlunch, Trials, Lyric and Birdland.

LET THEM EAT CAKE MOVES TO A NEW INNER-CITY HOME Melbourne’s New Year’s Day institution shifts from Werribee Park to The Nursery in Flemington for 2027, with one of its deepest bills yet. Anetha, Boys Noize, Joy Orbison, Ewan McVicar and Chaos in the CBD lead, backed by a heavy roster of locals. 1 January.

BEN FOLDS REUNITES WITH THE MSO FOR TWO HAMER HALL NIGHTS

FCUKERS BRING THEIR NEW YORK CLUB CHAOS TO PORT MELBOURNE The duo tour debut record Ö, an 11-track collision of house, breakbeats, dancehall and maximalist pop, off the back of festival sets at Glastonbury, Coachella and Primavera. A Meredith slot sits neatly beside the headliner. The Timber Yard, 13 December.

Fresh off second album Pure Devotion, the Welsh brothers pack their full audio-visual rig for a single city date after a Beyond The Valley slot. Expect their restless mix of rave, techno, UK bass and breakbeat threaded through emotive songwriting. PICA, Port Melbourne, 9 January.

The piano-pop songwriter shares a stage with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for the first time in six years, reworking catalogue highlights for strings and brass under conductor Benjamin Northey. His album So There already paired short pop songs with a full piano concerto. Hamer Hall, 29 and 30 January.

JAMIE WEBSTER BRINGS HIS LIVERPOOL FOLK TO MAX WATTS The singer-songwriter whose Allez Allez Allez became a Liverpool FC anthem tours fourth album Running Round The Sun, leaning into a Laurel Canyon and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young influence. His street-folk hit Weekend In Paradise closes out most nights. Max Watts, 12 December.

OVERMONO BRING THEIR ONLY MELBOURNE HEADLINE TO PICA

MEDIUM BUILD LANDS THE KING OF HAVING FUN TOUR The American singer-songwriter, real name Nick Carpenter, tours sixth album King of Having Fun, a record shaped by recovery and a lighter outlook. It’s his biggest headline run yet, recorded live in the studio with friends rather than alone in a bedroom. Corner Hotel, 19 January.

SAM ALFRED AND JOB JOBSE SHARE A WAREHOUSE FLOOR

PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL STACKS ITS 50TH BIRTHDAY BILL

Two of dance’s busiest selectors go back to back for the first time in this city, at reclaimed warehouse The Wool Store. Expect an extended run through house, techno, trance and garage, pairing Sam Alfred’s 90s house nous with the Amsterdam veteran’s genre-hopping sets. 8 January.

The seaside institution adds 38 more acts for its golden anniversary over the Labour Day long weekend, among them Kate Rusby, Luka Bloom, The Waifs, John Butler and Steph Strings. It runs 5 to 8 March in Port Fairy, on the western Victorian coast, roughly three hours from Melbourne.

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A NEW MAKERS MARKET LANDS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE CBD

THE FRAY BRING THE SUMMER OF LIGHT TOUR TO MELBOURNE

City Square on Swanston Walk fills with up to 40 emerging artists, designers and makers for the Melbourne Makers Market, a collaboration with the Rose St. Artists’ Market dedicated to handmade and locally made work. Entry is free, and it settles into a monthly rhythm through the year.

RADIOHEAD RETURN TO MELBOURNE AFTER 15 YEARS

The How to Save a Life hitmakers return for a second Australian run in as many years, ahead of A Light That Waits, their first record of new material in over a decade. Dashboard Confessional support the arena show. Margaret Court Arena, 5 February, with a Torquay festival date the next day.

The art-rock band play their first Australian shows since 2012, and Melbourne takes the lion’s share with six nights at Rod Laver Arena across May. Tickets run through a registration process built to keep bots and touts out. 13 to 20 May.

MELBOURNE RECITAL CENTRE UNLOCKS A ROOFTOP VENUE

EMPIRE OF THE SUN BRING THEIR BIGGEST AUSTRALIAN TOUR YET

A once-hidden storage room atop the Southbank building becomes The Beacon, an intimate space with floor-to-ceiling city views. Its opening program runs weekly through to November across cabaret, jazz, musical theatre and First Nations-led performance, with a reflective ceiling and a large spectrogram artwork wrapping the room.

Luke Steele and Nick Littlemore pack the costumes, colour and surreal staging for the Ask That God: Afterlife show, their largest run in the region so far. Walking On A Dream and We Are The People still anchor the set. Sidney Myer Music Bowl, 27 February.

THE UNDERPASS OPENS UNDER A FREEWAY IN THE INNER-WEST

RANDY FELTFACE BRINGS GIMMICK TO THE PALAIS

THE MILK CARTON KIDS RETURN WITH LOST CAUSE LOVER FOOL

The purple puppet comedian has spent years batting away the novelty-act tag, and finally leans all the way in. Gimmick promises a tightly wound, punchline-heavy hour of existential pondering and cultural observation that steers well clear of the feelings. Palais Theatre, 10 February.

The Los Angeles folk duo bring their interlocking vocals, precise guitar and deadpan between-song patter back for the first time since 2023, touring the album that lends the run its name. Melbourne Recital Centre, 3 March, with regional Victorian dates and a Port Fairy slot alongside.

Promoter Novel unveils Melbourne’s newest electronic venue, a raw, industrial space beneath an elevated freeway holding more than 5,000 people. BICEP christen it across two November nights, with Fatboy Slim bringing his big-beat show for two more in March. A serious addition to the outdoor circuit.

FED SQUARE REBUILDS ITS BIG SCREEN Melbourne’s most-watched screen gets its first overhaul in eight years, now running 2.6 million pixels across 116 square metres of LED. An ultra-wide format lets Fed Square split and stack what goes up there, and matches an industry-standard ratio so independent filmmakers can more easily supply work.

MELBOURNE FRINGE FESTIVAL

29 SEP - 18 OCT LA MAMA lAmAmA.COm.Au

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QUEEN VICTORIA MARKET PACKS SPRING WITH FOOD FESTIVALS The market’s Spring Series rolls through to 30 November, turning the historic sheds into a rotating hub of tastings and events. A Melbourne Donut Festival lands 17 and 18 October, Oktoberfest Pinoy on 24 and 25, then an international dumpling festival and a filter-coffee tasting in November.

ECHOES OF US MAKES ITS MELBOURNE DEBUT UNDER THE FREEWAY Echoes Of Us makes its Australian debut on 7 November, planting a heavyweight house and techno bill under the freeway at The Underpass. Grammy-nominated US pair Sidepiece lead a lineup taking in Marten Hørger, Matroda, Malaa and Hills.

HAYLEY WILLIAMS BRINGS HER SOLO SHOW TO THE FORUM Hayley Williams brings her solo show to Australia for the first time, swapping the arenas Paramore filled last visit for a pair of theatres. The Forum in Melbourne gets the show on 17 February. Expect tracks from all three of her solo records, latest album Ego Death At A Bachelorette Party included, plus a few teased surprises.

ST KILDA FILM FESTIVAL OPENS 2027 ENTRIES The country’s longest-running short-film festival throws its doors open for submissions, with $10,000 waiting for the best Australian short and an under-21 category for newcomers. It’s an Academy Awards qualifying event, so a win here can point towards an Oscar. Entries close 31 January; the festival runs in June.

THE BROKEN HILLS SETTLE INTO A FREE WEEKLY BRUNSWICK SET The Brunswick Ballroom house band play a permanent slot in the venue’s downstairs Artists’ Bar each week, rolling out country originals and classic covers from 5.45pm. Drink and food specials now run the length of the set, with $9 house wines and $10 draught pours. Free entry, RSVP online.

CHAPTER NYE RETURNS TO THE TIMBER YARD WITH A DISCO NEW YEAR Chapter NYE returns to The Timber Yard in Port Melbourne on 31 December for a second tilt at farewelling the year, spreading house, funk and disco across two stages from the afternoon well into 2027. Andy Hart, Fantastic Man, Late Nite Tuff Guy and Tornado Wallace headline, backed by a deep bench of local selectors.

LEON BRIDGES ROLLS INTO THE BOTANIC GARDENS

VICTORIA’S MUSIC INDUSTRY PUSHES ITS ELECTION DEMANDS Ahead of the 28 November state election, the Vote Victorian Music campaign is asking every party to back a permanent, legislated Victorian Music Trust, funded by a 1 per cent levy on major-venue tickets and worth around $4.4 million a year. Weekly live rooms fell from 813 to 655 between 2019 and 2023.

Leon Bridges rolls into Royal Botanic Gardens Melbourne on 6 March 2027, an open-air, golden-hour set in the Live at the Gardens series. It’s the Texan soul singer’s seventh trip down under, this time behind his fifth studio album, Happiness Anytime, on Columbia. New Jersey’s 54 Ultra opens the run, and Melbourne instrumental outfit Surprise Chef round out the local bill.

VICTORIA’S PRIDE SPREADS ACROSS THE STATE FOR 2027 Victoria’s Pride fans out across the state for 2027, with 15 locally led regional events — queer songwriting in Beechworth, cosplay in Bendigo, photography out in the Mallee — all building towards the flagship weekend. The Street Party sprawls across Gertrude and Smith streets in Fitzroy and Collingwood on 7 February, closing Midsumma Festival, while the Pride March sends more than 10,000 down St Kilda’s Fitzroy Street on 31 January.

ARK OPENS A WEEKLY CLUB NIGHT ON GEDDES LANE A new club called ark has cracked open down a CBD laneway at 2 Geddes Lane. It takes over an 1850s bluestone room with plenty of past lives — the old Grainstore Tavern, where John Farnham launched Whispering Jack, later Showgirls Bar 20, then Geddes Lane Ballroom.

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31 Oct Budjerah

8 Oct Thundamentals

2 Oct Sundown On Eden

10 Oct Absolutely 80's

THE GERSHWIN

3 Oct Reckless

The Australian Crawl Tribute THE GERSHWIN

Archer

THE BASEMENT

buy tickets now

THE GERSHWIN

fundraiser for Sacred Heart Mission THE GERSHWIN

23 Oct Voxneon

THE GERSHWIN

Kaiyah Mercedes THE BASEMENT

24 Oct Alzzy

THE BASEMENT

30 Oct Willowbank Grove THE GERSHWIN

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THE TESKEY BROTHERS

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The Teskey Brothers will be headlining the Melbourne International Jazz Festival on 17 October. WORDS BY MOLLY ENGLAND

Æ Nestled amongst the swathes of bushland in country Victoria, Sam Teskey sits in the recording studio he built with his own hands, the early morning sunlight beaming onto the right side of his face. The sun has been streaming down on the careers of The Teskey Brothers for the last ten years. The boys from Warrandyte who became an international success have built a legacy of authenticity and grit, topped with the sweet honey of their bluesy, soul sound. Ten years after the release of the album that catapulted them to the top of the charts, The Teskey Brothers are returning to their roots with a dedication to their first album, Half Mile Harvest, at the Melbourne International Jazz Festival this October. October 16 will officially open two weeks of music, creativity and a celebration of artists from around the world. Dee Dee Bridgewater, Mandisi Dyantyis and the sound of New Orleans themselves, Rebirth Brass Band, will be taking the stage over the two weeks of the festival. Headlining the opening night at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, The Teskey Brothers will be setting the standard for exactly what kind of music Melbourne has to offer. The stage will be warmed up by Emily Wurramara and the legendary Fred Wesley & The New JBs. Trombonist Fred Wesley is funk royalty. From his time in George Clinton’s ParliamentFunkadelic and as James Brown’s musical director, the man behind the defining hours of funk will be showing Melbourne exactly how to have a good time, setting the crowd on fire for The Teskey Brothers. When Beat asked Sam about treading the same boards as Fred Wesley, he shook his head in disbelief and laughed. “How unbelievably awesome is that?” Sam said. “When I was 14 and Josh was about 16, we went into the city and saw Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, James Brown and Wilson Pickett. It was pretty special, a teeth-cutting performance to witness, I think.” It’s been ten years since The Teskey Brothers released their first album, Half Mile Harvest. It was written, recorded, and mixed by the brothers themselves. “I’m right into the sound side of things,” Sam said. “That’s how the original record came about — it was constant obsession with gear.” “It all seemed to kick off for us when I bought this big old tape machine from Jimmy Barnes. It’s a 24-track Studer A800. It’s a beast of a machine, and we’re still figuring out how to wield it,” Sam laughed. The 24-track Studer A800 set-up was also used to record on tape by legends like Stevie Wonder, Tom Petty and Jeff Buckley. “We had no foresight for it to go this far. It’s crazy. We were just trying out this new machine and all the bits of gear I had been collecting, and thought, ‘Ah, well, we’d better put an album together,’ thinking we’d just sell a minimum amount of CDs or something.

