Music

Melbourne's live music scene is legendary, with gigs every night of the week, covering rock, classical, jazz, dance, rock, hip hop and rap.

Close-up shot of a stage with a guitarist's legs and a drum set.

Concerts, gigs and musicals

A stage with a grand facade to look like a building, with crowds waiting for a band to come on stage.

The ultimate Melbourne live gig guide

Concert halls and music venues hosting live music this week

Artist George Maple in profile, her head leaning back on a wall; black and white.

George Maple Album Launch

George Maple launches her brand-new album, Metamorph at Radio Nacional.

Two individuals talking to each other inside Melbourne Museum at night, with blue lighting.
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Nocturnal: Museum After Dark

Experience Melbourne Museum after hours, when the doors stay open and the night belongs to adults.

Man with bare chest exposed beneath gilded military jacket, holding a gold crown to his head.

Live at Toorak: Maayan Licht, Coloratura Queen

A dazzling collision of Handel, Vivaldi and Beyoncé – Baroque opera at full voltage.

Visitors enjoying an evening event at the National Gallery of Victoria, seated on stools under shadowy lighting.
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NGV Friday Nights: Cartier

NGV Friday Nights shine with Cartier, featuring live music, flims, food and drinks.

Dancers in a group leaping into the air with arms raised on ropes.
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Zerial

The ultimate cabaret spectacular, packed with powerhouse vocals, aerial performances and dance.

A lighting display that shows a red design with a square and a light above and below.
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Now or Never

Twelve days of art, ideas, music and technology await - a festival of new dimensions.

Illuminated panels with shades of red on a black background.
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Melbourne International Jazz Festival

A city-wide celebration of jazz, improvisation and boundary-pushing contemporary music.

Three African drummers wearing colourful clothing while drumming with their hands on stage.
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African Music and Cultural Festival

Celebrate the best of African culture with music, food, fashion, film, dance and art.

Violinist Augusta McKay Lodge looking over her shoulder holding her violin in her right hand.
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Vivaldi's Legacy: Australian Brandenburg Orchestra

The woman who inspired Vivaldi. The story history almost forgot.

Characters from the PAW Patrol TV series performing live on a theatre stage, with streamers in the air above them and a large audience watching them.
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PAW Patrol Live: Race to the Rescue

The beloved pups of PAW Patrol hit the stage in this interactive live show.

Sepia toned collage of American composer and songwriter Burt Bacharach, behind him are three female singers from the 1960s and 70s, singing into microphones they hold.

The Burt Bacharach Songbook

The Burt Bacharach Songbook promises an evening of superb musicianship and stunning vocals.

Group dancing in a Melbourne laneway, led by a man in a bright green and yellow shiny outfit.

Silent Disco Tour: ABBA Theme with Disko Duk Duk

An ABBA themed silent disco tour of Melbourne, hosted by Disko Duk Duk.

Pianist Yitzhak Yedid leaning on a piano with one hand on his face, smiling warmly.

Yitzhak Yedid – Niggunim: Music of the Jewish Soul

Step into a sound world that evokes memory, longing and imagination.

Two individuals enjoying themselves dancing at a crowded outdoor bar.

A Big Winter Party

Section 8 is bringing the snow to Melbourne with their big winter party.

The four members of the Flinders Quartet seated with their instruments in cases beside them, inside a stationary vintage W class Melbourne tram.

Flinders Quartet: New Light

A performance of Beethoven’s majestic late quartet, plus luminous works by Bacewicz and Dodd.

Still from Love Actually, Hugh Grant and Martine McCutcheon waving awkwardly while snow falls.

Love Actually In Concert

The ultimate romantic comedy, with a live symphony orchestra.

Two members of Octave One, a Detroit techno music group, both wearing black clothing and looking directly at the camera.

Finding Figaro: Octave One/Sleep D x Hybrid Man/JNETT/Baby G

An all-night journey through electronic music’s past, present and future.

Man with no hair singing into a microphone live on stage, another person on stage in the background, the entire image bathed in a warm yellow-orange light.

Relax with Max

Enjoy a unique blend of funk, soul, afro-beat, R&B and gospel from these legends.

DJ and producer Zalina, her hands resting on either side of her head, wearing a strapless top, her long dark hair falling past her shoulders.

Chuleo Club: A.Chal/Slim Soledad/LIZZ/Dinamarca/Zalina

Rooted in Latinx club sounds, community and underground energy: loud, intimate, unrelenting.

