Fat Tom Cruise.
Olga Koch®
RISING ⠃ MUSIC 27 MAY
— 08 JUNE
A FESTIVAL OF NEW ART, MUSIC AND PERFORMANCE IN THE HEART OF NAARM/MELBOURNE
LIL’ KIM • KAE TEMPEST
DANIEL AVERY • SEUN KUTI & EGYPT 80
SAINT LEVANT • ADRIAN SHERWOOD
CATE LE BON • DRY CLEANING
SAUL WILLIAMS MEETS CARLOS NIÑO & FRIENDS
WEDNESDAY • TR/ST • ANAIIS
RAVEN CHACON • CHANEL BEADS
THE CONGOS • KAHIL EL’ZABAR • SORRY
DISCOVERY ZONE • THE BATS
ELIAS B RØNNENFELT • SAICOBAB
GIL SCOTT-HERON BY BRIAN JACKSON & YASIIN BEY AND MANY MORE
JOIN THE BANDBOX
DISCOVER JBL BANDBOX, REAL-TIME AI TRACK SEPARATION, LETS YOU ISOLATE VOCAL, DRUMS AND GUITAR* AN ALL IN ONE AI SMART AMP. NOT JUST A SPEAKER.
DARE TO FEEL
Featuring a huge line-up of Australian music, three unmissable experiences await.
JOSH COHENRADIOHEAD FOR SOLO PIANO II
WEDNESDAY 15 APR 7.30PM
SUNDAY 3 MAY 7.00PM KUTCHA EDWARDS60 CYCLES AROUND THE SUN FRIDAY 17 APR 7.30PM
THE SPOOKY MEN’S CHORALE25 YEARS OF POINTLESS GRANDEUR
EDITOR
Lucas Radbourne
ASSISTANT EDITOR
Frankie Anderson-Byrne
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Riley McDonald
GIG GUIDE
Jacob Colliver
CONTRIBUTORS
August Billy, Bryget Chrisfield, Sarah Duggan, Dom Lepore
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PUBLISHER
Furst Media Pty Ltd
FOUNDER
Rob Furst
EDITORIAL NOTE
April is here and Melbourne is about to get very, very funny.
Æ The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has rolled back into town for its 40th year, and our April cover star might just be the most exciting act to touch down in the city this season. Sam Nicoresti won the Edinburgh Comedy Award for Best Show in 2025 with Baby Doomer, an hour of standup about love, Kmart and the hunt for the perfect skirt suit. She sold out her entire Edinburgh run, followed it with a three-week sellout transfer to London’s Soho Theatre, and is now making her Melbourne solo debut at The Westin from 26 March. Within are two more of the fest’s sharpest international acts: Daniel Sloss and Chloe Petts, alongside a curated rundown of the best shows to catch across MICF.
Beyond comedy, this issue is stacked. Regurgitator are digging through three decades of singles for their Jukeboxxin’ tour, Newton Faulkner chats about his obsessive studio habits, and Jesse Valach opens up about the stroke that nearly ended his music career.
Get out there. It’s going to be a big month.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF TRADITIONAL OWNERS
Our magazine is published on the lands of the Bunurong Boon Wurrung and Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, and we wish to acknowledge them as Traditional Owners. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging.
DISTRIBUTION
Beat Mag will be distributed free every month to hundreds of locations around metro Melbourne, to enquire about having it at your venue email distribution@furstmedia.com.au
COVER
Our April cover star is Sam Nicoresti, photographed by Rebecca Need-Menear.
NEWS
RISING 2026 DROPS FULL PROGRAM WITH 376 ARTISTS
Melbourne’s winter arts festival has unveiled over 100 events across theatres, town halls, cathedrals and civic squares. RISING runs 27 May to 8 June with Lil’ Kim, Saint Levant, Yasiin Bey, Dry Cleaning, Kae Tempest, Seun Kuti & Egypt 80 and Cate Le Bon among the headline acts, plus a world premiere Gil Scott-Heron tribute.
TIM ROGERS TAKES SOLO TOUR THROUGH REGIONAL VICTORIA
The You Am I frontman and recent ARIA Hall of Fame inductee is stripping his catalogue back for intimate solo shows. The Le Charme Defensif tour winds through Portland, Warrnambool, Geelong, Castlemaine, Frankston, Sale, Cowes and Meeniyan across April, following a Brunswick Ballroom launch in March.
FIVE BRING ALL ORIGINAL MEMBERS TO ROD LAVER ARENA
All five members of the late-90s UK pop group are sharing a stage for the first time in 25 years. Five bring the Keep On Movin’ 2026 tour to Rod Laver Arena on 23 May, with a setlist spanning their run of 11 consecutive Australian top 10 singles.
VERA BLUE REUNITES WITH MSO AT HAMER HALL
Five years since their last collaboration, Vera Blue and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra are back together for Orchestral Veil. The one-off show hits Hamer Hall on 11 July, with conductor Leonard Weiss and arrangements by Alex Turley, the composer behind orchestral work for Rüfüs Du Sol and G Flip.
GUNS N’ ROSES RETURN TO MELBOURNE AT MARVEL STADIUM
The World Tour 2026 hits seven stadiums across Australia and New Zealand this November and December. Guns N’ Roses play Marvel Stadium on 11 December with Warrnambool hard rockers Airbourne as special guests, alongside two new tracks marking the band’s first material since 2023.
QUEEN VIC MARKET LAUNCHES BRAND NEW AUTUMN FOOD FESTIVAL
The free Flavours of Autumn Festival kicks off a broader Autumn Series running from March through May. Highlights include the Turkish Pazar Festival on 11–12 April, the Cachivaches Latin Market on 18–19 April and CRFT*WRK curated by Rose St. Artists’ Market on 4 April and 2 May, plus a trading card Swap Meet on 31 May.
GERMAN FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO MELBOURNE CINEMAS IN MAY
The 2026 HSBC German Film Festival runs 8 to 27 May across Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, The Kino, The Astor and more. Centrepiece film is Fatih Akin’s Amrum, with a Cannes Jury Award winner and a Kino for Kids sidebar also among the first highlights. Tickets available early April.
ANTI-SLOP ART EXHIBITION TAKES OVER COMMUNICATIONS
MUSEUM FOR
RISING
NCM X PSEUDO: Stigmergy is a new exhibition blending live performance, expanded cinema and artist-built digital infrastructure at the National Communication Museum. Running 4 June to 9 August as part of RISING, the show pitches itself as a direct response to algorithmic flattening and doomscrolling. Tickets $18–$24.
AT YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDANTLY RUN MUSIC VENUE
TEMPORARY BLESSINGS THU 02 APR
TOSHIKI SOEJIMA (JPN) SAT 25 APR
TEMPORARY BLESSINGS
FAMOUS FRIEND (USA)
AARYAN SHAH 05/04 HARRIET WRAITH AND THE WITCHES 06/04 ‘SOCIAL SANCTUARY’ w MILKPUNCH, LAURA AND THE HELL CUTZ + VIOLET 10/04 DAPPLED CITIES 11/04 JACK GARDINER 13/04 ‘SOCIAL
27/04 ‘SOCIAL SANCTUARY’ w HARVEY PINK’S FLYING BATHHOUSE, FIELD MAPS + MCKIMMIE
30/04 NANA’S PIE 01/05 KATY STEELE 02/05 ANNA SMYRK 07/05 RACHAEL FAHIM
08/05 FACS (USA) 09/05 ROLLERBALL
CLASS 12/06 HUGH CORNWELL (UK)
‘SOCIAL SANCTUARY’ w NORWOOD, HAIRCLIP + ELLEN JAMES 23/04 SADISTIC INTENT (USA) 24/04 THE SEDUCEAPHONES 25/04 TOSHIKI SOEJIMA (JPN) SELLING FAST 26/04 LOIN GROIN (LATE MATINEE)
10/05 THE REMOTES (LATE MATINEE) 16/05 MONSTERS OF RIFF 2026 FT. ELM STREET 18/05 ‘SOCIAL SANCTUARY’ w SANTA ANA RODEO, TALLULAH GRACE + MEISIE 21/05 DADDY LONG LEGS 22/05 BLUEBOTTLE KISS 07/06 WARNER BROTHERS RESIDENCY (LATE MATINEE) 12/06 ROD COOTE 13/06 JORDAN HART
FREE EXHIBITION
UNEARTHS INDIGENOUS HISTORY BENEATH AUSTRALIAN ROADS
Beneath Roads is a three-channel video work by Jenna Rain Warwick at Yarra Ranges Regional Museum, challenging how Australian road movies have erased First Peoples’ walking paths and trading routes. The ACMI-produced exhibition runs through to 5 July with free entry.
FITZROY’S BRUNSWICK STREET SET FOR ANNUAL STREET FESTIVAL
The Brunswick Street Festival could be on its way, with the City of Yarra endorsing plans for a new annual street event. The council approved the proposal, confirming that the inaugural Brunswick Street Festival will take place on 24 October 2027, subject to funding.
FRENCH FILM FESTIVAL RUNS THROUGH TO APRIL ACROSS MELBOURNE
The Alliance Française French Film Festival is screening at Palace Cinemas Melbourne through to 8 April, with the national program extending to 26 April. Now in its 37th year, the festival showcases established icons and rising stars of French cinema across drama, comedy and family fare.
UK GARAGE RAVE TAKES OVER HEIDE SCULPTURE PARK
Syncopate In The Park returns to the grounds of Heide Museum of Modern Art in Bulleen as a full-scale open-air festival. Presented by local promoters Guerrilla and The Operatives, the second edition expands from its inaugural indoor format to bring UK garage and bass music to one of Melbourne’s most unexpected outdoor settings.
BUTTER SESSIONS MARKS 15 YEARS WITH GOOD FRIDAY FESTIVAL
The Melbourne-based record label is celebrating with a 19-artist, three-stage all-day festival at Collingwood Children’s Farm on 3 April. Japanese producers Kuniyuki and Gonno join the label’s deep roster of local talent for the Good Friday celebration.
BERNIE DIETER’S CLUB KABARETT RETURNS TO MEAT MARKET
The kabarett extravaganza is heading back to North Melbourne’s Meat Market after a sell-out 2025 run. Inspired by the prewar Weimar scene of 1920s Berlin, Club Kabarett promises fire, freaks and filthy fun in a modern-day den of iniquity.
ANGEL MUSIC BAR LAUNCHES NEW WEEKLY CLUB NIGHT
The late-night CBD institution is adding a new weekly club night to its programming. Angel Music Bar has long been on Melbourne’s clubbing bucket list, balancing a cocktail bar downstairs with a dancefloor upstairs, and the new residency adds another reason to check it out.
BECK BRINGS FULL ORCHESTRA TO PALAIS THEATRE IN MAY
The genre-defying artist has locked in two nights at Palais Theatre as part of his first-ever Australian orchestral run. Beck has previously taken his orchestral sets to London’s Royal Albert Hall, New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Hollywood Bowl.
IRON MAIDEN AND MEGADETH HIT AAMI PARK IN NOVEMBER
Iron Maiden’s 50th anniversary Run For Your Lives world tour hits four Australian cities, with Megadeth as special guests. The Melbourne show at AAMI Park marks the first time the band will headline an outdoor stadium in the city.
WINTER BLUES FESTIVAL DROPS FIRST 20-ACT LINEUP FOR JULY
The annual blues and roots festival is heading back to Echuca-Moama in July for another four-day run across the Murray Region. Organisers have revealed the first 20 acts for the 2026 edition.
JOLT ARTS DROPS AVANT-GARDE AUTUMN SEASON THROUGH MAY
Running March through May, the JOLT Autumn Season spans everything from avant-garde noise to classical Indian tabla, acousmatic opera to stand-up comedy. Anchored at JOLTED Arts Space in Northcote, the season also spreads across The Substation and other venues.
STATE LIBRARY HOSTS COMEDY, SPEED DATING AND MATCHMAKING
Love in the Library is a three-part series of dating events running from March to June at State Library Victoria. The program includes comedy nights dedicated to dating disasters, speed dating sessions and PowerPointfuelled matchmaking.
SORRENTO’S $30 MILLION FERRY TERMINAL OPENS OVER THE BAY
Searoad Ferries has opened its new terminal built entirely on pylons above Port Phillip Bay. The self-funded project features a glass observatory floor, spiral staircase and a coastal Mediterranean restaurant called ONDA, turning the peninsula crossing into a destination in its own right.
A PERFECT CIRCLE AND PUSCIFER ANNOUNCE TOUR
A Perfect Circle and Puscifer have confirmed a long-awaited return to Australia, coming to Rod Laver Arena on 6 December
CONNOR BURNS BRINGS GALLUS TO MELBOURNE COMEDY FESTIVAL
Scottish comedian Connor Burns is heading back to Melbourne for a two-week season at the comedy festival in April. The show takes its name from the Scottish term for bold or rule-breaking behaviour.
DANGEROUS GOODS XXL RETURNS THIS WINTER
Dangerous Goods XXL returns to Melbourne on 27 June with the first seven of 15 headliners now confirmed for what’s shaping up to be the event’s largest local edition to date. SLVL, USH, OMAKS, Shortround, Miss Jade, Ish K and Blazy make up the opening wave, with nine more acts still to be announced.
QUEEN VICTORIA WOMEN’S CENTRE LAUNCHES MONTHLY GUIDED TOURS
The iconic Lonsdale Street building is opening its doors for new monthly guided tours uncovering its hidden history. The centre began life in the 1890s and the tours trace the building’s remarkable transformation across more than a century.
MELBOURNE HAS LOST ONE IN FOUR LIVE MUSIC VENUES
The 2025 Victorian Live Music Venue Audit, commissioned by Creative Victoria and delivered by Music Victoria, has counted every live music venue in the state. The findings confirm a significant decline in regular venues across Melbourne since the pandemic.
GREG DAVIES BRINGS FULL FAT LEGEND TO HAMER HALL
The Taskmaster host and Inbetweeners star has announced his first-ever Australian dates. Greg Davies plays Hamer Hall on 2 November as part of a national tour following his Netflix special of the same name.
MELBOURNE’S 56-YEAR AIRPORT RAIL HAS FINALLY BROKEN GROUND
Construction on the Melbourne Airport Rail Link has officially started at Sunshine, backed by $4.1 billion in joint federal and state funding. The project will rebuild the rail junction at Sunshine to connect regional V/ Line services, Metro Tunnel trains and future airport services in a single interchange.
