Monash University Performing Arts Centres is wasting no time in 2026, launching its jazz calendar with a full venue takeover and a stacked midweek season that’s already a favourite with Melbourne music fans. Big Jazz Day Out returns on Saturday 21 March, transforming Monash University Performing Arts Centres into an all day celebration of jazz and contemporary music. More than 100 musicians will perform across five stages, spanning orchestral collaborations, Brazilian rhythms, soul jazz, big band and genre bending new works. Headliners include Vince Jones, ARIA winning act Mildlife, Mindy Meng Wang alongside Paul Grabowsky, and Mama Alto. From Cookin’…
Author: Melbourning
A major transformation is set to get underway at Crown Melbourne, with the Southbank icon announcing a $200 million redevelopment set to reshape the precinct over the next two years. Marking its biggest investment in almost three decades, the overhaul will introduce more than 15 new restaurants, bars and casual eateries, alongside a sweeping revitalisation of the Riverwalk. The vision is clear: attract a new generation of guests while reinforcing Crown’s status as one of the city’s most dynamic entertainment hubs. Among the headline additions is globally renowned butcher Victor Churchill, who will open a new venue in mid 2027…
Ever wondered what Troy and Gabriella were actually auditioning for in High School Musical? Twinkle Town is here to answer that question in the most theatrical way possible. This new comedy musical being performed as part of this year’s Melbourne International Comedy Festival imagines the long lost East High Winter Musicale, with Miss Darbus proudly presenting the 20 year anniversary performance of Twinkle Town: The Musical. Picking up with Minnie, once played by Gabriella Montez, and Arnold, once played by Troy Bolton, the show follows the duo as they bop to the top of the theatrical food chain while rehearsing…
Eighties pop royalty is heading back our way, with Kim Wilde confirming her 2026 Australian run, The Kim Wilde Closer Tour. For local fans, it’s a welcome return. Wilde scored three number one mega hits here with ‘Kids In America’, ‘You Keep Me Hangin’ On’ and ‘If I Can’t Have You’, alongside a string of Top 40 favourites including ‘Cambodia’, ‘You Came’, ‘View From A Bridge’ and ‘Chequered Love’. With her unmistakable voice and effortless cool, she became one of the defining pop stars of the decade. In Victoria, she’ll be performing at The Palais Theatre in St Kilda on…
It’s official. Tame Impala is heading home. Following the release of his fifth studio album Deadbeat, Kevin Parker has announced four major arena shows across Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth this October. Melbourne fans will be able to catch Tame Impala at Rod Laver Arena on 14 October 2026. It marks the Australian leg of a new global run that has already seen the newly expanded six piece touring band sell out 12 North American dates, with UK and European shows about to kick off. Released in late 2025, Deadbeat signalled a bold new chapter for Parker. Led by singles ‘Loser’, ‘End…
If your ideal long weekend involves fresh seafood, fishing tips and live music by the water, Lakes Entrance has you sorted. Hooked on Lakes returns to the Lakes Entrance Foreshore Reserve on Sunday 8 March across the Labour Day long weekend, serving up a free, family friendly celebration of all things fishing and seafood. Running from 11am to 4pm, with live music, food and drinks continuing through until 8pm, the day is packed. Expect fishing clinics, expert talks, a fishing and outdoor swap meet, seafood cooking demonstrations and fish filleting tips from local co op LEFCOL. There’ll be shuttle bus tours to LEFCOL,…
Forget the glass slipper. This April, Theatre Works flips the script on a familiar fairytale with Mara, a sharp new reimagining of Cinderella told from the stepmother’s point of view. Written by Paris based Australian playwright Hanna Pyliotis and directed by Megan Jones, the work reframes Charles Perrault’s fable as the story of a woman trapped inside a narrative she never chose. Mara begins as a spirited young woman who sees marriage to a wealthy widower as her way out. Instead, the promise of reinvention curdles. The family won’t blend, her husband disappears, and she is left raising a stepdaughter…
On Monday 2 March, Melbourne’s hospo crowd is clocking off early and lacing up. The Hospitality Cup is back, taking over the Home of the Matildas in Bundoora for a full day five a side football tournament that swaps kitchen whites and aprons for jerseys and boots. From 10am to 5pm, 24 teams from some of the city’s favourite venues will battle it out for bragging rights. Expect to see crews from France Soir, Albert’s, Freddy’s, D.O.C and Emilia Trattoria trading the pass for the pitch in what’s shaping up as a high energy celebration of community, connection and friendly…
If you don’t have a ticket to the Grand Prix, or even if you do, Jack Daniel’s is turning Melbourne into one big off track party from 5 to 8 March 2026. Across four days, the whiskey giant will take over Middle Park Hotel, The Espy and Crown Melbourne, creating a string of race week fan hubs open to everyone. Things kick off Thursday night at Middle Park Hotel with an unofficial McLaren Warm Up Party, just steps from Gate 1 at Albert Park Grand Prix Circuit. Expect merch giveaways, party playlists and a surprise guest for McLaren fans before…
Fifty years on from their first Sydney pub gigs, Mental As Anything are hitting the road to prove they’re more than a nostalgia act. Founding members Peter O’Doherty and Reg Mombassa will lead a national headline tour in 2026 to mark the band’s 50th anniversary. The run kicks off at The Gov on June 12 before heading to Perth, Sydney, Wollongong, Melbourne and Brisbane. Melburnians will be able to catch them at the Northcote Theatre on 26 June 2026. Formed by a group of Sydney art students in the mid-1970s, the band quickly turned sharp hooks and offbeat humour into…
A landmark international fashion exhibition is heading to Melbourne’s south east, with The Offbeat Sari set to make its Australian debut at Bunjil Place Gallery from Saturday 21 March 2026. Developed by London’s Design Museum and conceived and curated by Priya Khanchandani, the exhibition brings together 54 groundbreaking saris loaned from leading designers and studios across India. Expect woven steel, foiled jersey, distressed denim and bold reinventions that challenge what many think they know about the garment. Bunjil Place has partnered with Liverpool Powerhouse to bring the exhibition to Australian audiences, with the show travelling to Sydney following its Melbourne…
Melbourne Central is set for a noticeable skyline change in 2026, with plans underway to add two more storeys atop the iconic CBD retail and office hub. The construction will get underway this year, adding to the centre’s almost 56,000 square metres of retail space. The redevelopment will extend the existing structure above the shopping centre, creating additional space likely earmarked for a new major retail brand and an expanded food court, although those tenants have not been officially confirmed yet. Construction is part of a broader push by owner The GPT Group to revitalise the centre and keep pace with shifting…