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?
Port Fairy first lineup announcement
The first announcement of artists who’ll be appearing at the 2025 Port Fairy Music Festival, taking place on 7-10 March 2025, has been dropped.
Enjoy a meal from Masterchef winner Nat Thaipun at ALUMNI at Crown
Victorian barista, Nat Thaipun, has been named the winner of MasterChef Australia 2024, taking home $250,000 and a residency at Crown Melbourne’s ALUMNI restaurant that runs until 4 August.
Exclusive Frida Kahlo exhibition headed to Bendigo in 2025
An international-exclusive exhibition Frida Kahlo: In her own image is comiing to the Bendigo Art Gallery in 2025 – featuring objects and artworks that have never been seen before in Australia direct from Mexico’s Museo Frida Kahlo.
Keshi is bringing his world tour to Melbourne
Acclaimed Houston-born singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist, Keshi, has announced a headlining world tour in support of his forthcoming sophomore album, Requiem. He’ll be at Rod Laver Arena on 14 February 2025.
Catch best selling author Mark Manson live on stage
Join three-time #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, Mark Manson for an evening of no-BS life advice at Hamer Hall on 6 November 2024.
Hotter than Hell festival coming to Mt Evelyn in October
Prepare to relive classic summer festival vibes like the good old days when Hotter Than Hell returns. Kick it old school on 19 October at The York on Lilydale in Mt Evelyn with Regurgitator, Unwritten Law, Jebediah, Little Birdy and Adalita.
An exhibition dedicated to the Untitled Goose Game is coming to ACMI
A free exhibition is coming to ACMI in September celebrating the world conquering video game Untitled Goose Game – which was made locally in Victoria.
Thirsty Merc playing four Victorian gigs this December
Thirsty Merc are headed out on their 21-date Electric Summer tour of Australia. Catch them at The Corner Hotel in Richmond on 5 December, the Gateway Hotel in Geelong on 6 December, the Theatre Royal in Castlemaine on 7 December and Live in the Glen at Glengarry on 8 December.
Save the date for these
Also just announced:
- Two decades on from ruining Jonny’s Bar Mitzvah, Me First and the Gimme Gimmes are heading Down Under to wreak havoc at another important milestone, the Quinceañera. As part of their nine-date Aussie tour they’ll be playing at the Torquay Hotel on Friday 8 November 2024 and the Forum on Saturday 9 November 2024
- Get ready to Romp-Bomp-A-Stomp with everyone’s favourite Dinosaur – Dorothy – as her new show hits venues across Victoria in September and October.
- Arts Centre Melbourne and Arts Access Victoria have announced the 2024 program for Melbourne’s ground-breaking Disability-led arts initiative Alter State, taking place across the city from 2 – 13 October.
- The lineup has been revealed for the 2024 Phillip Island Festival of Stories to be held in Cowes on 2-4 August
- Healesville Sanctuary’s annual Wine & Wildlife event is back for 2024. Over the weekend of 24-25 August you can enjoy beverages from 20 local wineries, breweries and distilleries as you wander around the Sanctuary and check out native wildlife.
- Classic Cinemas is screening the 4K extended editions at their annual marathon of The Lord of the Rings trilogy on Sunday 28 July.
- Twenty-four sculptures by influential German-French artist Hans Arp (1886-1966), including twenty-one plasters and three bronzes are now on display at NGV International.
- Spend an evening with one of Australia’s most successful and respected artists, INXS co-founder Andrew Farriss at the Brunswick Ballroom on 31 October and the Golden Vine Hotel in Bendigo on 1 November.
- Reimagining Birrarung: Design Concepts for 2070 is a new exhibition at NGV featuring eight leading Australian landscape architecture and design firms reimagining the lands and waters of Birrarung (the Yarra River) to create visions for how communities can better access, engage with and care for this important living ecosystem. See it from 23 August 2024 to 2 February 2025 at The Ian Potter Centre.
- The full program for the 15th annual Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is now live, set to take place from 15-25 August.
- Join La Trobe’s sustainability team at the Nangak Tamboree Wildlife Sanctuary on 10 August for a plant-based dinner followed by a Twilight Tour.
