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?
Jessica Mauboy will lead the lineup at Treaty Day Out
Treaty Day Out is headed to Ballarat in March, with an incredible lineup of First Nations Artists. Jessica Mauboy will lead the line up. Tickets are available now, with free tickets for First Nations People.
Eddie Perfect stars in Victorian Opera’s Candide
Get ready for a night of hilarity as musical theatre veteran Eddie Perfect, and Hamilton star Lyndon Watts, navigate a world filled with absurdity and unexpected twists in Leonard Bernstein’s Candide. On for three nights only on 8,9 and 10 February at the Palais in St Kilda.
Potted Potter coming to the Athenaeum
Potted Potter returns to Australia, soaring back by magical demand for its fifth national tour after captivating over a million muggles worldwide! This international sensation which condenses 7 books into 70 minutes, has left audiences in stitches globally with sold-out houses and an ongoing Las Vegas residency. Catch it at the Athenaeum from 29 May – 2 June.
Touch Bass Festival Lineup announced
The biggest bass music festival in Australia and New Zealand is returning this Easter, with the Melbourne Touch Bass 2024 date announced for 29 March at Melbourne Pavilion.
Victoria’s Pride Street Party back for 2024
Victoria’s Pride Street Party will be held on Sunday 11 February on Gertrude and Smith Streets in Fitzroy and Collingwood. First Nations artist, writer and producer Sycco, a.k.a Sash McLeod, will light up the stage as the headline act for the festival after a jam-packed year of touring. Also featured in the line-up for this free event will be renowned queer pop artists JXCKY and Kira Puru, Tom Nethersole and indie-rock singer Rin McArdle.
Weekend of back to back fulldome films at the Dome Under Festival
Get ready for an out-of-this-world experience as the annual Dome Under Festival returns to the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks for its fourth year on 3 and 4 February! This unique festival, the only fulldome film festival in Australia, promises a weekend packed with captivating fulldome films.
Save the date for these
Also just announced:
- The Knox Festival on Saturday 2 March at Ferntree Gully.
- Alex Lloyd is playing the Sooki Lounge in Belgrave on Friday 15 March.
- The St Kilda Sunset Cinema is back with screenings from 31 January to 8 March.
- Invincible: A Glorious Tribute to Michael Jackson is on at the National Theatre in St Kilda for one night only on 9 February.
- Early bird tickets are now on sale for the Sisterworks International Women’s Day Breakfast at Melbourne Town Hall on Wednesday 6 March.
- Tickets are now on sale for the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s RAW Comedy National Grand Final at the Melbourne Town Hall on 14 April.
- Don’t miss Obsessions: A Static Vision Film Festival at the Lido in Hawthorn from 8-11 February.
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 Great Australian Beer Festival returns to Geelong on 20 January.
- The Inner West Record Fest is on in Footscray. on 20 January.
- Brickvention Australia, the premier event for the Australian Lego fan community, is on 20-21 January at Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton.
- The African Music and Culture Festival is taking place on 20-21 January at the Queen Victoria Market.
- The Geelong Wedding Guide Expo is on at the Deakin University Waterfront Campus on Sunday 21 January.
- The Yarra Ranges Donkey Festival is back on Sunday 21 January.
- Australia’s premier queer arts and cultural festival Midsumma returns for 22 days from 21 January to 11 February.
- The Australian Open Finals Festival is on 25 to 28 January with a huge line up of entertainment.
- Head to the Geelong Waterfront for the Festival of Sails on the Australia Day long weekend, 26-28 January.
- The Castlemaine Art Museum has an exhibition of the finalists in the 2023 Experimental Print Prize, running until 28 January 2024.
- The Australian Open is on until 28 January
- Relics: A New World Rises at the Melbourne Museum runs until 28 January.
- The iconic Rye Summer Carnival is back on the Mornington Peninsula for the 2023/2024 season until 28 January.
- Catch the Princess Diana: Accredited Access Exhibition at Southbank until 28 January.
- Play Pixar Putt at Federation Square until 30 January.
- The Melbourne International Film Festival returns to Bunjil Place from Thursday 1 February – Sunday 4 February 2024 to present some of the best in the recent film program.
- The Melbourne Pool and Spa Show is on at Jeff’s Shed from 2-4 February.
- The Peninsula Film Festival is on 2-4 February.
- The Koorie Heritage Trust’s 11th Koorie Art Show is on until 25 February.
- Catch the immersive digital experience Marshmallow Laser Feast: Works of Nature at ACMI until 14 April.
- Spanning more than 50,000 square metres, the Blue Lotus Water Garden is a seasonal garden at Yarra Junction containing over 40 different ponds, lakes and water features. You can see it this year until 14 April.
- Take a majestic 360-degree audio visual journey and explore iconic landscapes and connect with mesmerising animals from around the world at the BBC Earth Experience, on until 28 April.
- See more than 200 artefacts from the Titanic at the Melbourne Museum’s Titanic: The Artefacts Exhibition, running until 30 April.
