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?
Jet to play a one-off concert with MSO
Internationally acclaimed Aussie rockers Jet are set to join forces with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and conductor Nicholas Buc to rock the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for a one-off concert, exclusive to Melbourne on 8 November.
Beloved singers Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens announce Superstars tour
32 years after the unrivalled success of the 1992 Australian production of Jesus Christ Superstar , original cast members Jon Stevens and Kate Ceberano are together again sharing the stage for a night of spine-tingling hits from the smash hit musical that made them household names in a new show called Superstars Live.
Melbourne International Film Festival 2024 program launched
The Melbourne International Film Festival is back for 2024 from 8-25 August with more than 250 films from 62 countries. You can explore the full program here.
Fed Square announced as Victoria’s official Olympics Live Site
Fed Square will light up in green and gold as Victoria’s official live site for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games – showing all the action including the much-anticipated Matilda’s matches.
Pop star Troye Sivan announces tour
Pop sensation Troye Sivan has unveiled Australian dates for his highly anticipated Something To Give Each Other tour. He’ll be at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on 28 November.
Out on the Weekend Festival announces regional dates
The Out on the Weekend music festival which has already been announced for Seaworks at Williamstown on Saturday 12 October is also going regional. They’ve now announced they’re headed to Ballarat on Friday 11 October and to Korumburra on Sunday 13 October.
Bianca Del Rio announces Australian tour dates
RuPaul’s Drag Race icon Bianca Del Rio has officially announced her new stand-up world comedy tour titled Dead Inside, which will bring her Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2025. She’ll be at Melbourne’s Comedy Theatre on 31 January.
Diesel is headed on a new national tour
Australian icon Diesel has announced a national headline run to close out 2024, hitting the road with a full band for the Bootleg Melancholy Album Tour.
Save the date for these
Also just announced:
- Legendary Aussie punk act, Frenzal Rhomb, are hitting the road in October to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their hit album A Man’s Not a Camel . The eight-date tour will see them play gigs in Victoria at The Corner Hotel in Richmond and the Torquay Hotel.
- Eurofeast is back at the Dandenong Market on 11 August and promises to transport visitors on a sensory journey through the rich tapestry of European gastronomy. Immerse yourself in the flavours, aromas, and sounds that define Europe’s diverse culinary heritage.
- The Northcote Social Club is getting into the Olympic spirit on 25 July and bringing back one of everyone’s fave early 2000s pastimes with a Wii Sports Tournament
- Katie Noonan and Karin Schaupp have announced a new tour that will take them to Sale, Nunawading and Upwey this November.
- Recharge your flux capacitor… and get ready to celebrate the unforgettable movie classic Back to the Future as you’ve never seen and heard it before when the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra performs the musical score live in synch with the movie at a special screening at Hamer Hall from 23-25 October.
- Fitzroy 1974 is a book by Robert Ashton that presents an authentic record of what it was like to live and work in one of Australia’s most diverse, inner-city suburbs during a time of unprecedented change. Ashton will be joined in conversation with novelist Greg Day at the Fitzroy Town Hall to discuss the work on 8 August.
- The Urban Craft Beer Crawl is taking place in Geelong on 31 August.
- The Melbourne Fringe Festival has released one of the highlights of this year’s program – a Festival-first commission of cultural deviants The Huxleys presenting The Winner Takes It All – a grand slam queer takeover of the sporting world, where Melbourne’s queer community will be able to live out their own glamorous athletic dreams.
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:
- The Melbourne Storm is heading to Casey Fields Rugby League Complex in Cranbourne East for an open training session on Tuesday 16 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 broadcaste 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.
- The 2024 Melbourne Rare Book Week will beheld 18-27 July
- Set amongst an alluring fire garden, produce from boutique and distinguished distilleries and wine makers will be yours to explore into the dusk of the night at the Whisky, Wine and Fire Festival at Caulfield Racecourse on 18-21 July.
- The City of Stonnington’s Glow Winter Arts Festival returns to Central Park in Malvern East from 18-21 July.
- From 19-21 July, experience a lineup of culinary creators from all corners of the country and a whole host of activations at The Little Food Market making its debut at Melbourne’s iconic Royal Exhibition Building.
- Garden lovers can enjoy a tour of the Government House gardens on 19 July.
- The Scandinavian Film Festival is on at Palace Cinemas from 19 July to 7 August.
- Circus Royale is at Pakenham from 19 July to 11 August.
- More than 200 varieties of Japanese sake and other alcoholic beverages from Japan will be available for tasting at the Australian Sake Festival at Queen Victoria Market on 20-21 July.
- In celebration of Melbourne Rare Book Week 2024, join the Hellenic Museum on 20 July for a free talk unlocking the secrets of Byzantine manuscripts, the lives of their creators and the politics of their destruction.
- The Box Hill Miniature Steam Railway’s July public running day is on 21 July.
- The NAIDOC Running Festival is an annual free fun run/walk for Aboriginal community members and allies to celebrate NAIDOC Week, including cultural activities before and after the run. The 2024 event is on in Wyndham Vale on 21 July,
- I Wore It Once is a high quality, curated pre-loved fashion market that’s on in Mornington on 21 July
- To celebrate Plastic Free July, Glen Eira City Council presents Trash with a Porpoise by the Trash Puppets on 21 July. This fun comedy show for children and families is a hilarious and empowering journey exploring marine waste and how we can take positive steps to help it.
- Get ready to challenge yourself to run the 21.1K, 10K or 5.2K through the city of Melbourne on 21 July at Run Melbourne.
- 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.