A large band performing on stage in front of an audience.

Off The Leash: Tower of Power Tribute Band

Australia's Tower of Power tribute band Off The Leash returns to Bird's Basement.

Group dancing in a Melbourne laneway, led by a man in a bright green and yellow shiny outfit.

Silent Disco Tour: ABBA Theme with Disko Duk Duk

An ABBA themed silent disco tour of Melbourne, hosted by Disko Duk Duk.

Two people standing in front of a large pink spiky wall of speakers in an exhibition space.
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Reverb: A Journey into Sound

ACMI and RISING present Reverb: A Journey Into Sound, a major exhibition of vinyl culture and music.

Black clad members of a symphony orchestra performing live on stage, in front of a conductor.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra: Symphony of Stories

Experience the joy of storytelling brought to life through music.

A man with short blond hair and his eyes closed singing into a microphone on a blue backlit stage.

The Australian Neil Diamond Show

Experience a powerful live tribute to one of music’s greatest legends.

Fish-eye lens view of a mall venue with musicians on a small stage surrounded by audience.
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Mellowdias Thump

An improvised soul and rap music event featuring live bands, producers and DJs.

A white-haired first violinist, with three other violinists playing around him.

Brahms Festival: Third and Fourth Symphonies

Bringing Brahm's large-scale compositions to life with a world-class orchestra.

Musicians performing on stage with guitar and double bass.

Ramble Tamble: Xmas Show

The four-piece band set Bird's alight with their tribute to Creedence Clearwater Revival.

A young girl stands on stage with fallen ballerinas all around her in a production of The Nutcracker.
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The Australian Ballet: The Nutcracker

Rediscover the childlike joys of the holiday season with the magic of The Nutcracker ballet.

A band of singers and musicians in a group photo.

Fleetwood Max

Fleetwood Max perform all the epic Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks hits.

A crowded indoor nightclub scene with a DJ performing on stage under purple and blue lighting and people dancing.

Nongkrong Festival: Soda Gembira

A night of Indonesia’s club sounds from dangdut, koplo, funkot, jedag jedug to breakbeat.

Two performers on a stage, a man dressed in a suit, looking at a man with his arms outstretched suspended by an aerial rope above a low pool of water.
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Watershed: The Death of Dr Duncan

A dazzling new operatic work by some of Australia’s most acclaimed creative talents.

A man with big hair crouching down and looking straight ahead with dark coloured beams all around him.
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Mark Nunis

Mark Nunis will turn your requests into a full-blown piano party.

Violinists playing as part of a seated orchestra.

Meet @ the Market: Session 3

A concert of profound feeling: from grief to hope and joy, paired with custom cocktails.

A full orchestra on a stage in front of a large cinema screen showing a still from the movie Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Celebrate 25 years of The Fellowship of the Ring with Howard Shore’s score performed live.

Classical musician with long curly white hair and beard, with horizontal stringed instrument.

Mischa Maisky in Recital

Experience an unforgettable evening with legendary cellist Mischa Maisky and pianist Lily Maisky.

Mick Jagger tribute artist, singing into a microphone backlit by purple and pink lights.

Totally Stonez: The Rolling Stones Show

Capturing the sound, look and attitude that defined generations.

Conductor with baton and hand raised.

Brahms Festival: Second Symphony and Piano Concerto

Brahms' Symphony No 2 carries the pastoral feel of the Austrian summer in which he wrote the music.

Illustration of a white swan, a trumpet and a yellow sun, all superimposed on top of each other, against a pale background.
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The Trumpet of the Swan

An adaptation of E.B. White’s gorgeous novel The Trumpet of the Swan for orchestra and actors.

Three classical musicians surrounded by glittering scolls and stars.

The Wagner Gala Concert

A landmark, one-night-only musical event to mark the reopening of the Ian Potter State Theatre.

Melbourne music venues

Three tiers of seating at Hamer Hall.

Hamer Hall

This multi-level concert hall is the largest venue at the Arts Centre.

Exterior of the Melbourne Recital Centre.

Melbourne Recital Centre

Combining cutting-edge architecture and acoustic innovation with a unique focus on music.

Ornate architecture of dome and tower of Forum Melbourne, with Federation Square in the foreground.

Forum Melbourne

This theatre with its iconic architecture is one of Melbourne's most popular live band venues.

Two people at a bar with vinyl records lining the shelves.

The best late-night bars and music venues in Melbourne

Find intimate vinyl bars, iconic band rooms and live music bars open late.