NEW HIDDEN LIVE MUSIC VENUE OPENS IN FITZROY NORTH
The Railway Hotel on Nicholson Street is launching live music programming in its upstairs Ballroom. The Fitzroy North pub has been a neighbourhood staple for decades, and the intimate new gig space adds another room to Melbourne’s live circuit.
ORCHESTRA VICTORIA RETURNS TO MEAT MARKET WITH CHAMBER MUSIC
Orchestra Victoria is bringing three nights of chamber music to North Melbourne’s Meat Market for its 2026 season, pairing worldclass performances with cocktails in the heritage venue.
MICF DROPS MASSIVE 40TH ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM FOR 2026
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival has unveiled its full program for the milestone 40th edition, running 25 March to 19 April. Highlights include The Big FOUR-Oh! gala at the Regent Theatre, the Comedy Allstars Supershow, and hundreds of shows spanning stand-up, sketch, improv and musical comedy.
HOT MILK ANNOUNCE MELBOURNE HEADLINE SHOW FOR MAY
Manchester pop-punk outfit Hot Milk are bringing their east coast headline tour to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane this May, three years after their Australian debut.
RICHARD MARX BRINGS AFTER HOURS TOUR TO MELBOURNE
The Grammy-winning singer-songwriter is heading back to Australia for a five-city run in April, performing tracks from his latest album alongside the catalogue of hits that’s kept him relevant for close to 40 years.
ABILITY FEST RETURNS WITH ALL-ELECTRONIC LINEUP AT TIMBER YARD
Australia’s only fully accessible music festival returns to The Timber Yard with 18 acts across two stages and a silent disco. PNAU and Logic1000 lead the lineup, with $60 tickets and Auslan interpreters across the event.
MRS DOUBTFIRE MUSICAL MAKES AUSTRALIAN DEBUT AT PRINCESS THEATRE
The hit musical based on the 1993 Robin Williams film is heading to Princess Theatre for its Australian premiere from November. Directed by four-time Tony Award winner Jerry Zaks, the production has already run for two years in London’s West End.
NEW MONTHLY MARKET OPENS INSIDE 120-YEAR-OLD KENSINGTON WOOLSTORE
The Younghusband Market is a collaboration between The Rose St. Artists’ Market and the recently redeveloped Younghusband heritage woolstore in Kensington. The new monthly market joins Rose St.’s expanding network of maker and designer events.
ROBBIE CAVANAGH AND KAREN LEE ANDREWS HEAD TO NORTHCOTE
UK singer-songwriter Robbie Cavanagh and acclaimed Australian artist Karen Lee Andrews are joining forces for a Northcote show, bringing folk and soul to one of Melbourne’s most reliable live rooms.
Wesley Anne Wesley Anne
SAM NICORESTI
“I guess being trans and having fun is still a radical act.”
Sam Nicoresti is immediately charming. Within about fifteen minutes of chatting, she has the ability to make you feel like you’re an old childhood friend – and she’s hilarious, too. It’s not hard to see why her show, Baby Doomer, won The Edinburgh Comedy Festival Award for Best Show in 2025.
WORDS BY SARAH DUGGAN
Æ When we sit down to chat- joined by her elderly cat, The Goblin- Nicoresti is preparing to bring Baby Doomer to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for the very first time this year.
“The show is primarily about skirt suits,” she begins, “it’s a very important and current issue that I think is affecting people, not just trans women, not just queers, but everybody, at least in the UK and I’m hoping Australia. So I think it’s about time we talk about the two-piece.”
Baby Doomer is not strictly about skirt suits, though the garment does loom large. Over time the show has become an almost trauma-bonding experience between Nicoresti and her audience about the universal horror of getting stuck in items of clothing in changing rooms. When I tell her we’ve all been there, she says, “I didn’t know that at the time,” she admits. “Me doing this show has been a real outreach program between me and women. I feel like I’ve learned a lot.”
It’s an unexpectedly wholesome image: a touring comedian discovering- city by city- that just about everyone has at some point been trapped inside an aggressively fitted sleeve.
After performing the show dozens of times over Edinburgh Fringe, Nicoresti has the rhythm of Baby Doomer down to a science, but now that it’s going international, there a few tweaks to be made. “I do various accents of people during the show and I’m trying to decide if that’s going to translate to Australia or if I need to learn how to do an Australian accent.”
Nicoresti also asks me an important cultural question: what is the Australian equivalent of TK Maxx? When I suggest Kmart, she immediately adds it to her Melbourne to-do list. I do gently warn her that while Kmart is certainly iconic, it’s far from glamorous, but she remains undeterred, viewing it as less of a retail experience and more as fieldwork. Research must be done.
Her dedication to understanding our local culture is admirable and I’m already looking forward to hearing her post-Kmart review.
While most comedy audiences are really just hoping for a good time and a laugh, there is an unintentional deeper level to Baby Doomer. “With my previous show, the one I did before this, I was very focused on the themes of it. I was talking about queerness and transness, especially early transition… But with this show, I just wanted to have fun and make something silly. Somehow, that has ended up accruing a bunch of deeper stuff around it, because I guess being trans and having fun is still a radical act.”
That mixture of sincerity and silliness seems to be at the heart of Nicoresti’s comedy. The jokes are playful and a little absurd, but they grow from a lived experience.
When it comes to building an hour of stand-up, for Nicoresti it’s all about these lived experiences. “I love thinking about comedy like you would an album. All of the different sets and routines come together as a wider concept… The main structural routine of this show, which is about what we will now call Kmart, came all at once because of an experience that happened. That routine is like, eight minutes- it’s like prog rock.”
Nicoresti also makes a conscious effort to surround herself with a crew of equally funny people. Bouncing ideas off of her director or producer, she sees the process as a collaborative effort. “Sometimes it’s hard work, but sometimes it’s really not,” she says simply.
Whether she’s analysing the politics of skirt suits, recounting change-room disasters or conducting cultural reconnaissance in Kmart, Nicoresti radiates a warmth that makes her audience feel as though they’re in the joke with her, which is probably why after fifteen minutes I felt like I’d known her forever.
SAM
NICORESTI
WHERE: THE WESTIN – TWO
WHEN: 26 MAR–19 APR
COMEDY FESTIVAL GUIDE
Some of the best shows to see at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival until 19th April.
BRONWYN ISAAC
Bronwyn Isaac is a stand-up comedian, writer, and podcaster who left her life as a reporter in NYC to follow her girlfriend to Amsterdam, and nearly got deported for the privilege. Why Are You Here is her playfully dark comedy hour covering censorship in American media, lesbian love, immigration lawyers, and a billionaire boss named Bryan. If you’ve ever felt crazy at work, or like a fish out of water, you’ll relate to this mess.
TOR SNYDER
Tor de Force is a laugh-a-minute riot where no one is safe. Armed with wild stories spun into absurdity, uncanny impressions and off-the-cuff crowd work that makes every show different, Canadian comic Tor Snyder sweeps through with the kind of chaotic joy that’ll have you questioning whether you just witnessed a comedy show, survived a sugar-high goose stampede, or joined a cult. This is not polite, sit-and-nod comedy. This is a stand-up storm.
IZZY GOESSENS
Crumble is the comedy show that asks: what if your dating profile was just photos of you crying? Amsterdam comedian Izzy takes heartbreak, bad decisions and modern romance and runs with them until everything spirals gloriously out of control. Equal parts delusional and sharp, this is big sister energy meets anthropological disaster, a show about love and grief that somehow makes both funnier than they have any right to be. Come for the crying selfies, stay because you can’t look away.
KATRINA MATHERS
TAPE FACE (NZ)
Celebrating 20 years of Tape Face, the show returns to Australia for the first time in over a decade. Mime with noise, stand-up with no talking — the Las Vegas headliner has become a global sensation. Physical comedy and silent stand-up collide in a critically award-winning performance that will leave you laughing, gasping, and entirely lost for words. Tape Face has to be seen to be believed.
DOUGLAS LIM (MALAYSIA)
For 18 years, Douglas Lim has been dissecting Malaysian culture — the politics, the traditions, the food. But in his brand-new show Vital Stats, he finally turns the lens on himself. His half-naked theatre debut, his misadventures in TV and film, and yes, his testosterone levels, are all fair game. Funny, surprising and personal, this is a different side of Malaysia’s most celebrated comedian.
Credit: Brent Lukey
Returning to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after a 23 year break, Moosehead Award recipient, Katrina Mathers (“The Wedge”, “Flipside”, “Footy Chicks”) delivers a fun, honest and somewhat chaotic ride through all the wonders and joys of menopause; of having a cheese boob; memory lapses and a complex love-hate relationship with her Dyson vacuum cleaner. Interwoven with a bunch of other excellent stories about women of all ages, slamming head-first into life.
NEEL KOLHATKAR (AUSTRALIA)
Neel Kolhatkar loves two things: comedy and martial arts. Inspired by the belt system — a clear, earned marker of skill — he’s applied the same logic to stand-up. Black Belt Comedy is his personal challenge: to earn the right to say the hardest things in the funniest way. Expect cultural observations, sharp impressions and infectious energy from one of Australia’s most dynamic performers.
CHRIS KENT (IRELAND)
Cork’s Chris Kent makes his Australian debut with Offline, a show about attempting to give up the internet at 40. He longs for simpler times — playing Snake, constructing emojis by hand — and wonders if he can ever think for himself again. Praised as a master storyteller by the Irish Times and endorsed by Tommy Tiernan, this is Irish comedy at its most carefree and sharp.
DANIEL FOXX (UK)
Daniel was determined to handle his big breakup with the grace of Julia Roberts. He didn’t. In How Lovely, the award-winning UK comedian navigates dating in your 30s, Le Creuset addiction and 12-step skincare routines. Described by Rolling Stone as utterly hilarious and effortlessly charismatic, Foxx is best known for his viral comedy videos enjoyed by millions online. His Australian debut.
GEARÓID FARRELLY (IRELAND)
After surviving hospital stays, a sick cat and a nerve-wracking stint on Dancing with the Stars, Gearóid Farrelly returns with No Pressure. In this candid and hilarious hour, he unpacks the absurdities of modern life, the challenges of self-care and the joy of embracing imperfection. Described as “bloody hilarious” by Sarah Millican and as “my absolute favourite” by Joanne McNally — high praise doesn’t get much better.
JASON LEONG (MALAYSIA)
After losing one of his best friends to cancer, Dr Jason Leong did the most Jason Leong thing possible: he wrote a comedy show about it. In Laughing Memory is his most personal hour yet, navigating loss and love with laughter. A medical doctor turned comedian with two Netflix specials and a Just For Laughs Montreal credit, Leong is a gifted storyteller who never fails to mention his qualifications.
JOANNE MCNALLY (IRELAND)
Following her record-breaking Prosecco Express tour, Ireland’s biggest comedy star returns with Pinotphile. Still single, still unfertilised, and laden with war stories, Joanne navigates situationships, revenge, frenemies and rejection in her trademark terrifyingly funny style. Co-host of the award-winning podcast My Therapist Ghosted Me and a hit on Taskmaster and The Jonathan Ross Show, McNally is, simply put, the most exciting thing to happen to Irish comedy in years.
KYLA COBBLER
Cork-born Kyla Cobbler went from her first open mic in 2021 to nearly 700,000 Instagram followers and 100 million video views in just four years. Her debut show Gone Rogue covers Barcelona dating disasters, friend crushes and barbecue power plays, all delivered with fearless honesty and quickfire wit. Multiple shows already sold out — this is one of the fastest-rising names in comedy making her Australian debut.
ROSEBUD BAKER (USA)
New York comedian Rosebud Baker is an Emmy Award-winning writer, a Variety Top 10 Comic to Watch, and a current writer for Saturday Night Live. She’s performed on That’s My Time with David Letterman and Bill Burr’s The Ringers, and her debut Netflix special The Mother Lode dropped this year. Sharp, bold and critically acclaimed — her first Australian visit is long overdue.
BEN HUNTER
Ben Hunter is 25 now, and he’s decided it’s time his comedy took a new direction. An evil one. A new hour of cruel, wicked and otherwise dastardly stand-up from a young man who has previously opened for Aaron Chen, Aunty Donna and Morgan Jay, and earned four stars from The Age. Hard to explain, apparently. Easy to recommend.
EMMANUEL SONUBI (UK)
After surviving heart failure mid-performance, Emmanuel Sonubi turned the experience into Life After Near Death; a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe hit that went on to conquer Europe and New York’s SoHo Theatre. The result is a hilarious, uplifting and brutally honest hour about identity, mortality and fatherhood. With Edinburgh Comedy Award nominations for Best Newcomer and Best Show and a regular at Live at the Apollo, Sonubi is unmissable.
CHLOE PETTS
“I was a laddish teenager who wanted to be in a band, but I wasn’t good enough to be in a mainstream band. So I had to go ask the Christians to be in theirs.”
Chloe Petts is the kind of person who makes an interview feel less like an interview and more like a particularly good chat. She’s warm, sharp and quick-witted, letting you in on the joke rather than delivering it from a distance.
WORDS BY SARAH DUGGAN
Æ This year, Petts is bringing her show Big Naturals to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival after a successful run at Edinburgh Fringe. The show focuses on lad culture- something Petts is intimately familiar with thanks to her lifelong love of football.
Trying to research a comedy show ahead of time is a strange exercise, with vague descriptions that add a sense of mysticism- a handful of words about ‘identity’, maybe something about ‘belonging’ or ‘fitting in’, and sometimes the promise of a surprising twist. Helpful? Not always.
So I ask Petts directly what the show is actually about. Not beating around the bush, she says, “I am talking about lad culture in the UK, and the implications it has on people who are masculine now.”
Simple enough. Though, ‘lad culture’ can be complex. It’s a social phenomenon that spills across pubs, footy stands, group chats and yes, comedy stages. “Everywhere in the world has guys that enjoy taking up space perhaps because they’ve never been told that they need to be considerate of other people’s space.” Petts says, nonchalantly.
“In terms of comedy, I think what people think looks funny is a straight white man who will be- some may call it ‘cheeky’, others might call it ‘actively rude and not funny’.”
It’s a sharp observation, but Petts is quick to acknowledge that things have shifted in recent years. The stand-up landscape has broadened, and audiences are increasingly drawn to voices that look and sound different from the old template. She admits that laddishness might have a space in comedy, but it shouldn’t be the only flavour on the menu.