“We did it all to tape, all analogue. That made us realise we should do due diligence on the analogue recording and put it onto vinyl. We got the minimum pressing, as we thought it would just be for us. “Recording to tape has an aesthetic and a sound, but the thing I love about it — it may be how my brain works — is the decision elimination. It’s so in the moment, you know? When you have the band in the room, you can capture or commit to the sounds there and then in the room.” They released Pain and Misery, the third track on the album, as a single. Before they knew it, the local record store had been cleaned out, and the duo were restocking the shelves with Half Mile Harvest. Half Mile Harvest and its consequent albums have connected with audiences across the world. The authenticity of the music, captured on tape, and the rich rawness speak to something deep within us all. “We’re all human. We all struggle. With the music, we’re always looking at how we have a connection to pain in our own way, and expressing that through our music. It doesn’t matter where you’ve been or what you’ve gone through. We are all human.” “There’s so much of the world to play and explore, and we always seem to put Australia at the end of the tour, as we’ve had time to refine and get the show into a great spot. “This one in particular feels like we’re giving the Aussies something that we haven’t done in so many years, and this time we’re putting them first, which doesn’t happen often. It’s going to be uniquely Australian, reliving this album.” Preparing for their performance for MIJF, the band has been digging back into all the old tunes. “It’s been a lot of fun,” Sam said. “It’s been a bit of a progression for us over the last ten years. It doesn’t feel like we’ve really stopped, but we’re still chugging along.” The band has been finding time to return to their roots in preparation for the festival’s opening, between recording their new record, set to hit your ears next year. “When we did Half Mile Harvest, we had all the time in the world at that point. Getting back into making a record, we’re giving it the time it actually needs,” Sam said. Their creativity couldn’t be more primed for opening the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, fuelled by ten years of artistry, authenticity and passion. Catch The Teskey Brothers, alongside Emily Wurramara and the legendary Fred Wesley & The New JBs, on home soil on October 17. Tickets on sale now.

THE TESKEY BROTHERS WHERE:

SYDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL

WHEN:

17 OCT

BEAT 1745

STAGE GUIDE

ELIZA A BEAUTIFUL NOISE: THE NEIL DIAMOND MUSICAL Broadway star Will Swenson leads the Australian premiere of the jukebox musical created in collaboration with Neil Diamond himself, tracing the journey of a Brooklyn kid who became one of rock’s biggest names. Terence Crawford plays Diamond in later life, sparring with therapist Monica Sayers as the songs unlock decades of memory. Ashleigh Rubenach and Alana Tranter round out the principal cast. Directed by Tony winner Michael Mayer with choreography by Olivier winner Steven Hoggett, the production has already extended twice due to demand. Sweet Caroline, Cracklin’ Rosie, Forever in Blue Jeans and more than two dozen hits power a show that’s as much about what drives an artist as what made him famous. PRINCESS THEATRE

UNTIL 25 OCT

THE STUTTGART BALLET: THE SLEEPING BEAUTY Germany’s premier ballet company visits Australia for the first time in decades, presented by the Australian Ballet with Orchestra Victoria for a Melbourne-exclusive season of just 11 performances. Marcia Haydée’s version of the classic fairytale is both breathtakingly beautiful and darkly dramatic, unfolding as a grand battle between the pure Lilac Fairy and the wicked Carabosse. Jürgen Rose’s intricate designs and Tchaikovsky’s score do the rest. This is the highest-scarcity ticket on Melbourne’s October calendar and one of the rarest international ballet events the city has hosted. REGENT THEATRE

MTC’s world premiere of Tom Holloway’s new play is a prescient interrogation of artificial intelligence and the boundaries of human connection. Based on real events at MIT in the 1960s, it follows Dr Joseph Weizenbaum as he tests a computer program designed to simulate talk therapy — an early experiment that anticipated everything from chatbots to the AI tools reshaping how we live now. Directed by Paige Rattray and starring Manali Datar and Dan Spielman, it’s a story about the true cost of innovation that feels uncomfortably timely. SOUTHBANK THEATRE, THE SUMNER

UNTIL 31 OCT

9–18 OCT

BEFORE I FORGET

DRACULA: BALLET AT ITS DARKEST

SIX THE MUSICAL

BIG Live’s Australian-born gothic ballet returns home after sold-out seasons at the London Palladium, Sadler’s Wells and San Francisco’s Orpheum Theatre. Choreographed by artistic director Joel Burke with a score led by Emmy winner Jason Fernandez featuring masterpieces by Bach, Rachmaninov, Mozart, Liszt and Debussy, this is Bram Stoker reimagined through breathtaking physicality and dark romanticism. Principals Ervin Zagidullin and Abbey Hansen perform as Dracula and Mina Harker, drawn from a cast with experience at the Mariinsky, English National Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet. The production plays 35 Melbourne performances across Her Majesty’s 140th anniversary year. HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE

MTC’s second October opening is the world premiere of Kamarra Bell-Wykes’ poignant tribute to motherhood, family and culture. A First Nations activist, linguist and matriarch is living with dementia, and her family must navigate what it means to hold on to someone’s story when their memory is slipping away. Tyallah Bullock, Melodie Reynolds-Diarra, Roxanne McDonald and Edward Valent star in a work told with deep emotional truth and sharp humour.

UNTIL 25 OCT

Last chance to catch the pop-concert phenomenon before the crowns move to Sydney. Henry VIII’s six wives remix 500 years of royal drama into 80 minutes of high-energy anthems, powered by Sarah Murr, Mia Paris Scalise, Cara Bessey, Kadesa Honeyhill, Angela Brischetto and Lorinda May Merrypor. Two Tonys, a Grammy nomination and 38 international awards. If you missed the winter season, the Melbourne run wraps early October. COMEDY THEATRE

UNTIL 4 OCT

ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE, FAIRFAX STUDIO

FROM 24 OCT

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF The Olivier Award-winning West End revival makes its Australian premiere with Troy Sussman as Tevye, Sigrid Thornton as Yente in her first musical role in over a decade, John Waters as Lazar Wolf, Alexis Fishman as Golde and violinist Ben Adler as the Fiddler. Directed by Jordan Fein with choreography by Julia Cheng and design by Tom Scutt, this production won three Oliviers including Best Musical Revival after sold-out seasons at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre and the Barbican. Set in 1905 Anatevka, it’s a classic of joy and community that feels newly urgent. HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE

FROM 31 OCT

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THE HAUNTED GALA This Halloween, Melbourne’s most extraordinary costume party is coming to Melbourne Museum. The Haunted Gala is an adults-only night with exclusive after-hours access to the Museum and its collections. Discover dark science, enjoy live music and DJs, and sip on themed cocktails. For one spooky night only. Book your tickets now.

SATURDAY 31 OCTOBER AT MELBOURNE MUSEUM

MBVMVM0078_HauntedGala_HPage_Print_190x137.5mm_FA.indd 1

21 DATES FROM 22 OCT - 1 NOV SELECT

17/9/2026 1:56 pm

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FESTIVAL GUIDE

MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

MELBOURNE FRINGE Twenty days, more than 450 events, and a theme asking Melbourne to turn towards the heat. Fringe stays open-access — anyone can register, and artists present their own work, which is why the program swings from massive public artworks to a first-timer in a back room. At its centre sits the tenth season of Deadly Fringe. An encore run lands in Ballarat 22 to 25 October. VENUES ACROSS MELBOURNE

29 SEP–18 OCT

THE RIVER FOLK FESTIVAL Warburton hands over its venues for a sixth year, 90 minutes east. Stiff Gins headline — Kaleena Briggs and Nardi Simpson, the longest-running First Nations female group in the country. American string players Hanneke Cassel and Natalie Haas and shamisen virtuoso Noriko Tadano bring the international weight, arranged around an opening showcase, the Sisters of Song program and the Valley Market. WARBURTON

2–4 OCT

FREEFORM Four outdoor stages take the Bowl for a full day of electronic music, co-presented by Melbourne label Crown Ruler. Barry Can’t Swim plays a DJ set alongside UKG figurehead Interplanetary Criminal and Detroit-schooled veteran Richie Hawtin. The setting does plenty of the work — grass, trees and open ground rather than a shed. Over-18s. SIDNEY MYER MUSIC BOWL

PAX AUS Australia’s largest gathering of games and games culture fills Jeff’s Shed. Hands-on demos from major publishers sit beside PAX Rising indies, tabletop halls, tournaments and panels with the people who make them. Doors at 10am daily, running to 11.30pm on the first two days and 6pm on the last. Cashless venue; prop weapons need clearing first. MELBOURNE CONVENTION AND EXHIBITION CENTRE

Ten days, 30 venues, more than 150 events and 550 artists from 18 countries, with a substantial free strand. The Teskey Brothers open at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl marking a decade of Half Mile Harvest, joined by Fred Wesley & the New JBs and Emily Wurramara. Also: Dee Dee Bridgewater at Hamer Hall, a final Australian appearance from The Bad Plus, and a new late-night Haus Party. VENUES ACROSS MELBOURNE

16–25 OCT

9–11 OCT

STRUMMINGBIRD The touring country festival adds a Victorian stop for the first time, and Post Malone leads it — three years since his last sold-out run here, now with a country record under his arm. Bailey Zimmerman, Cooper Alan, Brad Cox, Cam, Kaitlin Butts and Sons of the East fill it out, plus line dancing with Maddison Glover. All ages. VICTORIA PARK, BALLARAT

10 OCT

INTERSTELLAR GROOVE Its fourth edition in five years, an hour and a half north in bushland. Camping runs the length of it, with glamping, pre-pitched tents and hire gear for anyone unwilling to wrestle canvas, plus a shuttle from Southern Cross. Early access opens 29 October on its own pass. Family camping area, festival app, payment plans. EAGLE RIDGE EVENT PARK, TALLAROOK

30 OCT–2 NOV

3 OCT

MOVE MY WAY

MELBOURNE MARATHON FESTIVAL

Sydney promoter Astral People launches its first festival after fifteen years of throwing parties, running PICA from 2pm to 10pm across multiple stages built around jazz, soul, hiphop and where all three land on a dancefloor. Ezra Collective headline, with Freddie Gibbs, Kokoroko and Sampa the Great. Fitzroy’s Northside Records curates a local funk and soul stage.

Running since 1978 and now stretched over two days, this edition rips up the route for the first time in two decades. The Birdwood Avenue climb is gone, swapped for flat kilometres along Beach Road in reverse — out to Elwood, back through Port Melbourne, a lap of Albert Park Lake, then St Kilda Road to an MCG finish. Eliud Kipchoge shares the 11 October start with 20,000 others.

The 51st edition takes over a National Trustclassified goldrush town on the Cup long weekend. Four days of folk, Celtic and bluegrass with dance, theatre, poetry, workshops and songwriting competitions. Every venue sits within walking distance of the centre and all have disability access. Prices are kept deliberately low.

