I subscribe to all the things so you don’t have to. This is a curated list of what’s been announced over the past week so you can save the date, or swoop on tickets, and also a list of what’s coming up soon if you’re looking to make last-minute plans
What’s new?
New production of Jesus Christ Superstar coming to Melbourne
Following huge acclaim and sold-out seasons in London as well as an extensive tour of North America, the Olivier Award-winning reimagined production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s celebrated musical Jesus Christ Superstar is coming to Australia – and will be the Princess Theatre in Melbourne from March 2025.
Torvill and Dean to say farewell with arena spectacular
After three decades, British ice-skating legends Torvill & Dean are set to make their long-awaited return to Australia for a farewell tour. The ‘Torvill & Dean: Our Last Dance’ tour marks their first visit to Australian shores since their last tour in 1994 and will celebrate their illustrious career before retiring from skating together. They’ll be at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on 18-19 June 2025.
The Wiggles are touring stadiums around Australia
The Wiggles have announced a brand new stadium tour of Australia, and tickets are expected to sell like hot potatoes, hot potatoes. In Melbourne you’ll be able to catch them at Rod Laver Arena on 7-8 December.
The Chainsmokers to headline Palm Tree Music Festival
TEG Live has announced the return of Palm Tree Music Festival in December 2024. Following a non-stop tour of international installments, the intercontinental tropical party is back for the second year running with a stacked lineup featuring The Chainsmokers, alongside Alesso, Gryffin, Austin Millz, Daya, and more.
Legendary Suzi Quatro to tour Australia for 40th time
Celebrating 60 years on tour, the iconic rock star Suzi Quatro is touring Australia for the 40th time in January 2025.
Half-Arsed History podcast to be recorded live on stage in Melbourne
The weekly history podcast Half-Arsed History is hitting the road with its first ever live shows. Join host Riley Knight at Alex Theatre in St Kilda on 17 August who will be answering questions such as: why was Melbourne almost named Batmania? What happened to the abandoned WW2 bomb shelter under Sydney’s Hyde Park? And, most importantly, which city really is the better one – and why is it Melbourne?
Herbie Hancock to headline Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Living legend Herbie Hancock is set to light up stages across Australia and New Zealand in October, in his first visit since 2019, promising an electrifying evening from one of music’s most revered names. As part of this tour, Hancock will headline the Melbourne International Jazz Festival on 19 October. Tickets go on sale from 1pm on Tuesday 9 July.
Free first nations films for NAIDOC Week
This NAIDOC Week 2024, Madman Entertainment is celebrating the unbreakable spirit of our First Peoples by making the First Nations films in their catalogue available to watch for free.
Visit their NAIDOC Week 2024 page and click to rent any of the films in the list and then use the promo code in checkout:MMNAIDOC24
Save the date for these
Also just announced:
- A milestone for many, often signifying the transition into adulthood, approaching the 21 year age bracket is always something to be celebrated. And in 2024, the 21st anniversary for the ARIA Award-winning collective Melbourne Ska Orchestra is set to bring the festivities to fans across Australia.
- Multi-platinum award-winning entertainer Kane Brown will visit Australia and New Zealand this November, with special guests Kameron Marlowe and Kaylee Bell.
- Indie Aussie rock band, The Rubens, will be releasing their fifth album Soda in September and have announced a national tour to coincide with its release. They’ll be headed on an eight-date tour throughout September and October. This includes a gig on 18 October at the Northcote Theatre.
- Tyler Childers and his longtime band, The Food Stamps, will embark on the Australia/New Zealand leg of the ‘Mule Pull Tour’ in February 2025 and will play at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl
- Social media personalities and Australian entertainers, siblings Luke and Sassy Scott have announced a live national theatre tour for September 2024. They’ll be coming to the Palais Theatre at St Kilda for a hometown show on 15 September 2024.
- A new festival is set to uncover the secrets of the Muscat Capital of the World. Held across 10 days in August, The Dark Side of Wine festival will celebrate and reveal the dark arts of Rutherglen in North East Victoria with a series of immersive experiences taking place throughout the famous wine region.
- The Australian Open – the country’s most prestigious golfing tournament will be co-hosted at Kingston Heath and Victoria Golf Clubs from Thursday, 28 November to Sunday, 1 December 2024.
- Resembling two scarlet-red lips, Salvador Dalí’s iconic Surrealist design Mae West Lips Sofa, manufactured in 1937–38, is now on display at NGV International.