- Habeas Chorus is a Melbourne-based community choir comprising members of the legal community (but open to everyone else). After a COVID-induced hiatus, Habeas Chorus returns to bring you a program that is short, sweet and guaranteed to leave you smiling, at the Brunswick Ballroom on 8 September.
- Singer-songwriter Alec Benjamin is headed down under and will be at The Palais in St Kilda on 24 January 2025.
- Following two huge regional tours, and a run of shows across the UK and Europe, indie pop royalty San Cisco have announced a national tour taking place across October and November of this year in support of their fifth studio album, ‘Under The Light’. Catch them at The Forum in Melbourne on 26 October.
- The Castlemaine State Festival is out of voluntary administration and is planning to celebrate its 50th year and 25th season, in March 2026.
- More than 70 exhibitors will be on display at a one-day free exhibition at Grazeland on Friday 26 July, Pathways to Work, which will be hosted by comedian and former Triple J presenter Lewis Hobba.
- Get ready to feast your senses at the ultimate carb-loaded celebration—Welcome to Thornbury’s 5th Annual Garlic Bread Festival on Saturday 31 August.
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:
- Join Tony Shields from Shields Stamps and Coins as he shares his enthusiasm and knowledge of collectables from the heroic era of Antarctic exploration, 1820-1921 at the Royal Historical Society of Victoria on 23 July
- The Koorie Heritage Trust (KHT) will present the recent acquisition Let’s Shake by the late internationally recognised artist and Palawa woman Karen Casey (1956–2021) from 27 July to 24 November, generously donated by her son Daniel Young in memory of his mother.
- Taiwan in Australia Film Festival is on 25 July – 8 September
- The Melbourne Craft and Quilt Fair is on 25-28 July at MCEC.
- Yarra City Council’s annual winter music festival, Leaps and Bounds, returns from Thursday 25 July to Sunday 28 July with a focus on uplifting and amplifying Yarra’s diverse live music scene.
- Join award-winning journalist and consent educator Jane Gilmore, activist and co-founder of Not One More Niki, Tarang Chawla, and founder of The Equality Institute Emma Fulu at the Wheeler Centre on 25 July for a hopeful and practical conversation about how we can all take action to create positive generational change for young men.
- 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
- The Melbourne Career Expo is taking place on 26-28 July at MCEC.
- All Westfield shopping centres across Australia will transform into official Live Sites for the Paris 2024 Games from 26 July – 11 August.
- The 2024 Open House Melbourne Weekend will take place on 27-28 July.
- Head to Flemington on 27 July for Bright Lights, Winter Nights .See Racecourse Road and Pridham Plaza light up with a series of Neon light displays. You will also be entertained by a live DJ, fire twirler, stilt walker, and neon face painting in Pridham Plaza.
- The Swinburne University of Technology’s 2024 Open Day is on 28 July at its Hawthorn campus.
- The inaugural Melbourne Vegan Winter Fair is set to delight you with amazing food, shopping, guest speakers and cooking demos at the Timber Yard in Port Melbourne on 28 July.
- The Annual Leaps and Bounds Record Fair returns to the Collingwood Town Hall for the third year running on 28 July.
- The Witches Wardrobe flea market is on at Welcome to Thornbury on 28 July
- Join in the seasonal festivities as Springvale transforms into a magical winter wonderland for the highly anticipated annual Springvale Snow Fest on Sunday 28 July.
- The Revamp Market’s first Southside Thirft Market is on in Prahran on 28 July.
- At the Boho Luxe Market on 28 July you’ll see the work of some of Melbourne’s most talented jewellers, fashion designers, illustrators, artists, and makers in The Atrium at Fed Square.
- On Sunday 28 July, 2024 The Langham Melbourne will be hosting a wedding showcase filled with inspiration and ideas.
- Flinders Fringe Festival presents their Winter Warmer event from 28-30 July at various locations around Flinders, celebrating art, opera, young talent, fashion, stories and more.
- 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.
- The Scandinavian Film Festival is on at Palace Cinemas until 7 August.
- Circus Royale is at Pakenham until 11 August.
- 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.