Big Naturals mentions Petts’ previous experience in a Christian rock band. Naturally, I’m fascinated. The pipeline from Christian rock musician to queer stand-up comedian feels niche, but for Petts the reasoning was fairly practical.
“I was a laddish teenager who wanted to be in a band, but I wasn’t good enough to be in a mainstream band. So I had to go ask the Christians to be in theirs.”
Performing, in one form or another, has always been attractive to Petts. From a young age she knew she wanted to be on stage, a desire she described with refreshing self-awareness as a need for attention and validation. Eventually that instinct led her toward comedy, but her love for music never disappeared.
“It’s something that I’ve got back into just recently. Me and Nicola and Rosie Dempsey are in a wedding covers band. We’re playing at a wedding in the middle of the year and that’s so fun. It’s my favourite creative output at the moment.”
From an outsider’s perspective, stand-up feels a little overwhelming. Performing the same show night after night, city after city, somehow managing to make it feel fresh and new each time. Petts’ approach to this is, unsurprisingly, very practical.
“What I’ve learned is right at the beginning when you’re first writing it and you’re really excited about it, you need to make sure that if there are any bits where you think, ‘ugh I have to say this again?!’, You cut it immediately. As soon as that feeling happens, just cut that bit.”
For Melbourne, this means that we’re getting the best of the best when it comes to Pett’s hour, Big Naturals. Of course, performing in different cities also means learning to read a room quickly, which is something Petts has down-pat by now.
“Sometimes you can see if an audience is a bit more playful or if they’re sharing your lived experience. That’s when I’ll usually throw in extra bits that I might have cut because I feel like they’ll get it.”
Big Naturals is a show about lad culture, delivered by someone who understands it from the inside, with the added experience of having escaped via Christian rock bands and wedding cover gigs. Honestly, it sounds like a pretty solid night out.
CHLOE PETTS
WHERE: MELBOURNE TOWN HALL – PORTRAIT ROOM
WHEN: 26 MAR–19 APR
Credit: Matt Stronge
RICH HALL (USA)
Rich Hall is back in Melbourne with Chin Music, and the title says it all — idle talk, but with the bite of a baseball brushback. The award-winning Montana native and Perrier Award winner delivers his trademark deadpan tirades, razor-sharp political observations and improvisational banter that’s made him a global favourite. If you haven’t seen him, fix that. This is about as close to a guaranteed good night out as it gets.
JOSIE LONG (UK)
Three-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Josie Long is back with a new show about extinction, wonder and giant ancient armadillos. While the world feels increasingly apocalyptic, Long asks: did you know 11,000 years ago there were some seriously large megafauna? Blending political warmth with sharp curiosity, Now Is the Time of Monsters is a sell-out Edinburgh hit finally landing in Australia. There’s also, apparently, a very good tip about silt. Guaranteed.
DAVID O’DOHERTY (IRELAND)
Back for his 18th season at MICF, David O’Doherty — hairy Enya, Ryanair Bublé, ninevolt battery-powered Beethoven — returns with a brand new opus of lo-fi musical whimsy. Highway to the David Zone has talking, songs, talking during songs and talking while walking around. It’s got the lot, delivered with the charm that’s made him a festival institution. A favourite for a reason.
PHIL WANG (UK/MALAYSIA)
Phil Wang is back with a new stand-up show and, crucially, a new moustache. He’s older than ever and carrying the full weight of being the only cool millennial left standing. As seen on two Netflix specials and Taskmaster UK, Wang brings his signature precision and swagger to Uh Oh, a fresh hour that signals a vibe shift. Nice is out. Right is in. Old Wang is riding it.
ZAINAB JOHNSON (USA)
Fresh from her stand-up special Hijabs Off on Amazon Prime, New Yorker Zainab Johnson is back in Melbourne with Toxically Optimistic — a bold new hour exploring charitable dating and an unexpected friendship with a wild animal. A series regular on Upload and co-host of Netflix’s 100 Humans, Johnson is smart, charismatic and full of surprises. She’s here for two weeks only, so get in quick.
MARK WATSON (UK)
Mark Watson first stepped nervously onto an MICF stage in 2006. Twenty years and an awful lot of ad-libbing later, he’s back to piece together the best material from a career that’s covered sin, death, fatherhood, divorce, identity theft, alcoholism, Google and one truly massive passport problem. As seen on Taskmaster UK and Amazon Prime’s This Can’t Be It, this is a farewell to material that’s defined his Melbourne run.
ED NIGHT (UK)
Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Ed Night ambles through a sharply observed hour of penniless adulthood — dodging bills, nursing cheap coffees in chicken shops, and negotiating rent with his landlord. Woven through it all is his late grandfather, including audio of the old man’s wonderfully left-field recollections from the Blitz. Your Old Mucker is quietly brilliant: original thinking, great phrase-making, and jokes that land with unhurried precision.
LARA RICOTE (USA/MEXICO)
Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer winner Lara Ricote is back with a new show, and it’s her stupidest and smartest yet. A man was mean to her in a museum in March. She cried, and then she figured out exactly how she felt. Inkling is a surreal, oddball meditation on how confusing it is to be alive and how wonderful that might be. Closes 12 April — don’t sleep on it.
SARAH KEYWORTH (UK)
Sarah Keyworth is back in Australia, but not with a scripted show — this is a full hour of playful crowd work, which means every night is completely different and completely funny. Expect to chat, expect to be surprised, and expect to be in very good hands. As seen on Live at the Apollo and 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Keys is a comedian in total command of the room.
SAM JAY (USA)
Fresh from a Best Show nomination at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, Sam Jay makes her Australian solo debut with We the People — a blisteringly funny, politically furious hour exploring what it means to be a Black woman who never truly felt part of her country as it edges toward collapse. One of the most vital comic voices in the US right now, Jay is sharp, unflinching and not here to make it comfortable.
CHLOE PETTS (UK)
Festival favourite Chloe Petts is back and she’s going deep on her upbringing at the height of lad culture — from fronting a Christian rock band to accidents on the golf course. Big Naturals was one of the most critically acclaimed shows at the 2025 Edinburgh Fringe, praised across the board for its worldclass stand-up skills and warmth. Loutish, sharp, and very funny. Petts remains one of the most compelling young comics working.
SAM NICORESTI (UK)
Reigning Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Show winner Sam Nicoresti arrives in Melbourne with Baby Doomer, a glistening diamond hour of stand-up about love, insanity and the hunt for the perfect skirt suit. From a sartorial emergency in a TK Maxx to the standing stones of Cornwall, Nicoresti asks the vital question: does the perfect skirt suit even exist? Uproariously funny, life-affirming and already a sold-out sensation overseas. One of the most anticipated shows of the festival.
LUKE MCQUEEN (UK)
Luke McQueen has been overlooked by The Comedian’s Comedian Podcast for years. So he stopped waiting for the invitation and used artificial intelligence to record the episode himself. Live. Comedian’s Comedian is part stand-up, part psychological breakdown, and a genuinely mischievous exploration of ambition, AI and whether honesty can survive the digital age. Critically acclaimed as a maverick and disruptor, McQueen makes his Australian debut with what might be the boldest experiment of the festival.
IAN SMITH (UK)
Two-time Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee Ian Smith makes his Australian solo debut with Foot Spa Half Empty, a critically acclaimed hour about stress, love and buying a magic spell off Amazon. Yorkshire-born and now firmly entrenched in the slow creep of middle-class London life, Smith navigates the gap between who he is and who he’s becoming with a world-class gag rate. As seen on Live at the Apollo and Have I Got News For You.
MIKE RICE (IRELAND)
Irish rising star Mike Rice is coming to Melbourne with Cruel Little Man, a rapid-fire hour of darkly twisted storytelling fresh from a sold-out Edinburgh Fringe run. Equal parts unfiltered, loose and dangerously charming, Rice covers trying psychedelics with his brother, an entanglement with a Spanish sausage dog named Nino and other rotten adventures. As heard on his Guide To Parenting podcast with Vittorio Angelone. Strictly limited run — two weeks only.
PRASHASTI SINGH (INDIA)
One of India’s biggest stand-up stars, Prashasti Singh makes her MICF debut with Divine Feminine, an acclaimed hour of sharply observed comedy. Prashasti always wanted to live the life of a man. Inching towards 40 but pretending to be 30, she’s nearly ticked off that dream — but happiness hasn’t followed. As seen on Netflix’s Ladies Up and Amazon Prime’s Comicstaan, she performs shows in both English and Hindi. A genuinely fresh voice.
ABBY WAMBAUGH (DENMARK/USA)
After waking up in hospital following a late miscarriage — still high on anaesthesia — Abby Wambaugh made an unexpected decision: to become a comedian. Now, in The First 3 Minutes of 17 Shows, she shares her 17 best ideas for her first show, exploring an astonishing range of comedy styles across one goofy, heartfelt and surprisingly moving hour. Fresh from a sold-out Off-Broadway run and Edinburgh season, this is a Melbourne debut worth catching.
40TH MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
WHERE: VARIOUS VENUES, MELBOURNE
WHEN: 25 MAR–19 APR
“For 15 years, stand-up was the most important thing in my life, and now that I have children and a wife, I realise how fucking stupid that was.”
Credit: Troy Edige
DANIEL SLOSS
Scottish comedian Daniel Sloss brings his new stand-up show Bitter to
Melbourne this month.
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
Æ People complain that you can’t say anything anymore. Scotland’s global comedy superstar Daniel Sloss begs to differ.
“I’ve never not been confident doing stand-up,” says Sloss, who has been performing stand-up since he was a teenager. The Scottish comic debuted at Edinburgh Fringe when he was just 17. At 19, he became the youngest comedian to do a solo season at London’s Soho Theatre. In his early 20s, Sloss released his first live DVD through the BBC’s 2entertain distributor. In other words, Sloss went all-in at a young age and found the sort of success that most comics can only dream about. Such a favourable start to one’s career could easily intimidate a performer, but Sloss has held onto two essential qualities: a firm belief in his skills as a comedian, and a commitment to expanding the thematic terrain of his shows.
He claims that at least 250,000 couples have broken up as a result of watching his special Jigsaw, in which he discusses how the fear of loneliness causes many unhappily coupled people to persist with less-than-ideal arrangements.
Sloss is perhaps best known for his 2019 special X – filmed at Sydney’s Enmore Theatre – which focuses on themes of consent and accountability, and specifically addresses the rape of one of Sloss’ female friends by one of his male friends.
But after such a prolific beginning, Sloss’ career has slowed down in recent years. First there was Covid, which interrupted his international touring schedule, and then Sloss got married to his partner, Kara, and became the father of two children.
Sloss returned to work shortly after the birth of his son, in 2022, bringing the show CAN’T to Australia in 2023. But following the birth of his daughter in 2024, he decided to take a longer rest.
“I’ve always said I want to take a break when I do absolutely fuck all, apart from be at home and live my life,” Sloss says, speaking to Beat from his home in Edinburgh. “I was like, I’ll take a year off and do that.”
The break ultimately lasted just eight months, with Sloss returning to the stage at the start of this year. “After eight months of me being home, my wife was like, ‘You need to go back to work, man,’” he laughs.
By August, Sloss was back at Edinburgh Fringe for a run of 16 work-in-progress shows, where he trialled material for his new show, Bitter. When he first got back on stage, Sloss experienced something completely foreign: a crisis of confidence.
“New material is hard, but when you’ve come off of a tour, you’re very excited to be doing new material. You’re doing new material, that’s a bit difficult, but you’re game ready – you’ve been on the stage every night for the past fucking year and a half,” he says. “So, to come in with new material and no sea legs, just straight back into it, was hard.”
It wasn’t just the lack of match fitness that Sloss found challenging. During the time off, he started to feel a sense of fulfilment away from comedy, which produced its own kind of dilemma.
“For 15 years of my life, stand-up was the most important thing in my life,” Sloss says. “And now that I have children and a wife, I realise how fucking stupid that was. Not that it wasn’t fulfilling – I don’t regret any of my career – but being a dad and a husband is way more than that. And with that contentment comes a fucking fear: am I funny if I’m happy?”
Given Sloss’ purported happiness, there’s some irony in the title of his new show, which comes to Melbourne’s Hamer Hall next April. But there’s a simple explanation for this, he says.
“I’m a bitter person. Or at least, I’m a person and I experience bitterness. When I worked out what the show was about this year, I was like, well I’m not going to fucking sugarcoat this. I’m not going to fucking pretend.”
Bitterness might be under the spotlight, but Sloss emphasises that the show is still funny – even if it’s often at his expense.
“I think bitterness is a bad fucking trait. Mature people aren’t bitter. People who meditate aren’t bitter. Petulant man-children get bitter,” he says.
“How many wise men have to live to the age of fucking 90 and say how important forgiveness and forgetting is? Like, it’s in all the fucking books that have been written for thousands of years. And me, as a 35-year-old man, can look all that wisdom and go, no, fuck off, not interested – I’m gonna hold this grudge for fucking ages.”
DANIEL SLOSS: BITTER
WHERE: HAMER HALL
WHEN: 12–18 APR
FESTIVAL GUIDE
MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL
The world’s largest dedicated comedy festival celebrates its 40th anniversary with almost 800 shows across 130-plus venues. Daniel Sloss, Joanne McNally, Phil Wang, Sam Nicoresti and a massive local contingent including Tom Gleeson, Dave Hughes, Wil Anderson and Lano & Woodley all feature.
VARIOUS VENUES 25 MAR–19 APR
RIP CURL PRO BELLS BEACH
The world’s longest-running surf competition opens the 2026 WSL Championship Tour season for the first time, marking 50 years of professional surfing. Spiderbait and Wolfmother kick things off with a free live show on 31 March before the waiting period begins. The event only runs on days of suitable surf, with daily calls made at 7.30am.
BELLS BEACH 1–11 APR
SYNCOPATE
Syncopate In The Park lands at Heide Museum’s sculpture park on 4 April, with two stages of house and garage across an openair setting in Bulleen. The lineup features six international acts alongside homegrown talent, plus independent art, fashion and food stalls.
HEIDE 4 APR
SONDER
Sonder Festival returns to Tallarook from 3–6 April, taking over the rural Victorian venue for a long weekend of music and good times. Tucked away on Tallarook-Pyalong Road, it’s a proper escape from the city.