- All Westfield shopping centres across Australia will transform into official Live Sites for the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games this July.
- Montsalvat in Eltham is relaunching its popular Red Chair conversation series, starting with the esteemed Barry Jones on 17 July, in conversation about human capacity, tackling complexity and saving the planet.
- Ross Stevenson’s “Love Letter To Football” #8 is on Wednesday 17 July at Marvel Stadium. Join the 3AW broadcaster for a cocktail style lunch to hear from passionate AFL supporters who will read their own ‘Love Letter to Football’ sharing their personal relationship and experiences with the great game and the teams they support.
- Denis Carnahan is bringing his hilarious one man cult hit musical comedy show Cricket The Musical to Melbourne for the first time at the Memo Music Hall in St Kilda on Saturday 10 February 2025.
- Tickets are now on sale for comedian Daniel Muggleton’s new show Blinded by the Whites that’s on at the Comic’s Lounge in North Melbourne on Friday 4 October.
- There’s 15th anniversary screenings of the acclaimed stop-motion epic Coraline at Cinema Nova in Carlton from 15-18 August.
- Join the Kew Junction Business Association on 7 August for its Kewmunity dinner event at Postmaster Hotel in which Masterchef contestant, Declan Cleary, will be speaking on his experience and learnings on the show.
What to do?
Never mind the naysayers, Melbourne is not dead! Here’s a round-up of things happening in and around Melbourne this weekend and over the next few weeks:
- Meet bestselling author Michael Robotham in Brighton on 8 July as he talks about his new book Storm Child.
- The eagerly anticipated Care Bears Afternoon Tea, an enchanting experience for families, returns to The Langham, Melbourne these school holidays from 8-14 July.
- As part of NAIDOC Week celebrations, State Library Victoria and the Victorian Indigenous Research Centre are proud to offer guided beruk exhibition tours on 9 July with Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Elder Uncle Bill Nicholson Jnr.
- The Derrimut Weelam Gathering Place NAIDOC Family Day is on in Mordialloc on 10 July.
- Aboriginal Housing Victoria’s NAIDOC Family Day at the Collingwood Children’s Farm is back on 10 July. Join AHV’s biggest annual community event, featuring live music, dance, food and drinks, traditional crafts, games for kids, storytelling and raffle prizes
- Finders Keepers Autumn Winter Markets is on at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton on 12-14 July.
- To mark NAIDOC Week, Koorie Heritage Trust is partnering with Aboriginal Melbourne, City of Melbourne and Fed Square to present a First Peoples Market of over 25 stalls, showcasing art, craft, design, fashion and more – as well as free workshops facilitated by First Peoples creatives on 12-13 July.
- The annual NAIDOC March will take place on Friday, 12 July at 10am at the Victorian Aboriginal Health Services on Nicholson St in Fitzroy.
- The Victorian Association of Miniature Enthusiasts presents Our World In Miniature – a miniatures and dollshouse fair and exhibition in Mt Waverley on 13-14 July.
- The Bastille Day French Festival is returning to the Queen Victoria Market on 13-14 July
- The July Humble Market from the Make It Collective will be on 13 July at the Northcote Uniting Church,
- Bookfest Ashburton is back on Saturday 13 July. Featuring a massive second-hand book sale of over 5000 ex-library books, free upcycling craft activities for all ages, free author talks, Devonshire tea, sausage sizzle and more!
- The Bright Brewery is having a collaboration with the The Notting Hill Hotel on 13 July where you can experience limited-release brews, perfectly paired with a four-course menu.
- Join the NGV Australia in Federation Square on 13 July for NAIDOC Week celebrations and enjoy free live music, performances, film screenings, art, workshops, tours and drop-by drawing for all ages, and explore First Nations art in the latest exhibitions, My Country and Wurrdha Marra.
- Celebrate First Peoples arts and culture in the Ringwood arts precinct during NAIDOC Week with a guided tour on 13 July.
- Join EzyStreat in North Melbourne on 13 July for the Manila Samu’t Sari Market – a vibrant celebration of Filipino culture! Feast on Lechon, BBQ skewers, and sweet Filipino desserts, and cool off with Red Horse Beer or Manila Sunrise
- The Friends of Williamstown and Newport Libraries Book Sale is happening on 13 July.
- The Slabbed Card Fair – showcasing everything trading cards – will be on at Community Bank Stadium in Diamond Creek on 14 July featuring special guests Warwick Capper and Spida Everitt who will be available for photos and autographs.