PICA, PORT MELBOURNE

BATMAN AVENUE TO THE MCG

MALDON

4 OCT

10–11 OCT

MALDON FOLK FESTIVAL

30 OCT–2 NOV

BEAT.COM.AU

Section 8 Presents

sin& brook George FM

WITH THOMMY SIMMONS, DJAWESOMECHILLGUY25, JORDAN KELLY, 19 IN POLAND, JESSY

OCTOBER

ILAN BLUESTONE (UK)

FREE ENTRY

3/10

MC PAT FLYNN (IRE)

31/10

8/10

OCEAN WISDOM (U.K)

5/11

9/10

RU PRETTY ENUFF TOUR: ENUFF Z’NUFF AND PRETTY BOY FLOYD (USA)

6/11

GUTTERMOUTH “ONE LAST TIME” FAREWELL TOUR S O L D O U T ! 10/10

BUCKSHOT (IRE) WITH SIDNEY PHILLIPS, OSCAR18

27/11

STELLA LEFTY LIVE FROM AUSTRALIA

JUST BECAUSE

4/12

LIC/A . A

NOT DOLLAR SHORT

17/1

GHOSTS OF GRUNGE: THE VOICES THAT LIVED 16/10 LOUD AND DIED YOUNG

THE HIGHSTOOL PROPHETS (IRE)

21/1

THE ARMY, THE NAVY

5/5

F5VE (JPN) + THE DEEP (KOR)

SOLD OUT

LIC/A . A

SARKODIE

(USA)

SOLD OUT

IN FULL BLOOM ROGUE TRADERS “THE ANTHEMS” 21ST ANNIVERSARY TOUR

11/10

17/10

LIC/A . A

ROSE TATTOO: FINAL VICTORIAN SHOW

14/5

22/10

BOOK

WWW.THEPRINCE.COM.AU/PRINCE-BANDROOM

INSTA

@PRINCEBANDROOM

PRINCE BANDROOM 29 FITZROY ST. KILDA

Regional GUIDE WORDS BY

FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE

FESTIVALS

THE VICTORIAN SALAMI FESTIVAL 2026

BENALLA FESTIVAL 2026

King Valley’s Italian heritage takes centre stage at this celebration of home-cured meats, with salami competitions, tastings and produce stalls set among the region’s vineyards. A hearty, family-friendly day out that leans into the valley’s strong Italian food culture. WHITFIELD

Benalla’s biggest community event of the year, with markets, live entertainment and activities spread across the town to mark the close of spring. A relaxed, family-oriented day that rounds out a busy month on the High Country events calendar. BENALLA

31 OCT

3 OCT

TOURS GRAMPIANS FINE WINE FESTIVAL 2026 A fortnight-plus of wine-soaked programming across one of Victoria’s oldest and most awarded wine regions. Cellar doors throughout the Grampians and Pyrenees open up for degustations, food pairings, tastings and even a murder mystery night. A relaxed, lowkey way to work through some of western Victoria’s best drops without rushing. GRAMPIANS REGION

4–19 OCT

STRUMMINGBIRD FESTIVAL 2026 Australia’s biggest touring country festival rolls into Victoria Park for the first time, headlined by Post Malone as part of his stadium tour of the region. Line dancing, a saloon bar and a program mixing global names with rising country talent make up the day, alongside acts like Bailey Zimmerman and Cooper Alan. A big, brash addition to the goldfields calendar. BALLARAT

10 OCT

THE SEVEN UPS BEECHWORTH OKTOBERFEST 2026 Beechworth’s historic streetscape gets a Bavarian makeover for the day, with local and imported beers, German food and live music filling the town. A popular stop on the High Country spring calendar, drawing day-trippers up from Wangaratta and beyond. BEECHWORTH

10 OCT

BRIGHT TWILIGHT TASTINGS 2026

The Melbourne instrumental outfit launch their sixth album, Flight, at the Bridge Hotel. Expect psychedelic jazz, atmospheric funk and warm vintage synths stretching from hypnotic jams to fuller soundscapes, with tight grooves holding the improvisation together throughout. CASTLEMAINE

24 OCT

MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA

An evening street feast showcasing Bright’s chefs, growers and craft producers, with gin, beer and cider makers pouring alongside food stalls. Live music keeps the atmosphere buzzing as the light fades over the surrounding hills.

The ARIA-winning big band bring their Monte Loco Rides Again tour to the Theatre Royal, a stop on a national run built around their spaghetti-western-flavoured album The Ballad of Monte Loco. Horns blazing and costumes on, it’s the kind of full-throttle party show the collective has built its reputation on.

BRIGHT

CASTLEMAINE

15 OCT

9 OCT

ASYLUMFEST 2026

THE PIGS

Beechworth’s historic asylum grounds host this alternative arts and music event, leaning into the town’s gothic, storied past. Expect a program that plays up the atmosphere of the heritage site as much as the lineup itself.

Self-styled purveyors of hillbilly pop, The Pigs play the Golden Vine Hotel with their bluegrass-and-banjo reworkings of pop and rock hits alongside originals. Equal parts comedy and musicianship, they’ve built a cult following on the regional pub circuit over two decades and five albums.BENDIGO

BEECHWORTH

30 OCT

MOUNT BEAUTY OKTOBERFEST AND DACHSHUND DERBY 2026

36TH WANGARATTA FESTIVAL OF JAZZ AND BLUES

THE DREGGS

Steins, oompah music and a footrace of miniature dogs collide at the foot of the Victorian Alps. The Dachshund Derby has become the day’s unlikely drawcard, drawing crowds who stay on for the beer garden and alpine backdrop. Equal parts silly and scenic.

One of the country’s longest-running jazz festivals fills Wangaratta’s pubs, halls and streets for a weekend of improvisation and blues. Now in its 36th year, it draws serious jazz heads alongside casual punters happy to wander between venues.

The Sunshine Coast folk duo bring their Heading Home tour to the Torquay Hotel. Built around close vocal harmonies and understated acoustic songwriting, their sets lean gentle and warm rather than loud, a nice change of pace on a bill full of pub rock.

MOUNT BEAUTY

WANGARATTA

TORQUAY

24 24

3 OCT

30 OCT

23 OCT

15 OCT

BEAT.COM.AU

Melbourne International Jazz Festival

Young Monk: International Edition Featuring Joey Alexander and Skylar Tang

Saturday 17 October 2026 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm Bunjil Place Studio

The Art of MCing with Stogie T One-hour hip-hop workshop

Tuesday 20 October 2026 6.00 pm - 7.00 pm Bunjil Place Studio

Saltwater, Sugar Featuring Ngaiire and Joelistics

Wednesday 21 October 2026 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm Bunjil Place Theatre

Scan the QR code to explore the events and book tickets. $3.50 Service Fee may apply to phone and online bookings. 2 Patrick Northeast Drive, Narre Warren 3805 03 9709 9700 bunjilplace.com.au

Presented in partnership with

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“Starting things is a lot easier than finishing things, I’ll definitely say that, and we’ve done a lot of starting things and never finished them too.”

Freshly returned from a US tour, Stu Mackenzie is glad to be back in his Melbourne home. WORDS BY

ANDREW HANDLEY

Æ “We're travelling a little less this year, although still seem to be crazy busy,” he says. For the guitarist and singer of King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, that's likely busier than most. Having released five albums in a single year, twice in their career, the band took their time with Alien Metal. While no strangers to heavy and dark music, their 28th record leans further into electronic music than ever before. “For us, it's probably like a longer form journey that we've been on,” explains Mackenzie. “We've spent a lot of time developing and, I suppose, immersing ourselves in the world, but also the equipment. Learning how to make music together in this format has been a really exciting adventure that we've been on for quite a long time.” Guitarist Joey Walker's love of techno led the band towards modular synths. They soon became a fixture of the band's live shows, forming the backbone of their “rave” sets. “The shows have had a portion of the set where we've brought out a mountain of synths, and that's evolved and changed over the last few years,” says Mackenzie. “That's, in some ways, culminated in this record.” Though the band's genre-hopping might seem planned from the outside, Mackenzie says they usually have multiple projects on the go. Whichever is most likely to be completed becomes the next album.

BEAT.COM.AU

KING GIZZARD AND THE LIZARD WIZARD “Starting things is a lot easier than finishing things, I'll definitely say that, and we've done a lot of starting things and never finished them too,” he says. “With six people in a band, a lot of it is getting everyone on the same page. Sometimes there'll be something that three or four people will really want to do, but that's not enough.” While Alien Metal is unlike anything in the band’s discography, it doesn’t feel out of place. “You spend so long doing something that the thing that feels good is actually the opposite thing,” explains Mackenzie. “I think you tend to get pretty deep into one thing that the pendulum swings the other way, and I think that's been a big part of why the records have swung wildly in different directions.” The band has recorded jams for albums before, but nowhere close to what they did for Alien Metal. “We actually spent a couple of weeks, all six of us together, just recording everything. We ended up with 50-odd hours of recordings, which is just a bad idea.” “The first one we picked out was this long-form jam that was just Joey and I in the studio quite late, and it ended up being the blueprint for Alien Metal,” he recalls. “It was this hour-long improv between the two of us, where we were experimenting with our equipment, but it just had quite a special energy and spark.”

“There’s a reason why people don’t do this live, improvised electronic music with Eurorack — it’s just sadistic.”

Even for a band known for their vast output, turning the improvisation into an album proved difficult. “We began a long, long, long, long, long exercise of just developing, refining, rewriting and rerecording,” says Mackenzie. “It was a punishing album to make, to be honest. The issue was that we were probably further away from being done than any of us realised the whole time.” Much of the challenge came from having to relearn how to play together. Using Eurorack modular synths, the band not only had to build and patch the systems themselves, but also learn how to use them. “We've spent so long, 15 years or so, learning how to make music with each other with drums, guitars and bass and that sort of thing,” he says. “To throw that on its head and start from scratch was really hard, and felt like being born again.” With roughly 100 modules in each member’s rack, Mackenzie says they’re their own self-contained orchestra, though not easy to play in concert. “We had to reverse engineer a lot of the equipment,” he says. “Figure out ways to super reliably keep ourselves in sync, to pass the signals around without degrading, and to buffer the audio around the table.” “One thing that I like about the format is, because you have to build your own system and because you have to make a patch yourself, everybody makes wildly different and unique instruments,” says Mackenzie. “It's a really interesting and cool reflection of that person's personality in a lot of ways.” To make the instrument less intimidating, the band gave it a name. “There's a reason why people don't do this live, improvised electronic music with Eurorack — it's just sadistic,” says Mackenzie. “Calling it Nathan felt like a humanising of the machine, in a way, and there was an instinctual reason to just take the edge off it. So maybe, deep down, it's something like that. But I think we also just thought it was funny.”

Nathan will make an appearance at the Croxton Block Party, which the band also curated, in October. “It's so good when it feels easy and aligned. We know all the folks at the Croxton, and I've done stuff with them for years and years. So it's a cool, cool fit… and just nice to do a show in our backyard.”

CROXTON BLOCK PARTY WHERE:

CROXTON CARPARK

WHEN:

17, 18 OCT

BEAT 1745

Credit: Nick Mckk

“It’s not a perfect album by any means, but that’s why it’s special, it’s raw and human.”

ROWENA WISE WORDS BY FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE

There’s a particular kind of stillness that comes before Rowena Wise writes a song. Æ Not silence, exactly. More like a suspension. A pen, a notebook, and a 90-minute timer counting down beside her. “I am such a purist,” she tells me. “Whenever I songwrite I need a pen and paper in front of me. I usually set a timer nearby so there’s something holding me accountable in such a disembodied, abstract process.” A small ritual, less discipline and more like a way of staying tethered while she goes somewhere unmapped. Most of Bad Things Feel Good*, her sophomore album out August 7 via Beloved, was written this way across two years of near-constant touring, much of it far from home. I ask what it is about distance that opens something up for her. Her answer takes its time. “There’s something about being in an environment that’s so intrinsic to my perceived sense of self, where I’ve lived for years, with all this phantom backlog of habits and rituals that give me this concrete feeling of identity,” she says. “But when I’m elsewhere, that’s not present, and I can just think about expressing myself in a more malleable way. It’s a palette cleanser, spiritually. I’m more distant from my sense of self, so I can make sense of emotions in a more objective way.” It’s not a throwaway line. It’s the whole record, really, an album less interested in arriving somewhere than in what it feels like to move through the in-between. Her 2024 debut, Senseless Acts of Beauty, was about rebuilding a self after loss. This one questions whether that self was ever something fixed to begin with. So has she become a different person, writing it?