TALLAROOK 4–6 APR
ULTRA AUSTRALIA
The global EDM juggernaut returns to Melbourne for its seventh edition with The Chainsmokers, DJ Snake, Zedd, Oliver Heldens, Miss Monique, MaRLo, Darren Styles and Nico Moreno across multiple stages. The festival’s Resistance stage brings a dedicated techno and house offering alongside the massive main stage production.
FLEMINGTON RACECOURSE 11 APR
RED HOT SUMMER TOUR
Paul Kelly headlines a scorching all-Australian bill featuring Missy Higgins, The Cruel Sea, The Cat Empire, Kasey Chambers and Jess Hitchcock at one of the country’s longest-running outdoor touring festivals. The Mornington date is a newly added stop on the 2026 run, which has been winding its way through regional and coastal venues since January.
MORNINGTON RACECOURSE 11 APR
ABILITY FEST
Dylan Alcott’s fully accessible and inclusive music festival shifts to a new warehouse venue and an all-electronic format for 2026. PNAU headline with a DJ set alongside Berlin-based Australian producer Logic1000, ARIAnominated Kito, Ollie Lishman, Surusinghe and a silent disco stacked with emerging selectors.
THE TIMBER YARD, PORT MELBOURNE 11 APR
MEATSTOCK
Australia’s biggest barbecue festival brings two days of country music, competitive grilling, bull riding and serious amounts of smoked meat to the rolling hills of Gippsland. Morgan Evans headlines alongside US artists Bryan Martin, Chase Matthew and Austin Williams, with The Wolfe Brothers, Lane Pittman, Hayley Jensen and more across both days.
LARDNER PARK, GIPPSLAND 17–18 APR
GLITCH
Malta’s acclaimed electronic music festival returns to Melbourne for the second time, taking over PICA for one night of boundary-pushing techno, house and breakbeat. DJ AYA, Funk Tribu, Lammer b2b MIJA, Mikalah Watego and Upper90 make up the tightly curated lineup blending international heavyweights with Melbourne underground talent.
PICA, PORT MELBOURNE 18 APR
ELECTRIC ISLAND
The beachside electronic festival expands to Melbourne for the first time with a twoday weekender at Riviera Beach Club. The 18th brings American house legend Armand Van Helden, Flight Facilities (DJ set), Eats Everything, Tyson O’Brien and Mike Steva, while the 19th is headlined by Above & Beyond alongside Cristoph b2b Jeremy Olander, Eli & Fur, Rromarin and Amity.
RIVA, ST KILDA 18–19 APR
STAGE GUIDE
THE GREAT GATSBY: A JAZZ BALLET ODYSSEY
The world premiere of this dazzling dance spectacular reimagines F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic through a genre-defying fusion of ballet, tap and jazz. Directed and choreographed by Joel Burke with narration arranged by James Millar, the score blends Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue and James P. Johnson’s The Charleston with original compositions by Emmy Award-winning Jason Fernandez and Dominic Cabusi.
HER MAJESTY’S THEATRE UNTIL 5 APR
THE DOLL TRILOGY
Red Stitch marks its 25th anniversary with a landmark revival of Ray Lawler’s complete Doll Trilogy, staged in its entirety for the first time since 1985 by a single ensemble. Kid Stakes (set in 1937), Other Times (1945) and Summer of the Seventeenth Doll (1953) chart the lives of cane cutters Roo and Barney and their Carlton companions across 16 years of love, loss and a rapidly changing Australia.
RED STITCH ACTORS’ THEATRE, ST KILDA UNTIL 11 APR
WEST GATE
Melbourne Theatre Company presents Dennis McIntosh’s powerful new drama revisiting the 1970 West Gate Bridge collapse, still Australia’s deadliest industrial accident. Thirty-five workers were killed when a span of the bridge under construction gave way. Steve Bastoni, Daniela Farinacci, Darcy Kent and Rohan Nichol lead a powerhouse ensemble in this searing retelling.
SOUTHBANK THEATRE, THE SUMNER UNTIL 18 APR
HEATHERS THE MUSICAL
The cult rock musical based on the 1988 film makes its professional Australian premiere, with Melbourne the first stop on a national tour. Welcome to Westerberg High, where popularity is a matter of life and death and Veronica Sawyer is just another nobody dreaming of a better day. Things take a dark turn when brooding outsider J.D. arrives with a plan to thin the school’s hierarchy permanently. PLAYHOUSE, ARTS
THE NEXT STEP: LEGACY WORLD TOUR
The beloved Canadian teen dance drama brings its farewell live show to Australia, featuring fan-favourite cast members from across all 10 seasons including Victoria Baldesarra, Trevor Tordjman, Briar Nolet, Jordan Clark and Noah Zulfikar. First airing in 2013 and broadcast in more than 120 countries, The Next Step wrapped its final season in 2025.
HAMER HALL 8 APR
ART
Richard Roxburgh, Damon Herriman and Ryan Corr star in Yasmina Reza’s globally acclaimed comedy/ When one friend drops a small fortune on a completely white painting, the other two don’t just question his taste — they question everything. Egos collide, old wounds resurface and a decades-long friendship starts to fracture.
COMEDY THEATRE FROM 22 APR
JULIUS CAESAR
Bell Shakespeare kicks off its 2026 season with a striking contemporary staging of Shakespeare’s political masterpiece, transplanting ancient Rome to 1990s Eastern Europe. Directed by artistic director Peter Evans, the production serves as a companion piece to last year’s Coriolanus, shifting from the Republic’s rise to its bloody unravelling.
FAIRFAX STUDIO, ARTS CENTRE MELBOURNE 23 APR–10 MAY
THE GLASS MENAGERIE
Melbourne Theatre Company brings Tennessee Williams’ haunting memory play back to its stage for the first time in two decades. Alison Whyte returns to the company as Amanda Wingfield, the heartbreakingly hopeful mother clinging to the past while trying to control the future. Tim Draxl plays her son Tom, who teeters between obligation and escape.
SOUTHBANK THEATRE, THE SUMNER 27 APR–5 JUN
THE BOOK OF MORMON
The nine-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy returns to Melbourne for a strictly limited season after its blockbuster Sydney run. Created by South Park’s Trey Parker and Matt Stone alongside double EGOT winner Robert Lopez, the show follows a mismatched pair of Mormon missionaries sent to a remote Ugandan village — about as far from Salt Lake City as you can get.
PRINCESS THEATRE UNTIL 31 MAY
Regional GUIDE
WORDS
BY
FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE
FESTIVALS
BENDIGO EASTER FESTIVAL
One of Australia’s longest-running community festivals marks a major milestone in 2026 — the Bendigo Easter Fair Society’s 100th anniversary. Rosalind Park and the surrounding streets transform into a four-day free-for-all of live music, roving performers, a 80,000-egg hunt on Good Friday, Carnival Central, the Rotary Market and a spectacular Torchlight Procession on Easter Saturday night complete with fireworks. The Dai Gum San Precinct lights up with dragons, drums and 100,000 crackers for the Awakening of the Dragon. Iconic six-metre Kewpie doll Violet also makes a nostalgic return. Free and family-friendly.
BENDIGO 3–6 APR
THE SWELL SESSIONS — APRIL EDITION
The final chapter of Torquay SLSC’s beloved three-part fundraiser series closes out with The Terrys headlining — the Gerringong fivepiece and their army of Terrydactyls bringing feel-good indie-rock anthems to the beachfront. All proceeds go toward safe beach patrols at one of the Surf Coast’s most iconic institutions. Afternoon into evening, sunset between sets included. 18+.
TORQUAY SLSC 11 APR
CRESFEST
Three days of live music, dance and community in the heritage goldfields town of Creswick, just 15 minutes from Ballarat. Now in its fifth year, CresFest packs up to 18 intimate venues across the township with a sprawling program spanning folk, blues, world music and everything in between. The 2026 lineup features The Bushwackers, Scottish guitar virtuoso Tony McManus and more.
CRESWICK 10–12 APR
PYRENEES UNEARTHED WINE & FOOD FESTIVAL
The Pyrenees quietly produces some of Victoria’s most exciting cool-climate wines, and this one-day celebration drags them into the spotlight where they belong. Taste your way through the region’s cellar doors and match them with local produce in one of regional Vic’s most underrated wine country settings.
PYRENEES WINE REGION 11 APR
TASTES OF THE GOULBURN FINE FOOD AND WINE FESTIVAL
Central Victoria’s fertile Goulburn Valley gets its annual moment of glory with a showcase of the region’s finest food and wine producers. A great excuse to get up there and eat well.
GOULBURN VALLEY 11 APR
MACEDON RANGES
AUTUMN TIPPLE TRAIL
All month long, the Macedon Ranges opens up its cellar doors for a trail through one of Victoria’s most beloved cool-climate wine regions. The deciduous canopy turns gold, the fires are lit, and the pours are generous. No itinerary needed — just point the car north and follow your nose.
MACEDON RANGES ALL APR
MACEDON RANGES
AUTUMN FESTIVAL
A month-long celebration of the season across the Macedon Ranges, with moveable feasts, seasonal experiences and the kind of crisp autumn air that makes everything taste better. Less than an hour from Melbourne, zero excuses not to go.
MACEDON RANGES ALL APR
TOURS
JOSH PYKE
Fresh off a sold-out national anniversary run, Pyke takes it back to basics, solo shows in small rooms winding across regional Australia. Seven studio albums, four ARIAs, all of them in the ARIA Top 10. Just him and a guitar. Expect Middle of the Hill, The Lighthouse Song and whatever deep cuts feel right on the night.
GEELONG ARTS CENTRE, GEELONG 10 APR
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 11 APR
THE WEDGE PERFORMING ARTS
CENTRE, SALE 17 APR
BERNINNEIT CULTURAL
CENTRE, COWES 18 APR
PIERCE BROTHERS
Melbourne twin duo Pierce Brothers built their name the hard way — hundreds of shows across Australia and Europe, looping guitars, two-part harmonies and percussion that sounds like twice as many people on stage. One of Australia’s best live acts in a room this size. Don’t overthink it, just go.
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 10 APR
BARWON HEADS HOTEL, BARWON HEADS 11 APR
BAKER BOY
Yolŋu rapper, dancer and ARIA winner Baker Boy brings his DJANDJAY Tour to Castlemaine’s Theatre Royal. Bilingual bars, genuine star power and a live show that hits completely differently in a room this intimate compared to a festival main stage. One of the most exciting live performers in the country right now.
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 16 APR
THE BARWON CLUB, BARWON HEADS 17 APR
WHEN PIGS FLY TO CASTLEMAINE
The annual Good Friday institution returns. An eclectic lineup of local and visiting acts descend on the Theatre Royal for one of the region’s most beloved nights of music. Full lineup TBC, but the Theatre Royal’s track record is reason enough to mark the calendar. These nights always become something.
THEATRE ROYAL, CASTLEMAINE 4 APR
SCAN FOR DIGITAL PROGRAM
17-19 april 2026
CURATED BY SIMON GRANT
image: A DJ plays in front of ‘Transient Pulse ‘ by Adnate and Drez.
Photo: James Bugg
NEWTON FAULKNER
Newton Faulkner chats to Beat ahead of his Prince Bandroom show in April.
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
Æ In the early days of his career, nearly 20 years ago, British musician Newton Faulkner set himself a challenge. He calls it the Joni Mitchell challenge, named in honour of the legendary singer-songwriter’s unflagging commitment to excellence.
“[The challenge] was, can you keep your voice technically on the same level as the writing, which is also on the same level as the playing?” Faulkner says, chatting to Beat ahead of his Australian tour this April. “And every time one steps up, you’re like, OK, so my guitar is here and my voice is here so I need [my writing] to catch up with that.”
Faulkner has since updated the challenge to include not just singing, playing and writing, but also engineering and production. His latest album, 2025’s Octopus, was recorded in his home studio. Faulkner’s first completely home-recorded album was 2013’s Studio Zoo, the title of which is a nod to the fact that the entire five-week recording process was captured on film and streamed online, 24 hours a day.
“Insane project, really. It was pretty nuts,” Faulkner says of Studio Zoo. “Five weeks in the grand scheme of things isn’t very long, but five weeks with cameras on you all the time is [a lot]. I still talk to myself about what I’m doing, which I didn’t do before.
Like, ‘I’m going to edit the vocal now.’”
Faulkner’s command of the studio improved in increments through 2015’s Human Love and 2017’s Hit the Ground Running. But when COVID lockdown outright prevented him from working with outside collaborators, he took it as a sign to go deeper into the nuts and bolts of engineering and production.
“I was like, right, I need to be able to do the stuff that I would go to other people for,” he says. “So I was going to bed with manuals of the gear that I owned but didn’t have a full handle on. I was like, I will go to bed early and I will read the Pro Tools manual for two hours before I fall asleep. I’ll get up early and read more of it. And then I’ll go into the studio from nine to five and do a day’s work because I can’t not work. It makes me feel weird. “I went into a totally obsessive [state]. I was reading manuals of all the synths, all the gear. I really wanted to understand what it was because there’s stuff that I’ve gathered and stuff I’ve been given that I’m like, ‘This definitely does cool stuff, but I don’t know what it does.’”
Faulkner put much of his technological miscellany to use on Octopus. The album includes several stylistic left turns – such as the garage rock Alright, Alright, Alright, the surf guitar tune Hunting Season and the Bruno Mars-y Tic Tac Toe – that would’ve been unimaginable around the time of his folky debut, 2007’s Hand Built by Robots.
A segment of Faulkner’s fanbase will always be attached to Hand Built by Robots and its hit single, Dream Catch Me, but he is not interested in going over old ground.
“I used to not be able to do it album to album. I now can’t do it song to song,” he says. “I’m like, I’ve done that, OK, next – and then I have to go somewhere else.”
But despite Faulkner’s commitment to constant improvement – his sustained adherence to the Joni Mitchell challenge – perfectionism is not the goal, he says.
“I remember working with a writer really early on who, every single song he wrote, he was trying to write the perfect song. But I feel like if you’re trying to do it right all the time, you’ll just end up doing the same thing with such minor adjustments in it to try and get it to the right place. Whereas for me, the fun is the completely blank page.
“Like, someone asked me how to write a song the other day, and I was like, ‘I have no idea.’ I go into a room terrified and do some stuff and then something will drag me in one direction. And then I just kind of have to follow it where it goes.”