- With the bluefin tuna season fast approaching, Kisume has released dates for its popular masterclass dedicated to this globally prized fish. On 14, 21 and 28 July their Master Chef leads an interactive showcase, where you’ll indulge in prime tuna cuts fresh from the knife before sitting down to a bespoke five-course menu.
- Celebrate local Indigenous makers, artists and performers at the Mornington Peninsula Shire’s first-ever NAIDOC Week Festival on 14 July at Flinders. There will be native-inspired canapes, Smoking Ceremony, dancers, Yidaki Meditation (Digeridoo), local Indigenous stallholders and more.
- The Melbourne Record Club is having a record fair at Stomping Ground in Moorabbin on 14 July,
- Metro Comic Con is on at the Melbourne Showgrounds 14-15 July.
- This winter, Luna Park’s pavilion transforms into a wild enclosure for all kinds of creatures, feathered, furry, or fierce. Get up close and cosy with real-life, slippery, scaly critters of all kinds at the Animal Encounters sessions for a limited time only these school holidays. Sessions are available 8-12 July.
- Head to Dandenong Market until 14 July for school holiday activities for kids aged 5 and over. From painting your own Market bag to creating pasta dough and veggie sculptures there’s something to engage every curious mind.
- Running over the winter school holidays until 12 July at Chapel Off Chapel in Prahran, Roola Boola is one of Melbourne’s most successful children’s arts festivals for ages 0-12. This year’s program is jam-packed with performances, workshops, free events, music, theatre, art, craft and more.
- The Replay Festival featuring some of the best acts from this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival is happening until 13 July.
- The Eynesbury Winter Festival runs until 14 July. Glide across the ice rink or whirl through the new carnival zone and wonderland, while indulging in delicious winter treats Other family-friendly activities include our winter solstice celebration, dedicated kids fun day, night market and food truck festival.
- The Great Moscow Circus will be at Port Melbourne until 14 July.
- Prepare to be delighted at the Arthurs Seat Eagle as faux snow flurries cascade from the summit every hour during the school holidays. Immerse yourself in cultural enrichment with yarn and yidaki sessions by Living Culture. Enjoy the thrill of nocturnal animal shows and enchanting winter night flights, offering a unique perspective of the Peninsula after dark. Until 14 July.
- This winter, explore the expanse beneath Melbourne’s iconic Marvel Stadium at Firelight Labyrinth until 14 July where a subterranean space will undergo a transformation into a mythical maze of light and sound.
- Get ready for a magical winter experience during the June/July school holidays at Winter in Williamstown until 14 July. Celebrate the chilliest season with outdoor fun, heartwarming surprises, and live entertainment.
- The Children’s International Film Festival (CHIFF) is back with a month-long celebration of cinema designed to captivate and inspire young audiences and their families until 14 July.
- Victoria’s zoos are being transformed into prehistoric playgrounds with Zoos Victoria’s new Dinos at the Zoo immersive experience providing an unforgettable journey back in time until 14 July.
- Melbourne Museum will showcase some of Victoria’s most outstanding VCE and VCE VET design and technology students withTop Designs returns for 2024. The showcase runs until 14 July.
- Prepare to be transported to a realm of wonder and awe as Gumbuya World Theme Park proudly presents ‘Gumbuya Dreaming’, a mesmerising digital light experience created by acclaimed Indigenous artist Wayne Quilliam until 21 July
- The Frozen Kingdom event at Kryal Castle running until 21 July is the perfect school holiday extravaganza, packed with spectacular knight battles, engaging theatre performances, and hands-on activities for the whole family. The icy spectacular is part of the annual Ballarat Winter Festival and offers an epic program for all ages.
- Silvers Circus will is returning to Richmond for the first time in four years until 21 July.
- Winter Glow at Geelong Adventure Park running until 21 July sees the amusement park transformed into a winter wonderland of snow, lights, fire and ice. Build snowmen, roast marshmallows, see ice sculpting, go on rides, play mini-golf, watch fire twirlers and marvel at the 2.7 million dazzling lights and hundreds of glittering installations all over the park.
- Step into a world where winter magic reigns supreme, where the air is filled with festive cheer and the ground blanketed in glistening snow. Until 21 July Narre Warren’s sprawling field transforms into a whimsical haven, welcoming all to FROSTED – A Winter Spectacular, a celebration of Christmas in July unlike any other.