BEAT 1745

“Totally,” she says, no hesitation. “Senseless Acts of Beauty was a big wake-up call that it’s important to value vulnerability and honesty as an artist, because people will connect with it. That album was about overcoming great heartbreak, loss of self, pain. This one is more like, I overcame that pain years ago, and I’m supposed to know who I am now, but I don’t. Nobody has it figured out, especially when it comes to love. I just wanted to write the songs I needed to hear.” Even the title holds its own private theology. The asterisk isn’t decoration, it’s confession. “It’s almost like an imagined footnote,” she says, “’bad things feel good’ with the exception of a very long list of things; heartbreak, alienation, depression. It feels really bad. But pain is also the catalyst for growth, and there’s something beautiful about that. About the intensity of being alive.” She doesn’t say this like a lyric. She says it like something she’s still working out in real time, which is, I think, the point. That same instinct, to let things stay unresolved rather than resolve them for effect, shaped how the album was made. Recorded live over three days at Ratshack Studios with producer Rob Muinos, bassist Richard Bradbeer and drummer Jess Ellwood, it favours breath over polish. Wise describes handing the songs to a band for the first time as something closer to being witnessed than being produced. “I’d equate it to when you’ve held a private thought for ages, and you express it to someone and they go, ‘I know what you mean.’ You feel validated. Hitting the studio with the band, the songs actually existed outside my own head. “It’s not a perfect album by any means, but that’s why it’s special, it’s raw and human.” You can hear that in her voice, which moves between soaring and quietly crumbling sometimes within a single line. I ask whether that vulnerability was intentional or something she noticed only afterward. “The best vocal takes were the ones where you can hear I meant it,” she says. “Sometimes the technically best takes just didn’t have that unnamable feeling. It wasn’t conscious, maybe subconscious, just trying to be as honest as I can.” She mentions her earliest work, released under the name Minke Roe, as a kind of former self, polished, pop-leaning, further from where she stands now. “I do like the imperfections now. I think people resonate with them. I hear a lot of bigger artists going back to raw instrumentation lately, maybe it’s an anti-AI kind of artistry.” When I ask how it might feel to perform these songs live, something in her settles rather than lifts. Touring Australia later this year with a full band, she says, should feel more grounded than her first album cycle ever did. “With the first album, I was feeling my way through it. This one’s informed by the full band touring I did, so I think there’ll be a lot of room to have fun, embrace it, feed off everyone’s energy.” A recent night at the Brunswick Ballroom, joined by the Northside Musicians Choir, still seems close to the surface when she talks about it. “It felt like I was onstage with a whole group of brumbies racing behind me. Eighty people singing my songs, spooky and beautiful. I wish I could’ve fit them into the studio.” For all its weight, she’s careful to say the record isn’t a bleak one. “It has a lot of compassion and tenderness,” she says. “It suggests that growth comes not from overcoming your humanity, but accepting it. “If you find yourself somewhere different from where you expected to be, that can be a beautiful place, but it’s okay to be scared there too.”

ROWENA WISE WHERE:

HOWLER

WHEN:

15 OCT

BEAT.COM.AU

CASTLE

BRUNSWICK

H C AS

LA MAUVAISE RÉPUTATION

. N E T. A U

Sat 10 Oct

DINGO ACCORDION SOCIETY BELLOWS AND BEVS

FRI 2 OCT

JOEY ROSSIN SUN 4 OCT

BASEMENT SPACEMAN

FRI 9 / SAT 17 / SAT 24 OCT

DAVID KNIGHT

TROY WILSON

Fri 16 Oct

SMALL TOWN ROMANCE

FRI 16 / 23 OCT

JEMIMA MADDER

SUN 18 OCT

DAVID COSMA

JACQUI BEAA

Sat 10 Oct

NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE

BACK ALLEY SALLY

FRI 30 OCT

SAT 31 OCT

OPEN MIC SHOWCASE

GLASSHOUSE

7PM

Fri 23 Oct

Sun 18 Oct

AMI WILLIAMSON

AN AFTERNOON IN THE BURROW

Sat 30 Oct

BASEMENT SPACEMAN GEOFF ACHISON & AARON POLLOCK FRONT BAR Fri 2 Oct

TRIPSIDE LIFE

LPFOUR

Sat 3 Oct

Sun 4, 11, 18, 25 Oct

ROSARIO DE MARCO

Fri 9 Oct

CHRIS PAPPAS

HARRY & BRETT

Fri 16, Fri 23 Oct

SUN 25 OCT

7.30PM

DARCY FOX PRESENTS:

Thu 1, 8, 15, 22, 29 Oct

SUN 11 OCT

TRIVIA

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME:

Sat 24 Oct

SAT 3 / 10 OCT

ADAM DEWALT

Sat 10 Oct

ANIA REYNOLDS Sat 17 Oct

DAN DINNEN & SHORTY

Fri 30 Oct

DAVID CRAVEN & JON S WILLIAMS

Sat 31 Oct

ROD WILSON

250 High St, Northcote

THURS @ 7pm / FRI & SAT @ 8pm / SUN @ 4pm

Listen Carefully Every 2nd Wed

Every Thu / 6.30pm

Lindy Hop Social Dance

Sun 18 Oct

BUY LOCAL

Market

Wednesday Night Hop

MAKER

S MARKET

Sun 4 Oct

Fri 9 Oct

Sat 10 Oct

Fri 16 Oct

8pm

6pm

6.30pm

6pm

with Roswel + Master Kapow

‘Mixed Light’ Album Launch

A decade of devotion

Fri 23 Oct

Sat 24 Oct

Fri 30 Oct

Fri 6 Nov

7.30pm

7pm

8pm

Curlers and DJ Fee B-Squared!

‘This Life’ EP Launch

Blank Canvas Ned Collette Hoop Army

Surprise Chef

Album Launch

Burn City Soul Club

Northern Soul

Pony Face

Big Village

Kasinda

The Quadraphonic Club / 345 Victoria st, Brunswick

BAND ROOM Fri 9 Oct

THU 1 / 8 / 15 / 22 / 29 OCT

E DIN

OCTOBER

NOW OK O

L E YA N

Wednesdays

SUNFLOWER PIANO ATMOSFERICA JAM PIANO OPEN MIC

MRS SMITH’S TRIVIA WEDNESDAYS 8PM

OPEN MIC NIGHT – TUE 7.30PM –

SYDNEY RD

Tuesdays

Mondays

NOW

CO M.AU

BOO

Anne Anne Wesley Wesley EDINBURGH THE

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JUICE WEBSTER For the better part of a decade, Juice Webster has turned a very particular kind of self-scrutiny into song – from 2019’s You Who Was Myself through 2021’s More Than Reaction to her last record, JULIA. Æ Her new album for Melbourne label Cohort, Kind of Fantasy, borrows its name from a song about clocking yourself performing a version of you that isn’t quite real. That title track was where the whole thing cracked open. “Writing the song Kind of Fantasy was the first time I’d actually put words to that feeling and, it sounds cheesy, but that song really opened things up for me,” Webster says. “It made me realise that all these other songs I’d written were exploring a similar thing that was manifesting in different ways, so it made a lot of sense for me to call the album Kind of Fantasy as well.” Where JULIA sat in stiller territory, this one carries more grit and unrest – though Webster is quick to push back on the idea she was chasing gloom for its own sake. “There are some darker tracks on this record for sure, but it’s not a sound I was chasing for the whole album,” she says. “It was important to me that the record had elements of hope sprinWORDS BY kled throughout, as well as softer and more quiet moments.” LUCAS Steering all of it was Simon Lam, the producer who has shaped nearly RADBOURNE every Webster release to date and who splits his time between Kllo and records for the likes of Phoebe Go. “Beyond being an amazing talent with a natural intuition, Simon is incredibly dedicated,” Webster says. “I’m always inspired by Simon’s ability to work through roadblocks and see things through.” She’s also keen to credit guitarist and sound engineer Theo Carbo, a fixture of Melbourne’s improvising circles, who turned up when the album needed a jolt. “I must also mention my friend, Theo Carbo, who recorded with us in the early stages, but also did some additional production on this record and breathed new life into it when we got stuck,” she says. Wrapped around the songs is a full visual world, built alongside artist Joey Clough. “Joey is a very feelings based creative, so it was important to him that all the visuals felt right against the music,” Webster says. “I think the visual world has fed back into the music in helping me find more of an identity in the live space, like how I want to dress and how I want the stage to look.” All of it is rooted in one city. Webster made the album at home, among friends, and doesn’t try to prise the work apart from the place. “The people and community are everything,” she says. “We have such a strong music scene and community so it’s hard to deny the influence of the city.” A run of shows lands close to release, with a band assembled to give the record its edges in a room. JUICE WEBSTER “I want there to be moments that feel like it’s all going to fall WHERE: CORNER HOTEL apart, and moments of quiet hope,” Webster says. “I want peoWHEN: 29 OCT ple to leave the shows with a full heart, a record and a t-shirt.”

“I think the visual world has fed back into the music in helping me find more of an identity in the live space, like how I want to dress and how I want the stage to look.”

Join us to celebrate the iconic music from Laurel Canyon, including the songs of

JONI MITCHELL • THE BEACH BOYS • THE BYRDS • THE DOORS CAROLE KING • CROSBY STILLS NASH AND YOUNG THE MAMAS AND THE PAPAS • & MORE Featuring performances from

HUSKY GAWENDA, DAN KELLY, CHARM OF FINCHES, ALMA ZYGIER, STEPHEN GRADY & DAN CHALLIS

FRI 16 OCT HAMER HALL MELBOURNE

Also performing at

FRI 23 OCT – THE PLAYHOUSE, GEELONG FRI 30 OCT – LIGHTHOUSE THEATRE, WARRNAMBOOL SAT 31 OCT – HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE, BALLARAT FRI 06 NOV – ULUMBARRA THEATRE, BENDIGO SAT 07 NOV – GIPPLSAND PERFORMING ARTS CENTRE, TRARALGON

KITTYHAWKS

Swampfest ‘26 is a fun-filled, punk-rock dayfest coming to Melbourne this October.

The new band who formed in 2023 have now played nearly 100 shows including Indonesia, Japan, The UK and Europe, with a strong chance for a USA tour next year. After trekking up and down the East Coast, they’ve said “it’s a blast, but nothing matches the buzz of a Melbourne punk crowd!” The lineup will span across a range of punk, ska, psychobilly and rock, including the band Unto The Breach, the creators of Swampfest who lost their guitarist Greg in November last year. Other bands joining the cause are Judo Chop, Faux Defeated, Forklift Assassins, Vampyros and more. The Kittyhawks latest single Devils, shows off Rockabilly undertones – and fans aren’t shying away from the shift in sound. When asked how listeners felt about it, their response was “we love to keep it evolving. Devils hit home with a lot of listeners. The horn part is just so damn danceable that people can’t resist moving when it hits them. We’ll always be that 90s LA ska-punk band, but songs on the upcoming EP will surprise people.” Frontman Elliot Dawson is hoping to see a further resurgence in ska-punk amongst the younger generation in years to come, saying “Ska seems to rise and fall in popularity. There’s bands out there like Hey Smith in Japan that have crazy widespread appeal. Who’s to say younger generations won’t discover ska?” Their final message was “never be ashamed to reach out or try something new – you might just find your community. Thank you for being a massive part of our story. Without you we wouldn’t have experienced any of this chapter. See you on 3 October for Swampfest!”

WORDS BY MICHAEL MCCARTHY

Æ A collection of 10 different bands will take to the stage to perform with every dollar spent being donated to the Black Dog Institute, raising awareness for mental health and suicide. The Kittyhawks are stoked to be headlining the event. “It’s a total no brainer to be involved in such a good cause with a killer lineup. Our next single is about a friend who lost their battle to suicide and dealing with that loss. It’s close to home for us,” they said. A few group members have been in the scene for over 20 years having played for Sounds Like Chicken in the early 2000s. It’s an ever-changing scene with vinyl and CDs making way for a digital focused marketing age, and communities engaging with each other online as opposed to in person at events. “Everything used to be door sales and clipboards, now it’s content driven. We’re trying to avoid the hamster wheel and focus on building a community of fans who’re friends” they told us.

“Ska seems to rise and fall in popularity. There’s bands out there like Hey Smith in Japan that have crazy widespread appeal. Who’s to say younger generations won’t discover ska?” SWAMPFEST WHERE:

THE WORKERS CLUB

WHEN:

3 OCT

BEAT.COM.AU

CROOKED COLOURS “You have to let it be what it wants to be from the start, not rush it."