“I was like, I will go to bed early and I will read the Pro Tools manual for two hours before I fall asleep. I’ll get up early and read more of it. And then I’ll go into the studio from nine to five and do a day’s work because I can’t not work. It makes me feel weird.”
NEWTON FAULKNER
REGURGITATOR
WORDS BY AUGUST BILLY
Regurgitator are running through a retrospective of singles on their Jukeboxxin’ tour, which hits Melbourne in April.
Æ Regurgitator are not obvious major label material.
Formed in Brisbane in 1993 and led by dual frontpeople Quan Yeomans and Ben Ely, the band opened their debut album, Tu-Plang, with a song titled I Sucked a Lot of Cock to Get Where I Am. The album’s breakout single, Kong Foo Sing, is a funk metal song about fortune cookies.
“I remember having minor arguments [with the label] about changing the names of singles,” Yeomans says. “Like, Sucked A Lot Of Cock, they wanted to change to ‘Rinsing’.”
On their next album, 1997’s Unit, Yeomans and Ely chiselled their pop instincts and introduced more electronic production. But the album’s biggest single, Polyester Girl, is about a sex doll, while the most beloved song in the band’s catalogue, also from Unit, is the Prince spoof ! (The Song Formerly Known As).
But not only did both albums come out through a major, they were also genuine hits, reaching the ARIA top five and earning platinum accreditation.
“We only signed to them on the basis that we could do what we wanted,” Yeomans says of the band’s former label, Warner Music. “And it was pretty rare at that time, but we definitely did what we wanted to do and put out what we wanted to.”
Regurgitator’s major label days came to an end with their fourth album, 2001’s Eduardo and Rodriguez Wage War on T-Wrecks, but they’ve never stopped putting out music, with their latest LP, Invader, landing in 2024.
Late last year, Yeomans, Ely, drummer Peter Kostic and touring guitarist Sarah Lim launched the Jukeboxxin’ tour, playing a retrospective of singles drawn from their ten studio albums and handful of EPs.
“It’s pretty horrifying to see how many singles there are. I mean, it’s like 54 or something,” Yeomans says. There isn’t room for all 54, but they’ve stuffed a significant percentage of their career singles into the tour setlist. “The show is the longest show we’ve ever played as a band, close to two hours,” Yeomans says.
Regurgitator have always been hard to classify; as punk as they are pop, as esoteric as they are crowd-pleasing, as tongue in cheek as they are searingly political. This can make organising their tour setlists somewhat challenging.
“The more songs there are for us, the harder it gets because it’s so much up and down and so many genre shifts,” Yeomans says. “To get it to flow and have a decent rhythm to it is really quite tricky. But it’s just what we do.”
Performing songs written as jobless teens alongside songs written as parents in their 50s, Yeomans perceives some key differences. “I think that there’s a lot of relationship stuff that goes on with your band members when you’re starting out and you don’t know what you’re doing. There’s a lot of friction. There’s a lot of competitiveness that is really great for songwriting because there’s a lot of one-upmanship. There’s also a kind of naivety there that you can never really get back. And I feel like you take a lot more risks when you’re new with the art form, when you’re just kind of exploring.
“But a lot of things change as you get older, right? You get more tired, you get other responsibilities, money becomes more of a priority. That sort of stuff you don’t really think about that when you’re on the dole and you’re 17 or 18. They’re different priorities. And that really affects your creative headspace as well.”
The tour’s tagline is “Wherever you go it’s fun to play.” Regurgitator have put this to the test in the course of their three-decade career, playing everywhere from pubs, bowlos and tiny bars to arenas and sport stadia.
“I remember, in my early twenties, we did a tour with Pansy Division, which was like a gay-core band from San Francisco, awesome bunch of dudes. But we played to no one – like, tiny shows – and I still had a ball,” Yeomans says. “And then I remember playing the entertainment centre with Red Hot Chili Peppers not long after that.
“I played in Yakuza bars in Japan, 20 people, 30 people, packed. If it’s rammed and everyone’s into it, it’s the best. It’s as good as playing in front of 10,000 people. I’d rather play a show like that, if everyone’s into it and there for you and you’re there for them, than play to a 40,000-crowd at the soccer – it feels like you’re just being ignored by 40,000 people.
“So it really depends on the energy that’s passing between you and the crowd. It doesn’t matter about the size so much.”
REGURGITATOR: JUKEBOXXIN’ TOUR
WHERE: 170 RUSSELL, THE CROXTON
WHEN: 10 & 11 APR
Credit: Lachlan Douglas
“I was desperate to connect creatively with like-minded people and to rebuild community.”
SEE THE MUSIC
Music profoundly brings people together. Listeners form bonds as they witness it live, overcome with emotion.
WORDS BY DOM LEPORE
Æ Typically, the record label doesn’t facilitate such; the industry’s heavy hitters often manufacture the next big thing. However, DIY music’s selfless power inspires independent labels to tap into that ethos of forming community.
These are a few Melbourne imprints doing that: not just releasing music, but building relationships with creatives through unmissable live events.
SORE HORSE
With a sound inspired by ‘90s slacker rock like Duster, Modest Mouse and Built to Spill, Sore Horse embodies DIY music. Founded in 2021 by Ben Luke, a member of local indie rock band Garage Sale, it emerged in response to COVID lockdowns closing arts spaces.
“I was desperate to connect creatively with like-minded people and to rebuild community,” Ben says. “It was a necessity for me, and I thought a wider group of people would share that feeling.”
Ben’s always championed passionate guitar music. “The ‘90s influence comes from everyone’s shared love of lo-fi bands and songwriters from that era, and a common distaste for the corporate music industry,” he explains.
Sore Horse’s goal is to alleviate the pressure of global looming hatred and oppression, cultivating a space where people from all walks of life are appreciated through music.
Last year, Sore Horse began its annual festival exhibiting this notion at The Tote, selling it out with headline performances from Mouseatouille, Twine and freezer. Exceeding expectations, it was a dream come true.
“There was an atmosphere that was genuinely caring and safe, which I think everyone was really proud of,” Ben reflects.
The festival is returning later this year with more DIY talent. In the meantime, Garage Sale are opening for the legendary Perth slowcore band Bluetile Lounge at Brunswick Ballroom on 2 April, their first live performance in over 20 years. This is history not to be missed.
ABSORB
Established by Kavil Patel in 2020, Absorb focuses on experimental, boundary-pushing music and how electronic and acoustic sounds intersect. It’s notable for its ABSORBED festival, which took that overlap to its fullest potential.
“The label’s first event took place during the pre-COVID halcyon days at Crazy Arms, a now-closed DIY venue in Fitzroy,” Kavil recalls. “I was invited to organise an event by their booker, Sasha Logan.”
Sasha is one of Miscellania’s founders, Melbourne’s primo venue for transformative artistry. Kavil describes the spot as ABSORBED’s “spiritual home,” their team encouraging the label’s “risk-taking and expansion.”
“We’re platforming what is around us and capturing our attention,” Kavil explains. “That’s in conversation with a wider network of experimental music in Australia that the label and venue belong to.”
The range of festival performances seems boundless. A Georgian polyphonic choir, self-playing acoustic installations, contemporary dance performers, plus appearances by Boredoms’ Yamatanka Eye and turntablist DJ Marcelle, are some previous offerings barely scratching the surface.
“ABSORBED has always been as much about being together in a space as it has about the music, and experiencing it collectively, without distractions,” Kavil says.
The label’s fifth and final festival was its most immersive and playful, with over 100 artists spanning generations and international borders, including james K, Lucas Abela and Noise In My Head.
Moving forward, Absorb will continue as a label and platform, and potentially return in another festival form one day.
DINOSAUR CITY
Home to cult alternative local artists like Wet Kiss, Solo Career and e4444e, Jordanne Chant’s Dinosaur City label champions music outside the mainstream. Started with friends in 2016, Jordanne first stepped in as their “in-house designer” and now steers the ship solo.
The camaraderie is what makes this musical endeavour worth it. “It’s far more meaningful and rewarding to invest my time and energy into relationships with sincere, interesting artists who excite me and share similar values and goals,” Jordanne says.
Providing ongoing support to the roster, the artists themselves also give each other a leg-up as they land bigger gigs.
“There are many overlapping friendships, collaborations, and shared projects,” Jordanne offers. “For example, last year Wet Kiss played Golden Plains with Punko on backing vocals, then curated a Dark Mofo house party alongside bodies of divine infinite and eternal spirit and Tongue Dissolver, a band made up of members from both acts.”
She adds: “There’s a strong sense the artists genuinely invest in each other’s work, which makes the label feel more like a community than just a roster.”
Indeed, catching any of the Dinosaur City crew live is more like joining in a gathering of friends.
GARAGE SALE OF SORE HORSE SUPPORTING BLUETILE LOUNGE
WHERE: BRUNSWICK BALLROOM
WHEN: 2 APR
Credit Rahnee Bliss
JESSE VALACH
WORDS BY FRANKIE ANDERSON-BYRNE
Following a life-changing stroke in 2021, Jesse Valach returns with Stroke of Luck; a gritty blues/soul record that’s as much about survival as it is about sound.
Æ Back in 2021, Jesse Valach faced something no musician wants to confront; the very real possibility that music might be gone for good.
A stroke had changed everything. Jesse Valach had to relearn what his body was capable of, navigate a long and uncertain recovery, and sit with the fear that the guitar, the stage, the songs – all of it – might belong to a version of himself he’d never get back.
That it didn’t end that way is the whole point of his new album, Stroke of Luck.
The title does a lot of heavy lifting. It holds the irony of the situation with both hands, the medical event that threatened to derail everything, and the string of fortunate circumstances (the right people, the right support, the music still waiting patiently) that made a return possible. It’s a name that acknowledges hardship without wallowing in it.
Picking up the guitar again for the first time was a loaded moment.
“It was emotional,” Valach says. “There was excitement, but also fear because I didn’t know if my hands or my voice would respond the way they used to.”
Once he started playing again, even in small steps, it became something else entirely.
“Music gave me a way to process everything that had happened. It helped rebuild confidence and reconnect me with the part of myself that the stroke couldn’t take away.”
The album title came later in the journey, once the bigger picture started to come into focus.
“Somewhere along the way I started to realise how many small moments had lined up for me to still be here doing what I love,” he says.
“The phrase Stroke of Luck kind of captured that irony perfectly. A stroke changes your life forever, but in my case there was also a lot of luck; the people around me, the support from my family, the doctors, and the fact that music was still there waiting for me.”
The sound on Stroke of Luck lands in familiar blues and soul territory, but with a heavier edge; more grit in the guitar, more intensity in the performances. Valach says it wasn’t a conscious decision.
“Music gave me a way to process everything that had happened. It helped rebuild confidence and reconnect me with the part of myself that the stroke couldn’t take away.”
“When you go through something like a stroke, it changes your perspective on life. Blues has always been about telling the truth, about struggle, resilience and emotion. Coming back after everything I’d been through meant the songs carried a bit more weight.”
Central to the record is his band, The Testaments, who Valach describes as more than just collaborators.
“They’re a brotherhood,” he says.
“During the difficult years after the stroke they were incredibly supportive. They gave me space when I needed it and encouragement when I was ready to come back.”
That dynamic translates directly to how they sound together.
“When we play together, there’s a chemistry that you can’t manufacture. Everyone is listening to each other, pushing each other, and serving the song.”
The album launch at the Barwon Club in Geelong will feature a 10-piece lineup, bringing the full sound of the record to the stage: horns, rhythm section, the works. Joining on the bill are Blues Roulette, Iseula, and Justin Yap, who Valach describes as friends he’s spent the better part of two decades making music with.
“Launching a record is a huge milestone for me, but it’s also about celebrating the scene and the people who support it.”
For Valach, Stroke of Luck represents something bigger than any single song or show.
“It’s proof that even when life throws something huge at you, it’s still possible to find your way forward.
“Sometimes setbacks don’t have to define the end of your story, sometimes they’re just the beginning of a new chapter.”
JESSE VALACH
WHERE: BARWON CLUB, GEELONG
WHEN: 25 APR, 7–10PM
CANDY
FAMOUS FOR: being Melbourne’s most genre-fluid hang. Five retailers, one roof, zero pretension. Candy is where you grab a flat white, flip through art books and rare vinyl, try on sunglasses or even treat yourself to a cocktail.
INFAMOUS FOR: the aesthetic whiplash (in the best way). A custom stained-glass window anchors a space that somehow channels ‘70s record store, ‘90s St Kilda café and early-2000s skate shop simultaneously, and pulls it off.
Æ High Street, Thornbury has no shortage of cool, but Candy at number 905 hits different. Opened in April by Oscar O’Shea alongside co-conspirators Albert Wolski, Fin Bradley and Jarred Kennedy, it’s less a shop and more a creative ecosystem. What was once the Lulus Records space has been transformed into a multi-store hub presenting five independent retailers under one roof: Hoddle Skateboards, Fiend Bookshop, Candy Records, eyeware from so Familia, Steel City Dance Discs, Mom Publishing and Mom Gallery out the back.
The retail offer is genuinely considered, with Hoddle threads, vintage sunglasses, rare and modern vinyl and an impressive stack of art and photography books. But Candy earns its stripes as a hangout first. Grab a coffee and a toastie or stick around and enjoy a delicious cocktail or imported organic wine, you can even wander into Mom Gallery out the back and stay longer than you planned.
Live music is part of the DNA too. Candy has already hosted sets from 3NDLES5 and Fatshaudi, with heaps of exciting smallscale shows planned for the year.
Candy is a place that makes you feel like you’ve stumbled onto something before everyone else does, even when it’s already packed.
COCONSPIRATORS BREWING CO
LIVE MUSIC: local artists and musicians taking the stage in the brewpub. The lineup rotates regularly, keeping things interesting without overpowering the room.
FAMOUS FOR: making you want to adopt another dog. With water bowls scattered around and pups curled up under nearly every table, it’s hard not to get serious puppy envy.
INFAMOUS FOR: beers with character…literally. Every Co-Conspirators brew is built around a personality, from The Matriarch NEIPA to The Don, each with its own backstory and distinctive illustration.
Æ When you’re after fresh beer and decent company, Coconspirators Brewing Co is worth the trip. The Brunswick brewpub occupies an expansive industrial-style warehouse at 377 Victoria Street, offering 26 taps of constantly rotating brews, regular food pop-ups, abundant natural light and vintage Brunswick charm. It’s a rare find in Melbourne’s inner north.