- Ballarat’s Sovereign Hill is hosting its annual Winter Wonderlights event from until 21 July. By day Sovereign Hill delights with ‘snow’ falling in the streets and much-loved theatre, food and activities. Then, as the sun goes down it really shines, with changing light projections bringing the famous streetscape to life in a spectacular display of colour and movement.
- Immerse is a multidisciplinary arts event in Knox until 28 July 2024, turning the City of Knox into a living art gallery.
- Rug up and celebrate winter at Grazeland in Spotswood, and enjoy lively winter displays, live entertainment, fire pits and hearty food and drinks at their annual Winter Wonderland event, every weekend until Sunday 28 July.
- Experience Hybycozo’s larger-than-life geometric sculptures called Deep Thought brought to life through high level metal fabrication. It will be on display at Bunjil Place in Narre Warre until 28 July as part of the City of Casey 2024 Winter Arts Festival.
- The immersive Melbourne hit Lightscape returns to transform the Botanic Gardens after dark with a reimagined trail and brand new installations. Surround yourself with the interactive Submergence as well as the beloved Winter Cathedral and Laser Forest at Fern Gully. It’s running this year until 4 August.
- Mount Alexander Shire Council is hosting an exciting program of events in Castlemaine for kids aged 0-12 and their care-givers until 4 August. The FLIP Winter Children’s Festival is designed for children and their big people to learn, grow and have fun together.
- Object of Projections -An exhibition of works by Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon is showing at the Substation Galleries in Newport until 24 August.
- Melbourne’s Bayside is home to one of the most important fossil areas in all of Australia, dating back roughly 5-6 million years of age. From giant Killer Sperm Whales that ate other whales, to monstrous sharks half as long as a basketball court, Prehistoric Bayside showcases the tumultuous lives of these bizarre beasts, displaying this groundbreaking fossil material for the first time at Brighton Town Hall until 25 August.
- Celebrating culture, nostalgia, and the pursuit of happiness, the Immigration Museum’s expansive exhibition Joy features seven Victorian-based artists showcasing their interpretations of joy through immersive installations, until 29 August.
- Visited by more than 10 million people around the world and earning a spot on CNN’s “must-see” list, The Art of the Brick is running until 31 August at the Melbourne Showgrounds. This brand new, immersive version of Nathan Sawaya’s iconic LEGO art exhibit features original collections, over 100 sculptures made from more than 1 million bricks, a LEGO safari, moving installations, 360 degree projections, and much more.
- Jump aboard the Skyline Ferris Wheel that promises breathtaking views of Melbourne’s cityscape, truly a one-of-a-kind vantage point to see a unique perspective of the CBD and beyond. It’s at the Polly Woodside Park next to MCEC until September.
- Endless play abounds at ACMI this winter, as world premiere exhibition Beings comes alive until 29 September 2024. Comprised of 13 artworks drawn from the 20-year career of international art and design collective Universal Everything – including the premiere of four brand new artworks – Beings features an assortment of curious characters born from code.
- From glowing desserts and gelato to luminescent beverages, Dessertopia Neon Nights 2024 guarantees a culinary journey that transcends the ordinary – now running until 29 September 2024 at 342 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne.
- Hair Pieces at the Head Museum of Modern Art runs until ^6 October and explores the evocative and complex significance of hair in contemporary culture through a selection of recent Australian and international works of art.
- Coming to Melbourne from the Victoria & Albert Museum (V&A) in London and on display until 6 October at the NGV, the Australian premiere of Africa Fashion features nearly 200 works, including couture, bespoke and ready-to-wear fashions, and body adornments, from over 50 designers from more than 20 countries and regions on the African continent.
- The internationally exclusive blockbuster exhibition, Pharaoh at the NGV celebrates three thousand years of ancient Egyptian art and culture through more than 500 objects on loan from the British Museum, including monumental sculpture, tomb and temple architecture, coffins and funerary objects, as well as a significant display of exquisite ancient Egyptian jewellery. You can see it until 6 October.
- Melbourne Museum will be exhibiting one of the largest and most complete Tyrannosaurus rex fossils in the world until 20 October – the first real T. rex to ever be shown in Victoria, 66 million years after first roaming Earth.
- The enchanting and timeless tale of Belle and her Beast has been brought to life in a reimagined production of Beauty and the Beast boasting all the spectacle and grandeur audiences know and love. The incredible new production is playing at Her Majesty’s Theatre until 24 November.