Crooked Colours have been a fixture of Australian dance music for over a decade, so it’s a real shift to see Philip Slabber step out solo on new album Dirt Road Gold. WORDS BY FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE

Æ Sitting down with Slabber back in May, my first question is obvious: what actually changes when it’s just you? “It was definitely a little more freeing,” he says. “At the beginning I approached it exactly how we did the first three. But about halfway through it got to a point where there was no sounding board. “That’s when Sweat It Out stepped in, lining me up with sessions and co-writes. We never used to work with other people really. Had a lot of help on this album.” That’s a bigger admission than it sounds. For years, bringing in outside collaborators simply wasn’t on the table. “There was a weird mentality of if we’re going to do it, it has to be our stuff,” he tells me. “Doing that for a long time, you get stuck in your own mechanisms.” I ask what it was like letting that go, working with names like Presets frontman Julian Hamilton, Georgi Kay, Xavier Dunn.

“Being conscious of trying to keep it in one lane can be a bad thing.”

“The biggest roadblock is one or two elements working well, but there’s a 20 per cent missing,” he explains. “It’s easy to sit on something for so long it stops being exciting to you, so getting other influences is the difference between a demo and a finished product.” Slabber has spoken about wanting this record to feel honest to where he’s at right now, while staying connected to Crooked Colours DNA; I wondered how he went about protecting it through this evolution. “Being conscious of trying to keep it in one lane can be a bad thing,” he says. “The way I write or produce, or the sound of my voice, automatically gives it a flavour of Crooked Colours. Regardless of what I do, it will sound adjacent to CC.” So where is he at right now, and how does the album reflect that? “It’s changed in terms of trying to sound a certain way instead of simply trying to be creative,” he says. “We were chasing a sound we thought was cool. Now I’ve been doing it long enough to have a toolset, to go this is what I want it to sound like. Lyrically too, speaking from the heart more, instead of writing something with a brief.”

Lead single Oxford, he tells me, was the key that unlocked the whole record, tied to a trip back through Crooked Colours’ earliest Sydney days. “Post COVID, and the band separating, I found myself at a bit of a crossroads,” he says. “I’d fallen out of love with the process, started getting repetitive. Made me realise to stop overthinking it and find the things you love, rather than having expectations.” When I ask what the version of him who started Crooked Colours would make of this record, he laughs before answering. “Every time you release music, within six months you look back and go, that’s not that good. Which is a good thing, because if you think it’s as good, you haven’t become any better. I’d assume he’d be pretty stoked with the level of production and writing.” The album covers a lot of ground sonically, from euphoric builds to electric stabs and more intricate moments, I want to know how he holds it all together under one vision. “Some songs will start with one idea that dictates where it ends up,” he says. “There’s times I’ll have a demo that’s slower and try to turn it uplifting and dancey, and it almost never works. “You have to let it be what it wants to be from the start, not rush it.” Nowhere is that more obvious than on the title track, easily the record’s biggest curveball. What pushed him out of his comfort zone? “It’s something I wouldn’t normally ever make,” he says. “It started as a creative challenge, asking myself what it would sound like if I wrote a country song. “We ended up with this vocal that was kind of cool, and someone suggested I turn it into a house song.” Guitar plucks and a train rhythm snare collide with a four on the floor pulse, and somehow it works. The last thing on Slabber’s mind way back in May was how to take it on the road without a band beside him. “That’s a tough one at the moment,” he admits. “I’m working hard to turn it into something I’m proud of. Figuring out the balance between performance and enjoyment, and building it around the moments that are fun for me and the audience.”

CROOKED COLOURS WHERE:

NORTHCOTE THEATRE

WHEN:

24 OCT

BEAT 1745

PITT & GIBLIN Bespoke speaker systems hand-crafted by Tassie duo Pitt & Giblin. WORDS BY MOLLY ENGLAND

Æ Off the coast of Hobart is the studio where Jack Pitt and Ross Giblin are changing what it means to have a speaker system installed for the best audio experience. Unbound from convention, these two Tassie residents are crafting high performance, aesthetic speaker systems for music lovers around the world. The two have been collaborators for almost twenty years, a partnership culminating in crafting high-quality sound systems that suit the commercial and domestic spaces across the country. When Beat spoke with Ross Giblin, one half of the Pitt & Giblin team, he was coming from the workshop himself, having been on the tools that morning. Despite the success of the business and the growing admin demands, the founders still find the time to have their hand over each part of the process. “The space in the market we fill is a balancing act between performance and aesthetics,” Giblin said. Pitt & Giblin integrate specific techniques and materials into their bespoke technologies that are masterfully assembled by hand before being shipped across the world. The attention to detail falls even to the custom crates made for the products, each step overseen with meticulous care. “There are lots of things on the market that are high performance, but they’re generally black boxes,” Giblin said. “On the other side, there are more domestic products that aren’t necessarily appropriate for a semi-commercial space. Some of our wine bars and listening bars where there is a requirement for a high-performance sound system that also needs to look good.” Jack, mechanical engineer and acoustician, and Ross, designer, spent their 20s as audio engineers mixing gigs and festivals. The “proving ground” of the live performance space saw the two cut their teeth in complicated spaces and bands, pointing them toward the gap in the market where looks intersected with high performance.

What differentiates Pitt & Giblin from other AV or sound engineers is the strict requirements the company has when it comes to room acoustics, which they say has contributed to the consistency of the spaces they’ve decked out across Australia and the world. “We provide full complimentary acoustic advice, which to a degree is mandatory, especially for troublesome spaces,” Giblin said. “There’s absolutely no point going to the effort we do building a really nice loudspeaker system for a client if the room is going to sound like shit.” “It’s also a very bad representation of our products because not everyone can understand the difference between a bad sounding speaker and a bad sounding space,” he said. Their first and most prolific installation in Melbourne was Waxflower in Brunswick, a European-inspired wine bar known for its wide music offerings. Custom-made Pitt & Giblin speakers are put to work with the vinyl and DJ clientele that keep the patrons of Waxflower grooving. Waxflower’s sonic attention to detail is driven by the customisation of Pitt & Giblin’s “technically advanced, really sexy” speakers mounted on the walls. “That intersection of performance and aesthetic, with performance with higher levels of output capacity. There’s a real attention to detail when it comes to finding that intersection between the two,” Giblin said. The team are hands on with the entire installation process, flying out to capital cities across the country to do the install themselves. “It’s kind of beyond saying; if you want something done right, you’ve got to do it yourself,” Giblin said. “It’s not that there aren’t good people out there to do it. It’s just that their intentions are a little bit different to what we’re trying to achieve. We’re a less is more approach when it comes to audio.

“If we can do a big space with just two speakers, we will. And instead of just selling the product to clients, we facilitate the provision of more acoustic treatment. “We prefer to keep the collaboration pretty tight, so it doesn’t get too watered down. We prefer to deal with the client directly, rather than going through another level of consultancy. “We work with the design or interiors team to get the speakers in the right positions in the room,” he said. “We care a lot about our work. We don’t just work with anyone. We don’t just want to do audio to pay the bills. It’s about creating an experience.”

Check out Pitt & Giblin’s offerings on their website. This article was made in partnership with Pitt & Giblin.

BEAT.COM.AU

JOLTED ARTS SPACE

SPRING SEASON

AFRICUBISMO /// THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS /// SONOBOTS (ROBOTIC SOUND MACHINES!) /// BOLT ENSEMBLE /// SENSIBLE SERENADES /// AFRICAN SUNSETS /// LIQUID ARCHITECTURE /// ABSORB /// OSSICLE DUO /// VOICEWORKS /// SAFE IN SOUND /// EMERING WRITERS FESTIVAL & MORE!!! JOLT

NDIS WORKSHOPS FOR ARTISTS MUSIC /// VISUAL ARTS /// DIGITAL ART & MORE

YARRAVILLE: KINDRED STUDIOS NORTHCOTE: JOLTED ARTS SPACE

https://jolted.art/ Supported by The Robert Salzer Foundation

THE SONOBOTS ///

)-(u||!c|< & THE BOLT ENSEMBLE/// THE AMLIFIED ELEPHANTS

Nothcote Social Club, 28 Oct

SENSIBLE ANTIXX RECORDS

Folk nights: MAT RIGBY & more

AFRICAN SUNSETS

African nights: AFRICUBISMO

Northcote Social Club 29 Oct

VENUE GUIDE

ABBOTSFORD CONVENT WHAT’S ON: Basically everything, all the time. North of 2,000 exhibitions, markets, rehearsals, workshops and festivals pass through the precinct each year, sprawled across 16 acres of heritage buildings and lawns just outside the CBD. FAMOUS FOR: being the biggest multi-arts precinct in the country. Under one roof (well, several dozen roofs) you’ve got a resident artist community, a gallery, cafes, a community radio station and two schools; heritage-listed since 2017 and still humming with daily foot traffic. INFAMOUS FOR: turning up on a random Tuesday with no plans and leaving three hours later having watched a rehearsal, browsed a gallery show and had a coffee you didn’t know you needed. The place has a habit of swallowing an afternoon; nobody complains. Æ The Convent’s story starts with buildings that had a very different former life, long before they became the arts hub locals know today. Decades on, it’s one of the rare Melbourne sites that’s managed to stay genuinely open rather than gentrified into something precious; gates unlocked 365 days a year, from early morning through to late evening. Wander through and you’ll find working artist studios next to function rooms next to gallery spaces, all coexisting without much fuss. It doesn’t feel staged; it feels like a place that’s still being used, which is rarer than it sounds for somewhere this historically loaded. Beyond the day-to-day program, the Convent also runs as a venue for hire — weddings, filming, functions, studio space — making it equal parts creative ecosystem and working precinct. For a site the community had to fight to keep, it’s in constant, unpretentious use, and that’s exactly the point.

WHERE:

1 ST HELIERS ST, ABBOTSFORD

DESERT HIGHWAYS LIVE MUSIC: Free, all-ages instore gigs run most Saturday afternoons from 2pm, turning the shop floor into a makeshift stage for local punk, garage rock, metal and everything in between. Recent instores have hosted the likes of Mammoth Mammoth, Lothario, Copulators, User and Fancy Weapon, with album launches and single releases a regular fixture on the calendar. FAMOUS FOR: being a record label and skate store rolled into one. The shelves are stacked with vinyl reissues and new releases across 12”, 10” and 7” formats alongside skate decks, trucks, wheels and hardware, with an 80s and 90s focus that gives the place a distinct point of difference from your average record shop. There’s clothing, patches, pins, stubbie holders and air fresheners thrown into the mix too. INFAMOUS FOR: its Saturday arvo instores. The free, all-ages format means parents can bring their kids, teenagers can catch live music they’d normally miss out on, and regulars can hang around for a beer and a browse after the set. It’s community-driven in the best possible way, and the store has built a fiercely loyal following because of it. Æ Desert Highways has been kicking up dust on Plenty Road since 2012, starting life as a record label before expanding into the physical store that now sits as a hub for Melbourne’s northern suburbs skate and music community. The Reservoir shopfront doubles as a venue, a label HQ and a gathering point for anyone who grew up taping skate videos and flipping through crates. It’s unpretentious and proudly niche — the kind of spot where you walk in for a record and leave with a deck, a patch and a gig recommendation. With a stacked release catalogue on the label side and a revolving door of bands through the instore program, Desert Highways is one of Melbourne’s great independent outposts for underground music and skate culture.

WHERE:

715 PLENTY RD, RESERVOIR

BEAT.COM.AU

FLOWERCLUB LIVE MUSIC: Flowerclub transforms the Xflos botanical studio into an intimate electronic music venue for selected events, hosting DJs and live hardware sets among the greenery. Programming spans deep progressive grooves through to hard-hitting techno, with nights like Soft Launch and collaborations with collectives including VOS and 1800 Play drawing some of Melbourne’s most exciting emerging electronic talent into the space.

ELECTRONIC MUSIC: a brand new outdoor lineup kicking off with electronic heavyweights, opening with some of the world’s most respected artists, with more shows set to be announced.

FAMOUS FOR: being a working florist that moonlights as a club. By day, Xflos operates as a contemporary floral design studio specialising in sculptural botanical arrangements. By night — on selected occasions — the space flips into Flowerclub, an intimate dancefloor surrounded by carefully curated greenery, a private bar vibe and a sound system that fills the room without overwhelming it.