Whether you’re stopping by for a midweek pint, catching up over Friday drinks, hosting a birthday in the family area, or just bringing your dog for a lazy Sunday, Coconspirators deliver. The team takes their brewing seriously; hazy IPAs, hoppy sours, rich porters, sessionable lagers; all with bold flavour profiles and creative edge. This year is particularly special, with Coconspirators celebrating its 10-year anniversary through a year-long program of limited re-brew releases and community collaborations. Fans can vote on legacy beers they want to see return, with the most popular choices released progressively across 2026.
The venue’s layout works for groups of any size, with beer hall booths flooded with natural light, a family-friendly area with semi-secluded spaces, and a beer garden perfect for smaller gatherings. Founded in 2016 by two couples who turned a weekend hobby into an obsession, Coconspirators is proudly independent, 50% femaleowned, and genuinely community-focused.
If you can walk past 26 taps of fresh beer in a dog-friendly brewpub and keep going, you’ve got better willpower than most.
WHERE: 377 VICTORIA STREET, BRUNSWICK
OPEN: WED–THU 4PM–LATE / FRI–SUN 12PM–LATE
JOEY SMALLS
LIVE MUSIC: comes courtesy of a sound system that punches hard enough for proper events. Open Thursday through Saturday from 4pm until late, it’s the kind of place where an after-work drink can spiral into a session without much convincing.
FAMOUS FOR: slinging Green Acre pizza alongside a cocktail list that actually delivers. The bar covers everything from wines and spirits to cold pints, while the kitchen keeps the slices coming until late. Joey Smalls also hosts functions, birthday booths and micro club nights with full DJ capabilities for anyone wanting to run their own event.
INFAMOUS FOR: holding one of the latest licences in Brunswick, which means weekends here don’t have a curfew problem. Friday and Saturday nights pull in a rotating cast of local selectors spinning everything from soul and funk to house, hip hop and disco across indoor and outdoor spaces. The booth-heavy layout absorbs big groups without losing its intimacy, and the courtyard stays open for fresh air between rounds on the dancefloor.
Æ Joey Smalls sits right in the thick of Sydney Road, a neighbourhood party spot where pizza, cocktails and disco balls have been pulling in Brunswick locals since it became the strip’s unofficial good-time headquarters.
The venue runs a tight operation across indoor and outdoor spaces, and with a calendar that keeps stacking up, Joey Smalls has locked in its spot as one of Sydney Road’s essential rooms.
From the same crew behind CBD staples New Guernica and Chuckle Park, it’s a bar that knows how to read a room — relaxed enough for a midweek catch-up over slices, loud enough to lose a Saturday night in. The sunken booths and polished wood give it a warmth that most late-night spots don’t bother with, and the courtyard out back is one of the better outdoor setups on the strip.
If you’re heading out on Sydney Road and want somewhere that can handle dinner, drinks and a dancefloor without making you change venues, this is where you end up.
THE RAILWAY HOTEL
LIVE MUSIC: The Railway Gang holds down a weekly residency on Thursdays, bringing together a rotating cast of local musicians and regulars for relaxed, community-led sessions that feel like a jam at a mate’s place. Sunday Sessions soundtrack lazy afternoons in the Saloon Bar, and the recently revived upstairs Ballroom hosts intimate gigs championing local artists and community-driven shows.
FAMOUS FOR: the secluded, vine-covered beer garden out back, complete with its iconic banana tree — one of the cosiest al fresco set-ups in Melbourne’s inner north. The kitchen leans into quality Italian-inspired pub classics that nod to the venue’s Mediterranean roots, and there’s a weekly specials list that covers most of the calendar: steak night and free pool comp on Mondays, trivia and parmas on Tuesdays, lasagne on Wednesdays, the Railway Gang on Thursdays, happy hour and Ballroom gigs on Fridays, and a roast special alongside Sunday Sessions on the weekend.
INFAMOUS FOR: breathing new life into its first-floor Ballroom as an intimate performance space. The room feels equal parts nostalgic and electric, building a grassroots music community one gig at a time with a focus on local acts and low-key entertainment. There’s also a jukebox in the Public Bar and a footy tipping comp that kicks off in March — fitting for the proud sponsors of Fitzroy Football Club.
Æ The Railway Hotel is a true neighbourhood institution, a charming local plucked straight out of the 70s that’s long been a go-to for family dinners, knock-offs after work and weekend catch-ups. Unpretentious and proudly no-frills, it’s the kind of pub where the beers are cold, the kitchen is firing and the staff know your order. The bar is stacked with a generous range of draught beers and classic pub pours, while a secluded beer garden and cosy Saloon Bar give you plenty of reasons to settle in for the afternoon. There’s always something happening at the Railway. It’s a pub that knows exactly what it is — warm, welcoming and community-minded — and that’s why locals keep coming back.
WHERE: 284 SYDNEY RD, BRUNSWICK
OPEN: THU–SAT, 4PM–LATE
WHERE: 800 NICHOLSON ST, FITZROY NORTH
OPEN: MON 4PM–LATE, TUE–SUN 12PM–LATE
Creature Of Habit
Æ The 200 lucky fans who squeezed into Fitzroy’s Punters Club for Courtney Barnett’s surprise secret show last November scored a couple of Creature Of Habit previews: the upbeat, pensive Site Unseen (the recorded version of which features Waxahatchee); Mostly Patient, an acoustic ballad that lands like a supportive mate providing empathy during a rough patch; and Mantis, a song about an insect sighting that broke her creative drought, also inspiring the title and cover art.
During a solo songwriting retreat in Joshua Tree, Barnett was struggling to put words to a synth-and-drum demo she’d received from Warpaint’s Stella Mozgawa – her frequent studio collaborator and session drummer – a couple of years prior. Until a praying mantis caught Barnett’s eye, she took it as a sign to persevere and out flowed the chorus: “Ooh, praying mantis on my door/ Looking for meaning or just any sign at all…”
Built from a circular, descending riff, standout track Same – which also features gothic synth and percussive “Fffffft”s like aerosol spray – aptly showcases her self-assured guitar wizardry. Barnett’s guitar chops are undeniable. She boasts a distinctive playing style (see: the textured guitar solo that closes One Thing At A Time – almost-two glorious minutes long).
Barnett’s fourth album was written in the wake of a relocation from Australia to Los Angeles and the closure of Milk! Records, her long-running indie record label. But Creature Of Habit is far from a downer. Some lyrical phrases are perspective-shifting, doubling as life advice worth scrawling on the back of your hand with a Sharpie.
She often bravely gives voice to intrusive thoughts through her lyrics, making the overthinkers amongst us feel seen. The trademark self-analytical ponderings (“Feels like I’m going backwards/ Each day I preach my practice/ And still it seems I wasn’t rea-dy for this”) are ubiquitous and endearing as ever, but Barnett’s evocative guitar work pulls equal focus on this record. During Sugar Plum (“I’m in over my head”, “It seems like everybody’s struggling”), an uplifting keychange signals an altered outlook: “I’m looking forward to some brighter days… So I’m looking for a little leniency” – cultivating self-kindness FTW.
Stay In Your Lane’s mid-song reverse keychange reads like being shut down or dismissed, which its title also suggests.
From working behind the bar at Northcote Social Club to becoming one of Australia’s greatest musical exports, Barnett embraces authenticity while emboldening other artists to do the same.
Barnett’s international acclaim proves that anxiety can coexist with success. She seems so effortlessly cool, right? But you can also tell she feels like a bit of a dork most of the time, which is why we adore her so much.
“There’s no such thing as a perfect melody, but I keep searching,” Barnett sings during Mantis. Long may her search continue!
LABEL: FICTION
RELEASE: OUT NOW
AIRLING
Retrieve
The definition of retrieve is to find and bring something precious back, which is fitting, since this six-track EP documents Hannah Shepherd’s return to music.
Shepherd (the pure, ethereal voice behind the Airling moniker) took time away from music to complete her nursing degree, gathering life experiences along the way to enrich her songwriting. Free from expectations and tight deadlines, Shepherd let lyrical ideas and melodies flow, unfiltered.
Track one, Stars, opens with synth bursts that conjure constellations illuminating, haphazardly, at nightfall. “Maybe this is just for fun,” Shepherd sings, as if rediscovering her life’s purpose. Many songs on this EP are unison-sung – like simultaneously narrated shared experiences (think: Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes uniting on Up Where We Belong’s choruses).
Over sparse piano plinks, Love Lessons (feat. Big Scary’s Tom Iansek) implores, “Show me how to love you”. Here, Iansek delivers some intriguing spoken-word bits (eg. “The truth is relative, not fact [pause for effect]/ Find your truth in that”).
Mona Lisa slinks in softly, measured piano chords and mounting melodies making way for intimate confessions: “I could die a million times here in your arms I’m falling for love…”
Featuring sad-robot BVs – “I’m in love with you, I could fly/ Your beauty, it burns my eyes” – Reach Out glistens with hopeful, arpeggiating keys.
A breezy, luvd-up selection, Retrieve sounds like true passion reignited. We’re so chuffed Shepherd chose to focus on the music again. And we also love that she refers to her followers as Airheads.
COURTNEY BARNETT
CAVS
Soujourn
Æ Described in the presser as a “‘Groove’ concept album”, the second solo record by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard’s drummer, Michael ‘CAVS’ Cavanagh, is best digested in its entirety. We also strongly recommend you listen while burning nag champa incense.
Whereas CAVS’ eponymous solo debut (2021) was percussion-only, its follow-up is instrumentally lush and expansive, also incorporating field recordings. With its show-offy tempo changes and spontaneous, improvisational quality, only virtuosos could be brought in to execute Soujourn.
During Soujourn’s creative process, co-producer Jim Rindfleish (Mildlife) has said he noticed these sonic explorations “began to resemble the forms of various mystical and undiscovered flora and fauna”, which totally checks out: within the cohesive palette CAVS has curated, each of the ten sonic explorations blooms into its own separate mysterious entity.
Birdsong and gentle, lapping-wave sounds usher in the opener, Victoria Amazonica, before airy flute and harp juxtaposes bass noodling – by fellow Gizz member Joey Walker – and rhythmic drum accents.
Distant spirit voices – the kind you’d hear while stranded in the bush at the dead of night – beckon throughout lead single Candiru, with its loose drum patterns, locked-in bass and wild, chattering guitar.
Standout track Emerald Nile is transportive, like travelling through unknown territory, awestruck by the scenery. Flute, harp, a sax hook that sounds like a snake charmer’s finest work, meandering bass and bongos – it’s spellbinding stuff.
Death Bat slaps – a bit of a vibe shift, with face-melting riffs.
The ultimate thinking stoner’s soundtrack, Soujourn sounds like animated live wallpaper.
MATT CORBY
Tragic Magic
Æ Matt Corby’s heart-hurting vocal capabilities bring Daniel Merriweather to mind. Don’t believe me? Check out Corby’s Live From Sydney ABC NYE 2025 EP, which documents his standout performance from this star-studded concert.
Soulful brass, heart-rending strings, cymbal swells, hand claps, deft drumming, sultry bass, layered harmonies – you’ll find a song for many moods on Tragic Magic.
“I never know what’s up anymore…” –King Of Denial, the gently bopping opener, shrugs; it’s giving que sera sera.
While coming up with Big Ideas – with its plucky bass and conversational guitar flourishes – Corby has said he pictured a “cool guy in a skivvy, slightly gyrating. But in a very respectful way,” which we now cannot unsee. Suggestion for Corby: please add a beret to this ensemble, since the song would go down a treat in a jazz club.
Fluttering piano brings poignance to Know It All, with its stacked vocals recreating a Corby choir.
The strings-rich War To Love reminds listeners that true love requires sacrifice. “You’re FUCKING me UP!” – the opening phrase’s unexpected dynamics – exasperated, but still pitch-perfect fashion – jump-scared us at first listen.
A magpie’s carolling provides a natural bush habitat for Maggie. Winning Ticket’s catchy, cartoonish hook was inspired by the sound of a winning pokies machine.
“If I never could have you/ I’d die/ Over and over/ No lie…” – Locked In captures an all-encompassing love, of the ‘nothing else matters’ kind.
An infinitely beautiful listening experience, Corby’s latest offering made our heart grow bigger.
ROBYN
Sexistential
Robyn has said, “The purpose of my life is to stay horny” – let’s all enjoy the benefits of her sex-positive Sexistential explorations, shall we?
Sex after 40, single motherhood, “juicy hentai” (don’t Google it) – the Swedish electropop pioneer leans into some taboo subjects on album number nine, kicking against Andre 3000’s assumption that no one would wanna hear a rap about his colonoscopy.
“Fuck a app, I need me some IRL/ I’m on the clock, just give me your ASL/ Fuck a Plan B, baby, it’s no big deal/ I’m already ten weeks in maternity” – the title track sees Robyn rapping about trying to get laid while ten weeks preggers through IVF.
An undeniable pop banger, Dopamine flies super-close to the peerless Dancing On My Own. “I’m tripping on a chemistry…” –Robyn almost-stutters, like a lovestruck teen succumbing to that specific cocktail of brain chemicals for the very first time.
Megahit-maker Max Martin – a longtime Robyn collaborator – co-wrote Talk To Me, which took shape during the global pando when socialising IRL was forbidden. Sucker For Love employs a Blinding Lights-esque toy-keyboard hook. Robotic, Kraftwerk-esque beats underscore Blow My Mind – an updated version of a song from 2002’s Don’t Stop The Music album, recontextualised for her son: “...this time it’s about my son’s tiny soft hands with nails sharp as knives,” Robyn has said.
The closing Into The Sun sounds like a pinball, gleefully ricocheting around a neonlit machine.
At the centre of it all are Robyn’s pristine pipes, with just the right amount of raw edginess.
We’re here for Robyn’s horny-MILF era. Turn it up loud, dance unselfconsciously and dream big.
LABEL: P(DOOM)
RELEASE: 24 APR
LABEL: ISLAND RECORDS RELEASE: 16 APR
LABEL: YOUNG RELEASE: OUT NOW
GIG GUIDE
APRIL 2026
THU 26 MAR
HENRY FENTON
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $23.20.
COLOUR & LIGHT:
THE ART OF SONDHEIM
The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $62.
COMEDY AT THE ESPY
FT: Zachary James, Jordan Turner, more Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $20.
KELSEY JEAN & THE BAD HEALTH.
MALIBU SPACEY, MORE
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. $12.25.