Back view of a musician and musical equipment silhouetted on a stage facing the audience with sparkling lighting effects.

Max Watt's

This basement live music venue has hosted some of rock music's biggest acts.

Audience enjoying a performer on stage.

170 Russell

A live music venue with gigs seven nights a week.

Tightly packed crowd watching a band play on stage.

Festival Hall

Concert and sporting venue with a long history of hosting local and international acts.

Aerial view of Sidney Myer Music Bowl showing open grassy area, covered stage and city beyond.

Sidney Myer Music Bowl

Popular outdoor venue that hosts Melbourne's annual Carols by Candlelight.

Trombone player and band playing on a stage with smoke and lights.

Bird's Basement

Live jazz venue where patrons can dine while watching performances.

Crowd of people waiting to be served at the bar area of the Toff in Town.

The Toff in Town

A boutique bar and bandroom offering late-night cocktails in train carriage booths.

Aerial view of Melbourne and Olympic Parks including tennis courts and arenas.

Melbourne and Olympic Parks

The Melbourne and Olympic Park precinct hosts around 600 events annually.

People outside Cherry Bar at night.

Cherry Bar

An iconic laneway bar hosting a lineup of local and international rock'n'roll acts.

Paris Cat bar and small tables with red lamps on them.

Paris Cat

Dedicated live jazz venue.

Interior of Murmur Bar with a very dimly lit red padded curved bar.

Murmur Piano Bar

Follow the sound of a distant piano to discover one of Melbourne’s best kept secrets.

Packed audience inside Rod Laver Arena - the centre court for the Australian Open tennis tournament.

Rod Laver Arena

The centrepiece of the Australian Open each January, the venue is also a popular concert arena.

Woman singing on stage of Rock & Roll dive bar and packed audience dancing and singing along.

The Last Chance Rock & Roll Bar

A late-night rock 'n' roll dive bar with live music every night.

Interior showing a crowded bar, with people sitting at tables, people waiting at bar counter for service.

The Drunken Poet

With live Irish music, the Drunken Poet is a real locals' pub - cute, cosy and friendly.

A performer wearing a bikini and holding a firestick above her open mouth in a small cabaret venue.

Speakeasy Theatre

A lively, historic vaudeville theatre featuring burlesque, cabaret, comedy and circus every week.

Aerial view of Marvel Stadium lit up at night.

Marvel Stadium

A multi-purpose stadium in the heart of Melbourne's Docklands precinct.

Crowded outdoor bar.

Section 8 Bar

A funky outdoor bar with drinks served from a converted shipping container.

Diners at tables on an outdoor rooftop overlooking Myer and other city buildings, including central couple with drinks and snacks.

Her Melbourne

A four-storey mega venue celebrating modern food, drinks, music and art.

People walking around inside a bar with a large monitor on the wall screening a sporting match.

Transport Public Bar

A bustling pub in Federation Square with tasty pub meals and an impressive range of drinks.

Basement cocktail bar with small tables.

Beneath Driver Lane

A basement bar serving a wide range of cocktails, French bistro-style bar food with live music.

Heritage-listed Athenaeum building, with columns and ornate capitals.

Athenaeum Theatre

This heritage-listed venue hosts comedy, music and theatre.

Turquoise banquette seating and tables in long room with arched doorway, red curtains and backlit bar.

The Colonial Hotel

Traditional pub serving comfort food with a Mediterranean influence.

Audience in curved rows of seating looking towards the stage curtain inside the Regent Theatre.

Regent Theatre

This landmark theatre is one of Melbourne’s premier live performance venues.

Curved interior bar of The Curtin Hotel, with pictures on wall.

The Curtin

Traditional pub with fried chicken, cold beer, and live music from local and international acts.

Discover more

A museum visitor in an exhibition space using a screen, surrounded by display objects.

Australian Music Vault

A celebration of Australian contemporary music – past, present and future.

Lighting bolt sign for AC/DC Lane on the side of a wall.

Melbourne music walk

Discover Melbourne’s music highlights, from music venues to busking hot spots and historic sites.

People walking across Princes Bridge at night with the Arts Centre in the background.

Entertainment

Find out what's on in Melbourne's live music venues, comedy clubs and theatres.

Arts Centre Melbourne with winter trees and blue sky, surrounded by city buildings.

Arts Centre Melbourne

With its iconic spire, the Arts Centre Melbourne is a cultural and architectural landmark.