INFAMOUS FOR: its location. Concrete pillars and steel overhead aren’t the usual backdrop for a big night out, but that’s exactly the point.

INFAMOUS FOR: its location inside Collingwood Yards and the sheer unexpectedness of the whole setup. The space sits in the Perry Street Building alongside neighbours like Licorice Pie records, Dua Bakehouse and Bookshop by Uro, making a Flowerclub night the kind of outing where you can grab a pastry and a second-hand record before dancing to techno among the blooms. Æ Xflos started as a slow-burn practice from a sharehouse in Fitzroy, growing from a deep obsession with botanical structure and sculpture into one of Melbourne’s most distinctive creative spaces. The studio now calls Collingwood Yards home, guided by sustainable practices and a genuine love for bringing the mental and physical benefits of greenery into every corner of the room. When the Flowerclub events kick off, the florist-by-day setup takes on a completely different energy — equal parts nostalgic and electric, built around inclusivity and the freedom to lose yourself on the dancefloor. It’s deliberately intimate, with limited capacity and a focus on community over commercialism. There’s nowhere else in Melbourne quite like it. WHERE:

THE UNDERPASS

30B PERRY ST, COLLINGWOOD (COLLINGWOOD YARDS)

FAMOUS FOR: being Melbourne’s newest electronic music address before it’s even opened. The site beneath the elevated freeway has never been used for events, giving it a genuinely blank slate.

Æ Wedged beneath an elevated freeway in Melbourne’s innerwest, The Underpass turns an overlooked stretch of infrastructure into one of the city’s most talked-about new venues. Run by Novel, the promoter behind A3 Festival, Intercell, smalltown and those bridge raves you may have seen, the new outdoor space has a capacity of more than 5,000 and a growing calendar of electronic music events. The venue throws open its doors this November, with electronic duo BICEP christening the space across two nights. Night one has already sold out, night two (Cup Day Eve) still on sale now. From there, big beat pioneer Fatboy Slim takes over the freeway for two more nights in March 2027, part of a run that sees him swap the usual club and arena circuit for smaller, weirder settings around the country. There’s no polish here, no dressed-up entrance or manicured beer garden, just raw concrete, steel and open sky. For a city that loves reclaiming its unloved corners, The Underpass might be Melbourne’s most fitting new venue yet.

WHERE:

542 FOOTSCRAY RD, WEST MELBOURNE

BEAT 1745

ALBUM REVIEWS

WORDS BY

BRYGET CHRISFIELD

ELLA HOOPER

Overnight Success JULIA JACKLIN

The Gem Æ The Gem is the first Julia Jacklin album to be recorded in Melbourne, at Rat Shack Studios above The Gem in Collingwood (hence the title). When she first relocated to Melbourne from Sydney in 2017, Jacklin often frequented this small bar, which hosts live gigs on the floor in one corner. In the accompanying presser, Jacklin shares, “If I needed a break from the sessions, I would just go downstairs and watch the band playing. There was something so beautifully cyclical about it.” Going into creating her fourth record, Jacklin had fulfilled her record label contract and was also between managers. The opening Brand New sets a contemplative pace, with occasional guitar strums and steady drumming, before overlapping vocals take flight: “Brand new (I’m free now let me be).” Bright keys and distorted guitar parts wrestle for dominance within God Sometimes, which is a song about “choosing not to be a passenger in your own life”. “Standing in the yard/ Trying not to drink/ Looking at my neighbour eat a peach over the sink…” – in contrast to If I Had The Hand Of God’s gently delivered verses, the song’s exultant choruses hit like divine intervention. Musings on God and neglected, withering plants are recurring lyrical motifs. “The hardest thing to do is believe it when you say ‘I love you’/ The hardest thing to do is stick around trying to convince you” – Jacklin sure has a knack for lyrics that split your heart in two. The Hardest Thing mourns a breakup. When male vocals enter Real Life – unexpectedly, beyond the halfway mark – to sing in unison with Jacklin, it’s swoon central. The jaunty Get Away From Me (I Think I’ll Love You Soon) pokes fun at her lovergirl tendencies. Walk On Me reflects on a demeaning relationship: “Walk on me if you like/ Take off your shoes, turn off the light/ Don’t want anyone else to see what I let you do to me.” A lullaby for her younger self, I Wish (feat The Maes) wishes things had been different. Jacklin and the Rigby sisters harmonising is as transcendent as anticipated. She previously smashed out her albums in two weeks, but – after a false start – The Gem took almost a year. “What kind of life is that?/ After the show/ Become an outline to everyone you know…” For this next phase of her musical career, Jacklin’s calling the shots. Her mesmerising, timeless vocals and inventive harmonies are this album’s lodestars. But Jacklin’s backing musos – guitarist Jacob Diamond, bassist Mimi Gilbert and drummer Jess Ellwood – also play major roles here. Fun fact: On the last day of The Gem sessions, that band (and one of The Gem’s bartenders!) got matching tattoos of “a neat little circle to represent an opal”.

LABEL: RELEASE:

4AD/REMOTE CONTROL RECORDS OUT NOW

Æ “It shook my family tree” – Ella Hooper lost both of her parents to cancer, parted ways with her management and booking agent and ended a long-term relationship – all within a single year. Ella thanks her deceased parents, Helen and Jeremy, for her music obsession: “They gave me this language that speaks straight to my soul.” She grew up in the public eye. Since Ella was 13 years old, she fronted Killing Heidi – the enduring, Violet Town-bred, teenaged triple j darlings who cut their teeth busking. She was also the youngest and first-ever female recipient of the prestigious APRA Songwriter of the Year Award. A honkytonk piano-driven knees-up, I Got Eyes (ON YOU) “...and you got eyes for someone new” is mad danceable. Fingerpicking during the gentle, ambling Let It Fall evokes the transformative beauty of snowfall. “I’m right where I wanna be,” Ella concludes, forging on in this life untethered. Cutesie “la-la-la” BVs enter When The Shit Went Down’s halfway mark, sprinkling buoyancy. Die Happy documents Ella’s last wishes: “And if I die slowly in a hospital bed/ Make sure there’s a speaker nice and close to my head.” She worked with Sheryl Crow’s band on this record, which was recorded over multiple trips to Nashville. Doing whatever the hell she pleases – sax solo? Why the fuck not? – is our favourite Hoops mode. Overnight Success finds Ella resonating on a truthful frequency.

LABEL: RELEASE:

INDEPENDENT 2 OCT

BEAT.COM.AU

FAT DOG

VACATIONS

LOGIC1000

Cancel Me, I’m Tired

Pursuit Of Anything Confirmation!

Æ Don’t be fooled by the opening track’s title, Smile And Wave comes in like a wrecking ball (think: Sabotage by Beastie Boys). Keys drone signals doom, pummelling drums amplify the drama then frontman Joe Love suddenly sounds like Count Dracula – what’s not to love? The ‘80s-synthy Go Fuck URself promises therapeutic chorus singalongs. “If you wanna cancel me/Then go ahead and do it, please” – partly inspired by John Lennon’s How Do You Sleep?, the super-hyper, industrial-techno Cancel Me (I’m Tired) is The Presets-meets-Hot Chip. Brace yourselves for the surprise octave jump (there’s another used to great effect later in the record, at the tail end of Snakes). Heart Of Darkness follows with a gentler, side-stepping tempo – such melodic melodica playing! This South London seven-piece knows how to dial it down, as well. “Cookin’ with gas! Cookin’ with gas!” – the mosh-friendly Shit Love (“Are you just tryna finish me?”) is twisted, with unhinged synth and drums that won’t quit. Guitar strumming and a lonesome whistling refrain fit for a Spaghetti Western usher in Snakes. The closing Aliens is built from emotive piano, with sax accents and pensive strings – whatever the arrangement calls for, the arrangement shall have. Escalating synth stabs, shouty vocals, cacophonous percussion – Bad Dog is this brilliant band’s peak-froth moment; like winding up in a heckers car chase while you’re off your face! Anyone got a Meredith ticket they wanna sell me at cost price?

Opener Congratulations is Vacations in a nutshell: lead singer Campbell Burns’ creamy, nonchalant timbre, Nate Delizzotti’s shiny, comforting guitar lines, limber basslines courtesy of Jake Johnson and Joey Van Lier’s jazz-inflected drumming. Wait, do we detect woodblock chocks? The woozy Yesterday is resplendent with The Avalanches-esque percolating synths: “If you could see yourself now, what would you say?” Holy Grail is your soundtrack for slow dancing/pashing at prom. Boppy, jangly and sun-drenched, Last Call is perfect for jumping up and down in a hugging circle. This one-and-a-half-minute-long song addresses timeline panic and unchecked milestones. At the song’s conclusion, Burns – who is pushing 30 – repeats, “Don’t get left behind”. Punchline reevaluates societal pressures (“Get a job, move out, fall in love”) and tries to make sense of it all. “Like father like son/ Will my time come?” – written alongside Morning Silk’s Frank Corr, I See Myself In You finds Burns contemplating whether fatherhood will be on the cards for him someday. Having attended the weddings of two of his Vacations bandmates (Johnson and Van Lier), Burns wrote the closing ballad, Lucky Forever, from their perspectives. Throughout Pursuit Of Anything, Burns weighs up the hidden social and emotional costs of relocating to Stateside to chase his dreams. He draws songwriting inspo from his own life as well as those around him, including his bandmates. Burns prioritises emotional honesty in his lyrics, which hits home.

Sydney-born, London-based DJ/producer Samantha Poulter (musical moniker: Logic1000) grew up in a religious household – check out the adorable cover photo taken on her Confirmation Day! Brief opener 48 Fairmount was named after the address of a wee three-bedroom house in Titirangi, New Zealand, where Poulter’s grandparents landed after migrating from Brunei with their six children. Soundbites from old family tapes, starring a youngster (probs Baby Sammy) chirping “Mummy” and “Daddy”, stir up nostalgic feels. KUČKA, Logic’s self-acknowledged “vocal crush”, pours sexy alien vibes on All For You: “Layin’ on the back seat, calling me, calling me.” Jersey (feat Jam City) is classic piano house with an irresistible 4/4 heartbeat – it’s giving Chicane. “‘Cause you are the only one who caaa-an” – empowerment anthem The Only One (feat Christine And The Queens) contemplates “the games of a man’s heart”. The cruisy 2Love (feat FAUZIA), harks back to Logic’s “psych pop-obsessed days as a teenager in Sydney”. Banging in like a battering ram, the title track – all throbbing bass and scalpel-precise beats – bottles euphoria. “You’ve been cheatin’ and telling me lies” – Forgiven, the closing comedown salve, reprises lyrics from Poulter’s breakout hit (DJ Logic Please Forgive Me, which Four Tet dropped at Coachella 2019). Written over the last two years alongside her partner/baby daddy Thom McAlister, Confirmation! deals emotionally wealthy house-pop. While Poulter’s previous Mother set explored matrescence, Confirmation! aligns every version of herself: child, woman and mother.

LABEL:

RELEASE:

DOMINO 2 OCT

RELEASE:

NETTWERK RECORDS 2 OCT

RELEASE:

BECAUSE MUSIC 2 OCT

BEAT 1745

GIG GUIDE

DEMASQUE: 8TH ANNIVERSARY

Koil Statik, Wiser, Kofdaddy FT:

OCTOBER 2026

THU 01 OCT KATE BUSH ‘HOUNDS OF LOVE’ 40TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION FT:

Second Hand News

The Curtin. Carlton. 8.30pm. $31. MCO + ANDREA LAM: DUSKLIT Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $75. BETCOVER!!. ZERO CITY Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. DRACULA: BALLET AT ITS DARKEST Her Majesty’s Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $60. ELDERBERRY + THE MOONERS Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free. LA MAUVAISE RÉPUTATION Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. DANNIELLE DE ANDREA The Jazzlab. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $49. TULLIAH. DO THE BED Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $29.58. BENNY J WARD. LAVA FANGS, JOSIE JETTE The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $11.25. TINA GROWLS. NAUSICAA, LOZ PERKINS Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7pm. $18.70. COUNTRY STRUTS BOOT SCOOTING Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $19.80. JMQ JAZZ ENSEMBLE

FT: Clancye Milne + Tim Wilson

Limerick Arms Hotel. South Melbourne. 6.30pm. $20. TRIPSIDE LIFE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

BODYJAR. NURSERY CRIMES, KLINGER Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. OPEN MIC Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 7pm. Free. ETHAN MILLER. BRAYDEN KING Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7pm. $49.90. SLUGS FT:

Creepy Boys

Meat Market Stables. North Melbourne. 9.15pm. $26.25 - 50. JUICEBOX Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $20. THE BILLY HINDE JAZZ COLLECTIVE: THE MUSIC OF ART PEPPER Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45. THE MUSIC OF ELTON Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $78.