JADE PAW
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
LAKEVIEW. BLACKBIRD, BALMORAL, ...AND THE MOUNTAIN, GRIMSHAW
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 6.30pm. $16.35.
STAY GOLD
BATTLE OF THE BANDS – HEAT 5
FT: The Satts, Quiet Neighbours, Operation Karma, Goose Bay, Sledgehammer Honey Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
LES BIG BYRD. BROWN SPIRITS, NEON GOBLIN Shotkickers. Thornbury. 7pm. $23.80.
WINTERMELON. THE HEIGHTS, ARIA MONET Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $15. BERNARD FANNING. SAM CROMACK, GEORGIA MOONEY Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 6.30pm.
DARK NOVEMBER. 74
KINGS, MIND STAIN Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm.
JAMIE MACDOWELL
Freddie Wimpoles. St Kilda. 7pm.
GEORGE RIGDEN: SELF-INFLICTED
The Motley WhereHaus. Melbourne. 10pm. $15–34.30.
GOOD MUSIC
THURSDAYS
Old Bar. Fitzroy. 7.30pm.
PINKY BEECROFT.
LACHLAN BRYAN Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $51.10.
IRISH MYTHEN
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $61.90.
STEVIE WONDER: RE-ENVISIONED Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 6pm. $40.
ANTHRAX. ALIEN WEAPONRY
Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $179.90.
GARETH
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7.30pm. $60.95.
LISTENING TO THE ELEMENTS (RELAXED PERFORMANCE)
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 10:30am. $10.
FRESHLY SQUEEZED SESSION FT: Vigilantonie, ROMÆO, Monnie
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $16.85.
THE DARYL MCKENZIE JAZZ ORCHESTRA WITH JACQUELINE GAWLER
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45. THE PUTBACKS Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm.
FRI 27 MAR
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. LES BIG BYRD Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $99.90.
ART OF THE SCORE:
JAMES HORNER
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $88–150.
FEELINGS IN COLOUR:
FELT COLLAGE WORKSHOP
Kingston Arts Centre. Moorabbin. 11.30am.
RACHAEL BECK: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $60.
PAPER-CUTS PRESENTS ARTIFICIAL. KIA, MOOPIE, ORB Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 7pm. $25–35.
LEWIS TOMS
Baxter’s. Fitzroy. 9pm. Free. CUTTERS. SHOVE, WHOSE REALITY?, LAUGHTER
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $20.
STEVE LANE & THE AUTOCRATS. DJ JOSH MEADOWS
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
MICK ETHERINGTON
Freddie Wimpoles. St Kilda. 8pm.
MIDDLE MANAGEMENT
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm.
COMEDY. MAGGIE ALLEY, DJ CRISPI
Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm.
SOPHIE KELLY Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $17.85–23.75.
ROSEMARY CLOONEY: THE ULTIMATE CROONER SHOW
FT: Victoria Mantynen Aspendale Gardens Community Centre. Aspendale Gardens. 12.30pm. $25.
LIGHTING THE DARK
The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts. Clayton. 7.30pm. $20–65.
WOMBATUQUE
Bar 303. Northcote. 7pm. $15.
NERVE MELBOURNE 2026 Brown Alley. Melbourne. 10pm. $16.97–32.84.
MARCUS KNIGHT Morris House. Melbourne. 6pm.
TRIXTER. STEVIE RACHELLE, LORRAINE LEWIS Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $89.90.
PINCH POINTS. EQUESTRIAN FIELDS, TRAP CARD
Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $17.35.
MIMI GILBERT & RUBY GILL
The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $37.55. T3HO
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 6pm. $45.
KADIKOY MIXTAPE
2ND ANNIVERSARY
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $25.
LUKE HOVEY + BLACK DAVE. AK-97, PRETENDING2BEHOLLY
New Guernica. Collingwood. 10pm. $15–25.
HORSEPOWER. DANCE, SCRAM, WHO’S TO BLAME?, REVENGE STORIES
Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $28.05. KYE
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24.
RAGDOLL + ION SKY. ATOMIC RIOT, LOVE BITE
Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 7.30pm. $21.42.
DISCO REVOLUTION + DJ DIGGZ: THE ULTIMATE DANCE PARTY
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $49.45.
GUITAR WOLF. ALIEN NOSEJOB, ELVIS 2, CUJO
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $55.60. VLADS. PISCO SOUR Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $20–25.
JACK EARLE
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $34.20.
GLENN WAVERLEY & THE MENTONES
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
JOEL HAVEA TRIO
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9.30pm. $45.
EMMA PASK
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.
ASHLEY NAYLOR
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $40–50.
SAT 28 MAR
GABRIEL MUÑOZ + OUR GARAGE TAKEOVER
FT: Slumdog, Kirby, Kailyn Crabbe, more Glamorama. Fitzroy. 8pm.
FERLA. LENNA MARS, MANSPLAINERS
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 8pm. $18.90.
COLOUR & LIGHT: THE ART OF SONDHEIM (MATINEE SESSION)
The Round. Nunawading. 2pm. $62.
HIGH COUNTRY HOP 2026 (FESTIVAL DAY)
Beechworth Historic Precinct Reserve. Beechworth. 11.30am. $0–55.
TOM BAEPPLER
The Bay Hotel. Mornington. 9pm.
THE LOUIS ARMSTRONG SONGBOOK
Royal Brighton Yacht Club. Brighton. 8pm. $55.
LOUISE MACGREGOR
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
PUGILIST FOUND SOUND
Howler. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $23.46.
MELBOURNE UKULELE FESTIVAL 2026
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 12pm. $30–110. WHERE LOVE LIVES–WATER: LEE DAGGER
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 8pm. $29.60–39.80.
DOWNBEAT
FT: JXN Miles, girl whatever, DJFRESHXPRINCESS
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. Free. MINIBUS.
FIRE BY THE RIVER
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 4.30pm. Free.
LALU. THE NOISE, MIDNIGHT VIOLET Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $18.70.
FUNKY KINGSTON FT: Mohair Slim, Wes
The Cat, Fabulous Fez, Kilmarnock Steve, Foey Man Lulie Tavern. Abbotsford. 9pm. Free.
SUNSET JAM Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 2pm. Free. 360. PEZ
Commercial Hotel. South Morang. 7.30pm. $59.90.
VALLEE. SELF TALK
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 2pm. Free.
EAT THE BEAT: UNDRGRND 360° FT: Caleb Jay, PAKO S., RORY MARSHALL, santi4, T’yane, Bouncy, Rumble J New Guernica. Collingwood. 10pm. $25.
WOODY SAMSON & NATHEN BARROW
Baxter’s. Fitzroy. 9pm. Free.
CIRCLE OF BLOOD
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8pm. $23.50.
TRIBE YEAR 4
FT: Santerres, Eden, Juju, Manny, Docta, Danny Phantom Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm. $27.40–32.90.
MIXED TAPE
Freddie Wimpoles. St Kilda. 8pm.
SÖJOURN Morris House. Melbourne. 7pm.
BRUNO DISCO BALL
FT: Lazy Susan, Tina del Twist, Tanzer, more Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $65–95.
NATALIE & BRITTANY HAAS Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 7pm. $50.
THE SCREAM AGERS. BIG VILLAGE, MICROWAVE DINNER
Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7pm. $18.90.
MUNROE
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $18.10. THE BARTONS. THE VORS, CRANES AGAINST CLOUDS
Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $13.30.
NOTHIN BUT COUNTRY
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 9pm. $12.75–25.50.
DUNE RATS.
SURF TRASH, MORE Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $55.20.
3MBS GALA
CONCERT: MUSIC OF THE SEASONS
FT: Choir of Trinity College Melbourne, Chloe James, Collide Ensemble, Coady Green Hawthorn Arts Centre. Hawthorn. 2pm. $20–50.
MINDFUL MEETS: BOOK SWAP THE SPACE BETWEEN. Brighton. 8am. $25.
ART OF THE SCORE: JAMES HORNER Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $88–150.
EMMA PASK Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.
RACHAEL BECK: IN THEIR OWN WORDS Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $60.
THE CREATURE FROM OUTER
BASS: LIVE RECORDING EVENT
The Merri Bar. Preston. 7pm. Free.
JEMMA CHER
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $50–65.
STARFEST FT: Juno Eclipse, Mycriesfallondeafears, Fear Of Horses
The Tote. Collingwood. 2.30pm. $30.
THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. LES BIG BYRD
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $99.90.
DR JAZZ & THE GANGSTERS PALACE WITH RUBY RAY
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $45.
GEORGE RIGDEN: SELF-INFLICTED
The Motley WhereHaus. Melbourne. 10pm. $15–34.30.
SWEET BOY Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $25.
THAMAN S Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 5pm. $129.95.
NICK BARKER & THE REPTILES.
LEICHARDT
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm.
THU 02 APR
TEMPORARY BLESSINGS
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $35.30.
LE YOUTH
Brown Alley. Melbourne. 10pm. $30.
BOPOLOGY:
BEBOP & BEYOND
FEAT: Chris Rozakeas
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $45.
BLUETILE LOUNGE + GARAGE SALE
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $39.88.
FUNGUS. CONVENIENCE
STORE, EQUESTRIAN FIELDS
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. $25.
COMEDY AT THE ESPY
FT: Zachary James, Jordan Turner, more Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $20.
KAVIITÁ.
ARAMINTA, JINYU Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $22.95.
FOXY JUNES.
FINN COLTRANE, THE SATTS
Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $20.
THE BLACK CROWES
Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm.
OKEY DOKEY
KARAOKE Daylesford Hotel. Daylesford. 6.30pm. Free.
JAMMER
Revolver Upstairs. Prahran. 8pm. $26.52–41.82.
CHARLIE OWEN
+ DAN BRODIE
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7.30pm. $30–40.
DANNY ROSS
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free. JEANE.
MY DOG SATELLITE, DJ GOOD TIME GALS, DJ GAKERMANIS
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. $18.10.
YAWNING MAN.
MARIO LALLI & THE RUBBER SNAKE CHARMERS
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $58.25.
PUBLIC FIGURES
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. MIRROR CLIPPERS. BELLHOP, MILKSICK, BB SABINA
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $16.35.
FRI 03 APR
THE SHUFFLE CLUB
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9pm. $48.
INTERVAL
FT: Jack Marlow
Glamorama. Fitzroy. 10pm. $25–35.
YEMO WANG Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
CHI WOW WAH CITY: THE HOLY CHI
EXPERIENCE 2.0
FT: Stavroz. OMRI, Uone, Amaru Tribe, Christian Dimarco, Sriracha, Brian Fantana, Mojo Filter, JMCEE
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 5pm. $72.62–83.84.
AUSTRALIAN SIKH
GAMES CULTURAL NIGHT 2026
Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7pm. $79.
LANEOUS
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
WRESTLEROCK
(20TH ANNIVERSARY)
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $45.45.
CLOTHESLINED. BLIGHT, WELL, BLACKBIRD Old Bar. Fitzroy. 8pm. $19.40.
CASS AWARE. SKIPTINS, ACHEY PEACE
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $12.50–16.85.
MARUWA + JACKYBOOM
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 8pm. $25.
FAMOUS FRIEND Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $24–29.10.
TRACKS PARTY
FT: Beddy Rays, Headsend, Mannequin Death Squad, Sargent Baker Torquay Surf Club. Torquay. 6pm. $37.75.
THE BLACK CROWES Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. KAYLA BRUNO Morris House. Melbourne. 10pm. REFUGE + NATTY + LOVE FOREVER Howler. Brunswick. 3pm. $12.24–23.46.
TARNISHED. GRINDHOUSE, SKURGE, NEBULAM, RILE The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $23.50.
GEORGE RIGDEN: SELF-INFLICTED Limerick Arms Hotel. South Melbourne. 7.30pm. $15–34.30.
UNHOLY GOOD FRIDAY
FT: Beanflipper, Battlegrave, Womb To Tomb, Munitions, 100 Years War, Knife, Mind Rot Stay Gold. Brunswick. 4pm. $30–34.95.
SAT 04 APR
MUROKI. FOLEY Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 8pm. $34.90.
CARPAL TUNNEL. MILK AFTER SEX, LOCUS Shotkickers. Thornbury. 8pm. $18.70.
DEATHBATS
AUSTRALIA: A7X TRIBUTE. AUSLÄNDERS, AUSSIETALLICA: THE METALLICA TRIBUTE, C()NTACT Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $30.
ECLECTIC METAL EXTRAVAGANZA
FT: Mind Stain, Malicy, Deep Majestic Thunder Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $23.75.
MALIGNANT AURA. CARCINOID, THRALL, GRAVEPEELER Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 7pm. $28.05.
HARDCORE
FT: Grim Reality, Thantu Thika, Time Ends, TCB, Out of Spite Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $33.15.
SOLO BANTON Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $18.40–46. CLOTHESLINED. KRUL, HAROLD HOLT SEARCH PARTY Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $18.
AARYAN SHAH
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $40.40. BARON VON TRAX Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $36.92–57.32.
BONEY M Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm.
CHARLIE NEEDS BRACES X LITTLE LEGENDS SERIES Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 2pm. Free. XANTHE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
WITCHSKULL
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 8.30pm. $28.60.
PARIS NOCTURNE: A CELEBRATION OF THE WOMEN OF PARIS FT: Nikki Nouveau Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9pm. $45. GRIM RHYTHM. REAPER, TECHNO 666 The Tote. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $16.35.
THU 09 APR
JOHNSTONE/NEAL/ SPICER WITH TIM STOCKER: THE ORGAN COOKBOOK Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $45. WHISKEY ROMEO Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free. THE LAST CHANCE 10TH ANNIVERSARY: CHEERSQUAD RECORDS PRESENTS THE MAGGIE PILLS. SUPER AMERICAN EAGLE, GRACE MITCHELL
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. $23.50.
LUCY BURKE
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $25.
ROSS WILSON & THE PEACENIKS
The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $64.
THE MOST UPSETTING GUESSING GAME
IN THE WORLD LIVE
FT: Aunty Donna, more Howler. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $40.
KIER STEVENS
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
MOLLY MCKEW. FELIX WORNER
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
COMEDY AT THE ESPY
FT: Zachary James, Jordan Turner, more Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $20.
TONY YANG
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
THE SCRATCH. MUDRAT
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $71.75.
LOVER. THE KNEWS, RUBY MILNER
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. $18.90.
BIC RUNGA. SILICON
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $69.90. FELICITY
URQUHART & JOSH
CUNNINGHAM
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $49.90.
GEORGE RIGDEN: SELF-INFLICTED
The Motley WhereHaus. Melbourne. 10pm. $15–34.30.
UGLIEBOY. THE HALVES, ASSORTED PLEASURES
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $16.35.
FRI 10 APR
SNAILGUN + THE NOVA FIENDS Cafe Gummo. Thornbury. 7.30pm. $10. MILANDRA
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $23.20.
DOWNSTAIRS DISCO
FT: Steely Ann & Guests
Wax Music Lounge. Melbourne. 9pm. Free.
L.O.W. OUTRIGHT, SEVEN HELLS, ILLAN KAAPAN, LAY LOW, SCARS OF LIFE
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7pm. $23.50.
MEG WASHINGTON. JO DAVIE
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $55–65.
REGURGITATOR
170 Russell. Melbourne. 7pm. $65.
DAPPLED CITIES
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $46.
MAY-A
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. $49.90.
SLEAZY LITTLE
THING VOL. 4
FT: DJ Sammie, Michael Badger
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 11pm. Free.
THE THIRD SOUND
Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $40.
LANEOUS
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
NASHVILLE FRIDAYS
FT: Katie Jayne, Dakota East, Will Rounds Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $35.20–39.30.
NICOLAS CAGE FIGHTER. THE RISING TIDE, DEADSKIN
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $28.05.
THE SIMON & GARFUNKEL STORY
The Round. Nunawading. 7.30pm. $69.
SURREAL SCIENCE: THE SCIENTISTS + KIM SALMON & THE SURREALISTS Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8pm. $67.
NGAIIRE
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $41.82.
360. PEZ
The Whalers Hotel. Warrnambool. 7pm. $59.90.
SELECT ALL (RETURN SHOW).
FT: Chick, The Halves, Seven Pound Halo, Slowshell, DJ Kai Cult, DJ Youngxdoomed Stay Gold. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $23.30. THE ANTICS.
CUTTERS, SCREAMING TARGET
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $16.35.
SAT 11 APR
LITTLE MURDERS. THE VIBRAJETS
George Lane. St Kilda. 2.30pm. $15.
WILD CITY. ARROWS OF DESIRE, THE SLOPPY JALOPIES
Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8pm. $18.10.
BUDD.
WINTERNATIONALE, IV, SHOEB AHMAD
Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. $20. THOM JOHNSTON. THE NAME WILL, AMBER RICHMOND
Mamma Chen’s. Footscray. 7.30pm. $15.
REGURGITATOR. DEM MOB
The Croxton. Thornbury. 7pm. $65.
DANGER DEN. DAY DREAMERS, A STUDY IN RED, FOOL ME TWICE
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. $16.85.
STRINGS ATTACHED FESTIVAL
FT: Greg Gould, Kate Dearaugo, Emily Williams, more Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $55–75.
ASCENSION: BREAKNBREAD BATTLES
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 1pm. $82.65.
DESTRENDS. Y STREET, HESH
The Curtin. Carlton. 8pm. $22.85–30.
MALIBU SPACEY. MATILDA O’BRIEN BAND, MAXWELL BRADY BAND
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $12.25–15.68.
ADI ŠOŠE
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 8pm. $98.45.
CRUMP CAKE
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
RACHEL CLARK
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
THE MOST UPSETTING GUESSING GAME IN THE WORLD LIVE
FT: Aunty Donna, more Howler. Brunswick. 6pm. $40.
CAIRO CLUB
ORCHESTRA
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 2pm. $23.05.
PIZZA DEATH
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $23.50.
HEAVY AF 2026
FT: Gravemind, RUN, Earthbound, Internet Romance, Babchia, Matahari, Sleeper Service, Jupiter the Giant, Sun Stone, Serious Crew Corner Hotel. Richmond. 3.30pm. $13.30.
JACK GARDINER. BREKKY BOY
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $77.20.
CLANCYE MILNE PRESENTS THE MUSIC OF CAROLE KING
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6.30pm. $45. THE BOX SHOW (RELAXED PERFORMANCE)
Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 11am. $42.
360. PEZ
The Deck Bendigo. Bendigo. 7.30pm. $59.90.
H.E.A.T
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $89.90.
ABILITY FEST 2026
FT: Blusher, Brent Honey, Cooper Smith, daine, Kito, more
The Timber Yard.
Port Melbourne. 2pm. DISNEY’S BEAUTY & THE BEAST IN CONCERT
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 8pm. $88–136.
SANTIAGO MOTORIZADO
The Night Cat. Fitzroy. 7pm. $63.14.
THU 16 APR
GROOVE!
FT: Keets, Peak Park, Banksia Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $17.34.
ENCOUNTER! A TRIBUTE TO PEPPER ADAMS
FT: Tim Stocker Quintet
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 8pm. $40.
NORIA LETTS
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.
TONY YANG
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
TWINKLE TOWN: THE FORGOTTEN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL MUSICAL
The Motley Spielhaus. Melbourne. 7.10pm. $16.88–34.30.
BRYAN MARTIN
Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $74.90.
KEVIN BORICH EXPRESS
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $35–55. 360. PEZ York on Lilydale. Mount Evelyn. 7.30pm. $59.90. EVERYTHING EVERYTHING Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $89.90.
HEADWRECK Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. $29.90.
ALX; GOSLOW. LOVEBONER, POPULAR MUSIC Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $12.25–20.23.
MOLLY MCKEW. GRACE MITCHELL
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
WEATHERDAY Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 7.30pm. $72.10.
FRI 17 APR
EAT THE BEAT & THICK AS THIEVES FT: Tommy Phillips. Berilio, Cooper James, Florence, Foreman, Jack Ahearn, Mara, Newsta, Sarah Armstrong, Seda, Sneeze, Tennyson New Guernica. Collingwood. 10pm. $30. TONY J KING Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
NEIL MURRAY & HIS BAND. CLARE COWLEY Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $50–65. GRIM. DREAMWORM, HAND OF FEAR, VALENTA Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $17.35.
HEADWRECK Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 7pm. ELLY MCK & THE UNBELIEVERS. SUNSHINE TIP Gem Bar. Collingwood. 8.30pm. $20.
THE MOUNTAIN GOATS Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7.30pm. KIER STEVENS Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. THE BLACK SORROWS The Round. Nunawading. 8pm. $69.90. THE WET WHISTLES Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $35.02.
CHRISTINE ANU Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $57.63.
CHASE MATTHEW. AUSTIN WILLIAMS
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7.30pm. $76.40.
GYPSY LEE. CAITIE SMILLIE
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8pm. Free. CHASING ABBEY Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm. $70.70.
THE BLUES OF RAY AND ARETHA: EZRA LEE, ANDREA MARR & GAVIN GREY
Odeon Richmond. Richmond. 7pm. $35. CROSSFADER
FT: DJ Qbert. DJ J-RED, Mizhap, The Beat Invitational
Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. $28.56–44.37.
JENNIFER
SALISBURY SINGS
AUDIOSLAVE
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 9pm. $45.
LINCOLN LE FEVRE & THE INSIDERS. JESS LOCKE BAND, GUSH
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $28.60.
360. PEZ
The Deck Ballarat. Ballarat. 7pm. $59.90.
NA DJINANG CIRCUS: OF THE LAND ON WHICH WE MEET
Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 7.30pm. $55.
GEORGE RIGDEN: SELF-INFLICTED
Limerick Arms Hotel. South Melbourne. 7.30pm. $15–34.30. REECE MASTIN
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 7pm. $31.65–39.80.
SAT 18 APR
KERSER
Festival Hall. West Melbourne. 7pm. $152.81. SUNSET ROLLERCOASTER Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $98.
MYRA DUBOIS: SIREN
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 5pm. $49–75. ANDIE Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm.
THE THIRD SOUND + THE UNDERGROUND YOUTH. USER Bendigo Hotel. Collingwood. 9pm. $43.90.
RIPPER ‘76 IN 2026
FT: DJ Cass, MC
Robert Skinner
Quadraphonic Club. Brunswick. 7pm. $25.99.
BAKER BOY Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $59.90.
RACHEL CLARK
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
YAGKI + LARA BUCHANAN.
MATHILDE ANNE
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 1pm. $22.95.
AMBER RUN Corner Hotel. Richmond. 8.30pm. $79.90.
RAPTOR. WRENDRIVE, SWORDFISH Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. $15.85.
CELEBRATING THE UNION OF REGGAE & SKA
FT: Ras Jahknow Band, Loonee Tunes, Operation Big Jake Bosstone Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $41.82.
MOON ELEVATOR. SIGNAL CHAIN, PRETTY IN PINK Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 8.30pm. Free.
GALWAY ROVERS. MAGGIE CARTY, MORE
The Curtin. Carlton. 1pm. $25.
AM//PM EMO NIGHT
FT: Deficit, Blood Oath, more Stay Gold. Brunswick. 8pm. $20–25.
CORDIFORM (FINAL SHOW)
Leadbeater Hotel. Richmond. 6.30pm. $29.99.
THE CREATURE FROM OUTER BASS BATTLES MR MAINSTREAM MusicLand Fawkner Music Complex. Fawkner. 8pm. $30.
ZEMLJA
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8.30pm. $56.80.
BEN LEE. BEC SANDRIDGE
Kindred Bandroom. Footscray. 7pm. $57.10.
ELECTRIC ISLAND 2026
FT: Armand Van Helden, Flight Facilities, more Riva. Elwood. 3pm. $117–228.
THU 23 APR
BEKS
The Tote. Collingwood. 7.30pm. $13.30.
AMÉLIE FARREN
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 8pm. $28.30.
FEHLBERGO & THE LAWLESS COUSINS. BABYSITTER, JAN Bar 303. Northcote. 8pm. $10–15.
GEORGA BYRNE PRESENTS COME AWAY WITH ME: LADIES WHO JAZZ
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $45.
ESTELLE CONLEY & BAND. CHARLOTTE LE LIEVRE, DJ SALOONEY TUNES Cactus Room. Thornbury. 7pm. $15.
GYPSY LEE Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7.30pm. Free. DANNY ROSS
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 7pm. Free.
HONG KONG FUCK YOU
The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar. North Melbourne. 7.30pm. $34.20.
HEADSEND
The Curtin. Carlton. 7.30pm. $20.
HUDSON FREEMAN
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $49.90.
MIA WRAY
Howler. Brunswick. 7.30pm. RON SEXSMITH
Melbourne Recital Centre. Southbank. 8pm. $79.90.
SAOSIN. SENSES FAIL, FALLWEATHER Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7pm. $99.90.
SADISTIC INTENT. BRIMSTONE APOSTLE, SUFFERENCE
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $69.40.
JOE CHINDAMO TRIO
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40. VANESSA AMOROSI (CELEBRATING 25 YEARS)
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. $79.90.
JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $84–155.
FRI 24 APR
SAKE X GHIBLI JAZZ VOL. 11
FT: Nana Koizumi, Max Peace, Kana Aoyama Tetsujin. Melbourne. 5.30pm.
MR MCCLELLAND’S FINISHING SCHOOL: DANCE ALL NIGHT
Stay Gold. Brunswick. 9pm. $23.30.
MEMPHIS MAY FIRE + BLESSTHEFALL
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7.30pm. $99.
PLASTIC TONES. ALIEN NOSE JOB, STEPMOTHER, THE STATES
The Tote. Collingwood. 8pm. $39.30.
FLYNN GURRY
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $29.34.
HUGH MCGINLAY
Wesley Anne. Northcote. 6pm. DIESEL
Memo Music Hall. St Kilda. 7pm. $85.
SONDHEIM: UNBOUND
FT: Elissa Rodger
Paris Cat Jazz Club. Melbourne. 6pm. $45.
ENNO CHENG
Brunswick Ballroom. Brunswick. 8.30pm. $87.21.
BEYOND THE NECK
The Round. Nunawading. 7.30pm. $55.
ANDREW DE SILVA’S DEDICATION TO PRINCE: A DECADE IN PURPLE
Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 7pm. $50–65.80.
FLY!. W.O.M.B.A.T., DOG WATCH
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 8pm. PLAYLUNCH. RICKY NEIL JNR, HASSALL Hotel Esplanade (aka The Espy). St Kilda. 7pm.
TONY J KING
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free.
VANESSA AMOROSI (CELEBRATING 25 YEARS)
Corner Hotel. Richmond. 7.30pm. THE SEDUCEAPHONES (FINAL SHOW).
SORBO AMPILO, LAZR BEES
Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $35.30.
MUDRAT
Howler. Brunswick. 8pm. $29.90.
COOL CHANGE
Bird’s Basement. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $40.
JURASSIC PARK IN CONCERT
Hamer Hall (Arts Centre Melbourne). Melbourne. 7.30pm. $84–155.
SAT 25 APR
BRUTEFEST 2026
FT: Warbringer. Desecrator, Anoxia, Destruktor, Munitions, Munt, Harlott, Ratlord, Circle of Blood, Monoliyth, Virulent Invocation
The Tote. Collingwood. 3pm. $62.75–72.95. THE BETHS Forum Theatre. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $69.90. THE STRIPP. SPACEJUNK
Trash Cult. Eaglehawk. 7pm. $20.
JESSE VALACH & THE TESTAMENTS
Barwon Club Hotel, South Geelong. 7pm. $30
HELMET
Northcote Theatre. Northcote. 7pm. $89.90.
RACHEL CLARK
Edinburgh Castle Hotel. Brunswick. 8pm. Free. WHITE SUMMER. EXILES
The Toff In Town. Melbourne. 7.30pm. $28.56.
JUNGLE CAKES. ED SOLO, DEEKLINE Howler. Brunswick. 7pm. $28.56–44.37. DRAINING. WORLDSICK, KERATIN, B-LEAGUE, NINETEEN NINETY HATE
Bergy Bandroom. Brunswick. 6.30pm. $22.95.
LIGHTKEEPERS
Retreat Hotel. Brunswick. 2pm. Free. SO YESTERDAY: THE POP GIRLIES WHO RAISED US Prince Bandroom. St Kilda. 9pm.
TOSHIKI SOEJIMA Northcote Social Club. Northcote. 8pm. $79.
NANDAGOVINDAM GLOBAL BHAJAN YAAN
The Round. Nunawading. 5.30pm. $60. NOTCH
Brunswick Artists’ Bar. Brunswick. 4.30pm. Free.
KALADHARA PRESENTS SRI KRISHNA LEELA: A DANCE MUSICAL Clocktower Centre. Moonee Ponds. 6pm. $70.