New Guernica. Collingwood. 9pm. $55. ASHER POSIE. LISA MCGRATH, JACK LEWIS Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $18.36. THE DUMS. BRAT FARRAR, KEYO ROSES FLYING CIRCUS, BURN IN HELL The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $11.25. NEWPORT Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. WHITE SUMMER Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. MIRROR CLIPPERS. MOUSSE CANNON, TARCUTTA, COMATOSE The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $13.30. TANTANA Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $41.82.

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

CRANING + VALVE. TONGUE DISSOLVER, NO HOPER Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7pm. $23.80.

BACK TO ME Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 6pm. $35.

LPFOUR Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.

FRI 02 OCT MICHELLE NICOLLE & HUGH STUCKEY The Beacon (Melbourne Recital Centre). Southbank. 8.30pm. $45. EMIL LP PRESENTS:

MACHINE FUNK. NALIITA, JULIUS MYLES Milney’s Upstairs. Fitzroy. 7pm. $15. JOEY ROSSIN Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. REVOLVER FRIDAYS: FOSTERS & FRIENDS Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 10pm. $20. THE RIVER FOLK FESTIVAL 2026

FT: Stiff Gins, Natalie Haas, Hanneke Cassel

Yarra Valley. Warburton. 6pm. $0 - 150.

RENELOPHUS. BACKBURN, STONE FIRE Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $15. ASH GRUNWALD WITH THE MELBOURNE SOUL & GOSPEL CHOIR Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $75. SUNDOWN ON EDEN. KEETS, HARRIET WRAITH Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $10.75 - 20. STEPMOTHER. VAGUE RITUALS, CUJO Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $20 - 25. SIMONA CASTRICUM. OUR CARLSON, HUNNY MACHETE Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $29.10.

BREAK FAST. JACKSON DAHLENBURG Hex Clifton Hill. Clifton Hill. 8pm. $10. FIVE BUCK KID. KAITLIN KEEGAN, THE SATTS Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $28.85. HONEYDRIPPERS Odeon Richmond. Richmond. 7pm. $38. FOREVER FARNHAM Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45. DUMBHEAD. SHOCK CORRIDOR, LINEN Howler. Brunswick. 2pm. $33.61. OSCAR BRUTEN SEPTET PLAYS: THE MUSIC OF MONK AND MINGUS Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45. DRAG BINGO

FT: Gabriella Labucci, Abra KaDebra

Kingston City Hall. Moorabbin. 7.30pm. $20. GOOD MUSIC TURNS 2 Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $15 - 25. KATY STEELE Major Tom’s. Kyneton. 8pm. $50. THE APPLE JOHNS Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 6.30pm. Free. BLACK MARKET CLASH: THE STORY OF THE CLASH - A TWO HOUR CELEBRATION The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $42.80. GRYTT. PRIMITIVE DESERTERS, MUNTED CHUNTS, SLOPPY JALOPIES The Graveyard. Coburg North. 7pm. $17.19 - 20. RARE PHENOMENON. ASTROGATE, LAPIDATUS Bar Open. Fitzroy. 8.30pm. $17.35. KNOCK OFFS Abbots Yard. Abbotsford. 5pm. Free. CONVERGENCE The Industrique. Coburg North. 7pm. $33.

SAT 03 OCT POST OBLIVION

FT: Greeble, The Swinging Rope, Bad News Gospel

The Graveyard. Coburg North. 7pm. $17.19 - 20. SONYA LIFSCHITZ: DUET FOR ONE Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $50. CHRIS PAPPAS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 7pm. ROARCUSS. KTV The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 3pm. Free. GEM FEST 2026

FT: Stepmother, Bad Bangs, Techno 666, Pollyman, Nah, more

Gem Bar. Collingwood. 1pm. Free. ARCHER. JAZZY DALE, DREST, ASHER POSIE, DJ FINN KIRBY, DJ IWASOSCAR Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $23. PLANETS CARAVAN. GOOSE CALABOOSE, THE RARTEL The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $16.35. ELLA HOOPER. RUBY MAE Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $39.90. JUST A GENT. HUUE, YASH BANSAL, RIEPLAY Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $25. 10 YEARS OF TEAM LOVE

FT: The Mightiest Of Guns, Captain Beepboop, The Clags, Rosie Excess, more

Shotkickers. Thornbury. 5pm. $29.25. MORNING AFTER 10TH BIRTHDAY PARTY

FT: Eelke Kleijn, Mariano Mellino, GMJ & Matter, Handsdown, Jedidiah, more

Howler. Brunswick. 2pm. $77.18. DAISY KILBOURNE + RUBY JONES Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $23.46.

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SMITH & WESTERN JURY Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 4pm.

KINGS OF THE GYPSIES Kingston Arts Centre. Moorabbin. 5pm. $45.

ILAN BLUESTONE Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $50.

GRUNGE NIGHT

CIVILIANS: FREAK SHOW 30TH ANNIVERSARY TRIBUTE. DAY DREAMERS, MOTION BLUR Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $33.15. GUGU DINDI GUNYAH Arts Centre Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $45. HIGH SCORE ACMI. Melbourne. 9am. $130 - 180. BASEMENT SPACEMAN Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. PLAGIARISM BEGINS AT HOME. LIT ALLUSIONS Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $20. RICK PRICE Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $35. SAARAL SYNDICATE The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7pm. $47.05. DUST Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $50. MELTING. FEVER SHACK, ILLAN KAAPAN, GRINDHOUSE 7000, SOLIS Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $23.75.

Inconvenience, CENTRELEECH, Kill The Killers FT:

Sooki Lounge. Belgrave. 5pm. $10. CHEERSQUAD RECORDS PARTY

The Stems. The Johnnys, heir to the squandered millions, Benny J Ward, Bagful Of Beez FT:

Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $70. FREEFORM FESTIVAL

Barry Can’t Swim, Interplanetary Criminal, Richie Hawtin, more FT:

Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Melbourne. 2pm. $179.90. JED PICKET & ADRIAN WHITEHEAD Ragtime Tavern. Preston. 8pm. Free. KATY STEELE Archies Creek Hall. Archies Creek. 8pm. $50 - 55. MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT Athenaeum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $69.

THU 08 OCT THUNDAMENTALS Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $38.25.

PAPA M & MICK TURNER Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $67.

BRONZEWING Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 12pm. $10.

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

KAUBOJ Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 8.20pm. $35.

CRFT*WRK Queen Victoria Market. Melbourne. 9am. SHADOW RESONANCE. EMILY ROSNER, MINORARC, WILLEBRANT, BEYOND THE LAKE, VIOLINSIDIOUS Bluestone Church Arts Space. Footscray. 6.30pm. $37.50. TRASH INDIE SLEAZE PARTY Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 11pm. Free. TRANSCENDENZE X HOISZN Abbots Yard. Abbotsford. 2pm.

RUFOUS WHISTLER + RYAN MARTIN JOHN Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $23.46. EMELINE TOOHEY. ANGELA LANE, ALEX LANGTON The Tote. Collingwood. 7pm. $11.25. MANIFESTO OF SILENCES Arts House. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $25 - 40. TONE OF REGRET. THE MUNDAYNES, THE DANDYBUZZKILLS, VIOLET Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $16.85.

ALEX THE ASTRONAUT Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7.30pm. $35.30.

SARAH CATANIA. RICKY WILSON The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7pm. $28.56.

GIANNI MARINUCCI SEXTET Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $40.

FT: Bakkes. Vanguard, Method SDM, Dolphin Jones with DJ Kojido, Poets One, more

5VE + THE DEEP Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7.30pm.

Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $15 - 30.

JACK EARLE Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $32. COMATOSE. HEADSPIN, OPERA Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. $10. FLOODLIGHTS. RAIN DOGS, UBERWENCH Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. THE SMITH STREET BAND. SLIM KRUSTY, THE PERNICIOUS Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. SLUGS FT:

Creepy Boys

Meat Market Stables. North Melbourne. 9.15pm. $26.25 - 50. TSIM: NO MISTAKES TOUR - MELBOURNE NIGHT 2 FT:

TISM

Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $129.90. KATY STEELE The Taproom @ Shedshaker Brewing Company. Castlemaine. 8pm. $40. GERALDINE QUINN - CAMPERVAN: AN OZPLOITATION HORROR MUSICAL Trades Hall. Carlton. 6pm. $25 - 50. THE SYNCOPATORS: TRIBUTE TO BARBER, BALL & BILK Frankston Arts Centre. Frankston. 10.30am. $24 - 44.

FRI 09 OCT HOUSEWARMING Arts Centre Melbourne. Melbourne. 8pm. Free. XS. GUSH, IDLE FLOWERS The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $13.30. CLOUD ICE 9. COLD/HEAT, AMAZON, MIO The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $20.

TRACK WALK 3

GEMMA HOLLINGSWORTH Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $22.95. PURPLE DISTURBANCE. HANDGRENADE HEARTS, THE SLOPPY JALOPIES The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $23.50. HOUSE OF SIN Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. DOWNSTAIRS DISCO FT:

Steely Ann

Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm. Free. DINGO Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $30 - 35. NED COLLETTE. SARAH MARY CHADWICK Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6pm. $35.20. CARLA GENEVE Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $41.82. RED MOON COWBOY. TWO STAR, HUMAN NOISE Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. $15. PLASTIC SECTION + THE LOST TONES Barton Fink. Thornbury. 9pm. Free. SARKODIE Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $157.60. ASTRODEATH. GIANT, GHOSTSMOKER, DOUBLE-BARREL MEGADOOB Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $28.05 - 22.95. RASPBERRY TERRAPIN. COLD HANDS, WARM HEART, LINEN Grace Darling Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $10 - 15. TROY WILSON Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. JOEL HAVEA TRIO Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.

THE WHITLAMS. WILLIAM CRIGHTON Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. GRAVEYARD SHRED 2026

FT: Mean Street: The Van Halen Story, C()NTACT

The Graveyard. Coburg North. 6.30pm. $22.49. HARRY LYE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. SCATTERED ORDER. USER Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $20 - 25. SIDNEY PHILLIPS Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. TONY & GAGA Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40. TAMARA MURPHY & STEPHEN MAGNUSSON The Beacon (Melbourne Recital Centre). Southbank. 8.30pm. $45. ROSETOPIA Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7.30pm. $149. Lira Lavix. Infinite Skies, Peaceworld Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $10. THE HIGH KINGS Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $99.90. PEVAN & SARAH Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 12.30pm. $24. COMEDY AT THE SHIRLEY Shirley Burke Theatre. Parkdale. 7.30pm. $30.

SAT 10 OCT ABENY HAYES. AUBANY, HANNAH & THE HEARTSTRINGS The Catfish. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $17.85. TISM: NO MISTAKES TOUR - MELBOURNE NIGHT 3 Forum Melbourne. Melbourne. 7pm. $129.90. HOOP ARMY CONCERT Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $33. LOST ANIMAL. BLUE COMMUNICATIONS, THE SPITTING IMAGE The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $33.45.

BEAT 1745

GRACE ROBINSON. TALI Gem Bar. Collingwood. 3.30pm. $18.10. ANAMANAGUCHI. PORCELAIN BOY Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $69.90. RESURRECT. HAIL MARY, SKURGE, UNFOUND Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $25. MOBS. ELLA JACKMAN, DREST Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $28.85. CHRIS MASUAK’S DOG SOLDIER. GRINDHOUSE, THE GIRLIES Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7.30pm. $35. PARENTAL ADVICE EXPLICITLY IGNORED FT: Essential Workers, How’s Ur Father?, Roland Stones, Deadbeat Dads

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 12pm. $11.75. GUTTERMOUTH. LRF, WOLFPACK, EBOLAGOLDFISH Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7.30pm. $49.95. ABSOLUTELY 80S - SACRED HEART MISSION FUNDRAISER

TTTDC. SWEDISH MAGAZINES, SWIDGEN, PRIMITIVE DESERTERS The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35. FOOL NELSON Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $35.30 - 40.40. FEED ON PUNK SLOP

FT: Ropeable, Urban Immigrants, Y Not, Angry Suburbanites

The Graveyard. Coburg North. 5.30pm. $14.01. FRONT BAR SESSIONS FT:

Milly Strange

Corner Hotel. Richmond. 3.30pm. Free. DANCEHALL TING

DJ Outsider, More Judgement, Zare Demus FT:

FT: Katie Pearson, Hunny Machete, LXRP, Ding Ding Ding

The Tote. Collingwood. 2pm. $23.50. ANDREW DE SILVA’S DEDICATION TO PRINCE Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.

ROY DARBY & THE DIAL UPS. THE TORANAS, EADIELLA The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $23.50.

Limerick Arms Hotel. South Melbourne. 6.30pm. $20.

AUSTRALIAN BRANDENBURG ORCHESTRA: MOZART, SALIERI & PLEYEL Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $45. DRACULA: BALLET AT ITS DARKEST Her Majesty’s Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $60. SUBSTATIC

AN EVENING WITHOUT KATE BUSH FT:

Sarah-Louise Young

Arts Centre Melbourne. Melbourne. 8pm. $69.

FRI 16 OCT GHIBLI REIMAGINED FT:

Russell Tay Trio

TRIBUTE TO ACE FREHLEY: ACE’S ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $22.59.

ELECTRIC SELF. THE MALTESE WELL MONSTER, SWALLOWER, BILLY CART Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7pm. $18.70.

DAVID COSMA Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm.

WENDY RULE. NIGHTEYES Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $30 - 35.

LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME: NINA SIMONE TRIBUTE

Christine Manetta, Adam Rudegeair Band FT:

Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $36 - 39. OSAMASON Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $91.59. IKSRE. MY LOVELY HAUNTING Tender. Brunswick. 1.30pm. $28. TRANCE TECH X PRESENTS

ALESSANDRA RONCONE. NELZMEN, PINKQUE, MIKEY FODEN, ØBLVN 24 Moons. Northcote. 7pm. $55.

THE LEGACY OF JESSE YOUNAN: TRIBUTE SHOW Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $45. THE ENGINE ROOM. THE SWARM, MORE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $65. INTO THE HEART OF WILD MAGIC - A FRESHLY SQUEEZED SHOWCASE OF FOLK DESIRE

SAOIRSE, Elizabeth Milkins, Alice Isabelle FT:

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $16.85. SUZI. PLATONIC SEX, SAFEKEEP Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 6.30pm. $29.10. ROWENA WISE. HANNAH MCKITTRICK TRIO, ULLAH Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $40.

SISTERS DOLL Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. DOUBLE BARREL SOLUTION. DELIVER US FROM EVIL, SKURGE, NEBULAM, STITHIA The Tote. Collingwood. 7pm. $23.50. KATE DEARAUGO Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $35.

Glamorama. Fitzroy. 10pm. $15 - 30.

IZZY SKINNER. DOVE CREEK, WOODY SAMPSON Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.

Amelia Evans

UNIKORNIA. GABRIEL VARGAS, MARCO TROIANO Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7.15pm. $25 - 30.

INTERVAL

FT:

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

THE GHOSTS OF GRUNGE Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $49.50.

Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.

Glamorama. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15.

GABRIELLA CILMI Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $49.

Juliarna Clark + Aaron Michael FT:

THE RADIOHEAD PROJECT

Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 4pm. $54.60.

DOMSON & FRIENDS DAY PARTY

JMQ JAZZ ENSEMBLE

FT: Phoenix, Non, Erika Ever, LUCID X0, frog chaser, D V D

CHRISTIAN LI PLAYS BRAHMS Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $75.

PEKKA KUUSISTO: LEGENDS & LUMINARIES Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $49.

WILL LARSEN QUARTET Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $40.

Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 8pm. $16.45.

FT:

THE TARANTINOS Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $46.92.

KING CANOE Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm.

THE SEVEN UPS. BURIED FEATHER, MILOU MOON, DJ JOCELYN LEONG The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $38.70.

JOYCE PRESCHER + MANDY CONNELL Odessa at Leaver’s Hotel. Creswick. 5.30pm. $25.

Scott Carne, Ally Fowler, Dale Ryder, DJ Grand Master Baitz

THU 15 OCT

IOTA Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $46.92. PHANTOM PANDA POWER WIZARD MASTER SMASHER. KITTY OBSIDIAN, BELIAL B’ZARR, MOXIE DELITE Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $20. BEAR THE MAMMOTH. SVNTAX ERROR Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $20 - 25. SMALL TOWN ROMANCE. CHARLOTTE LE LIEVRE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $27.50. BIG VILLAGE. ZERO CITY, BIG BLACK MARIA Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 8pm. $14.85. GLASSHIVES. KEYO ROSE’S FLYING CIRCUS, THE DUMS The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35.

FT:

David Jackson

SONGS FROM THE CANYON Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $85. THE MAGGIE PILLS: VENEZUELAN EARTHQUAKE RELIEF.

FT: The Stripp, Wavedrive, Kristol Pisstol, Fire Roots

Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.05. STAYC Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7.30pm. $131.40. NATHAN EVANS & THE SAINT PHNX BAND Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. JOEY ALEXANDER TRIO + YOUNG MONK. SKYLAR TANG Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7.30pm. $69. PETER KNIGHT AND TL;DR Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $45. THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PAUL The Round. Nunawading. 7.30pm. $70. DISCOTECA ITALIANA ARRIVEDERCI ROMA Melbourne Museum. Carlton. 7pm. $40.

BOB EVANS. THE WELLINGTONS DUO Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $60.84.

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SAT 17 OCT REB FOUNTAIN. DAN KELLY, ADAM HATTAWAY The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $36.55. THE SOUND OF OM FT:

Gurukul 8

Kingston City Hall. Moorabbin. 7pm. $26. SKINNY LIVING. TANYA GEORGE Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $49.50. DAN DINNEN & SHORTY Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. FÄHM. THE CIGARILLOS, CRANK WILLIAMS, PATSY DECLINE Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. $18.10. FUNGUS BRAIN 2026

FT: Mushroom Giant, Syntax Error, International Karate, Stigg, All Is Violent

Shotkickers. Thornbury. 6.30pm. $25.80. RIVER OF SNAKES. SNUB, TERRIBLE MURIEL The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $18. STAUNCH III

AZIFM, Simbie, Soka, CheaHDX, Orb, Kieffaiiry FT:

The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 9pm. $15 - 30. GEORGA BYRNE PRESENTS:

COME AWAY WITH ME, LADIES WHO JAZZ Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.

IN FULL BLOOM. SGT SLICK Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm. $29.60. XANI PRESENTS:

KOLACZ Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $50. NEARLY FRIDAY. MERKANI, POST FICTION Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $23.75. CHAD LAWSON & PRIYA SINGH-KAUSHAL Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $45. YOMI SHIP Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $33.05.

STILL THE ONE: THE SONGS AND STORIES OF SHANIA TWAIN Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45. THE REFLEX 80S NEW WAVE TRIBUTE Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $45. FRONT BAR SESSIONS FT:

Lucky

Corner Hotel. Richmond. 3.30pm. Free. DYLAN BURGOS. SECOND HAND HIGH, SPLIT SOLES Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24. MONTY PYTHON’S SPAMALOT Athenaeum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $69. JUNGLE MANIA NAARM

Beatski, Neptune, Roln, OneLC, Trooper, MC Wasp, MC Manaki, MC PAB FT:

Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm. $21.95. VIDA FOX. THE DEAD AMIGOS, SWEET TEMPER Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $15.43. THE CROXTON BLOCK PARTY 2026

FT: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Shonen Knife, Babe Rainbow, Moktar, Heavy Moss, more

The Croxton. Thornbury. 12pm. $100 - 185. THE TESKEY BROTHERS. FRED WESLEY & THE NEW JBS, EMILY WURRAMARA Sidney Myer Music Bowl. Melbourne. 3pm. $99.90. PSEUDO ECHO Theatre Royal Castlemaine. Castlemaine. 7.30pm. $59. OUT OF CONTROL ARMY. LOIN GROIN, THE RESIGNATORS The Tote. Collingwood. 2.30pm. $64.80. ERIS & THE DISCIPLES. EROS Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. HOPE & BRAVERY: SHOSTAKOVICH & TOMASI Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 2pm. $75.

THU 22 OCT MEG WASHINGTON Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $59. SIR RICHARD BISHOP. EGGY The Curtin. Carlton. 7.30pm. $59.25. MISHA PIATIGORSKY Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40. JIB. SASKIA ROBIN, ARLON FARIA Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free. YURT PARTY Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7pm. $25. BILL BAILEY Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $99.90. HORATIO LUNA Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $29.10. COSENTINO The Round. Nunawading. 7pm. $98.50. ELYK. DELPHI, TOBY FREEMAN The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $20. STANDING CIRCLE Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 7pm. KIRSTY WEBECK: LOST FOR WORDS The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $41.82. ROGUE TRADERS Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $59.90. MINGUS THINGUS Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $40. DRACULA: BALLET AT ITS DARKEST Her Majesty’s Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $60.

FRI 23 OCT KATE CEBERANO Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7pm. $100.65. NEGATIVE APPROACH. STRAIGHTJACKET NATION, ENZYME, ROMANSY, MK NAOMI The Tote. Collingwood. 7pm. AMI WILLIAMSON Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $49.50.

BRAD COOK TRIO. FLASH BASTARDS EXPERIENCE, SOUTHBOUND SNAKE CHARMERS Cherry Bar. Melbourne. 8pm. $15.43.

SUCCULENT FUNK & CLUB DE MIGO PRESENT

NATHAN HAINES. BONNITA, JACK ROYAL, JASPER MILES New Guernica. Collingwood. 8pm. $16.45 - 27.40.

MR. MCCLELLAND’S FINISHING SCHOOL’S 18TH BIRTHDAY! The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 9pm. $31.11.

TO JASON DONOVAN, WITH LOVE X Motley Bauhaus. Carlton. 6.30pm. $30.89.

SURPRISE CHEF Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $40.

DJ RENA Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm.

KAIYAH MERCEDES. XANDRI, LOCAL SWEETHEART Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $15.85 - 22.95.

KNOCK OFFS Abbots Yard. Abbotsford. 5pm. Free.

NASH LEE QUARTET PLAYS DEXTER GORDON Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.

FT: Tchami, Tigerlily, Fred B Side, Alex Hosking, Tyson O’Brien

OBSCURE STRUCTURES VOL. 03

The Pass, ShadowFeet, MCHNBRKR FT:

The Graveyard. Coburg North. 7pm. $17.19. THE CLONES. THE DROPKICKS, BEAUTY SLEEP The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $15. THE DEAD CASTLE - HALLOWEEN RAVE FEAT: ANVIL, GRIMOIRE, GHOST GUM Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 2pm. $38.25 - 45. ELOISE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $69.90. WE SET SIGNALS. STONE LIONS Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $28.85. MISTY HARLOWE & THE HOLD UP Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $28.56. MOUNTAIN BOY Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $46.

ELECTRO MERVEILLES SOUNDS OF LA FRENCH TOUCH

Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC). Melbourne. 4pm. $99. THE SUN AIN’T GONNA SHINE ANYMORE: THE SONGS OF SCOTT WALKER

FT: Rob Snarski, Dave Graney, Moogy, Dave Bowers

Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $54.90.

SAT 24 OCT ALZZY Hotel Esplanade (The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $26.05. A NIGHT WITH PAUL GRABOWSKY & ROSS WILSON The Beacon (Melbourne Recital Centre). Southbank. 8.30pm. $65. THE SIGNAL PATH - ELAKTRONIC 2 FT: Minimae, Marcus Newman, Wizard, Naca, Death of Socrates, Mr. Rachele

Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.

JOEY ALEXANDER TRIO + YOUNG MONK. SKYLAR TANG Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 8pm. $79.

PUSSY HORSE. HANDGRENADE HEARTS, THE YAYOKO, RED40PAINCLUB The Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35.

THE OFFICIAL BLUES BROTHERS REVUE Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $60.

BASEMENT SPACEMAN Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $15 - 20.

BEAT 1745

MODERN JOINT ACCOUNTS FOR MODERN RELATIONSHIPS 44

BEAT.COM.AU