All posts tagged: music

Peel Street Block Party 2015

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Everyone loves a block party. This Saturday, the Peel Street Block Party will rock it with live music, a fashion show, food and market stalls, and live art. Presented by Three Thousand, Northside Records and The Social Studio — a fashion school-slash-label focussed on providing training and employment opportunities to youth migrants and refugees — this event will feature acts including Banoffee, Baro, Queen Magic and performance poet Abe Nouk. Check out the event’s Facebook page for all the juicy details. This is exactly the kind of event that Melbourne does well — casual, creative, multicultural. Get down to Collingwood to soak up the vibes from 12pm to 6pm.   Peel Street Block Party 2015 Date: 14 March 2015 Time: 12pm–6pm Address: Corner of Peel St and Oxford St, Collingwood Damage: Free

Sidney Myer Free Concerts 2015

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It’s summer in Melbourne, which means the annual Sidney Myer Free Concerts are fast approaching. This year, the three concerts will be held over eight days from the 14th to 21st of February (Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday). Each concert will feature a soloist (soprano, piano and violin respectively) and is arranged around a theme: A Musical Valentine, Summer Nights in Budapest, and Bohemian Rhapsody. If you’ve attended these free concerts in the past, you will know that the venue fills up fast — you will have to arrive a couple of hours early to nab a decent spot on the grass. If you haven’t been before, go. It’s rare to have the chance to hear the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for free, and even rarer to be able to sit with friends and listen under the stars. If you’re in Melbourne this summer, lap it up. And a note to my readers — this Melbourne Local is not, in fact, currently in Melbourne (cheers from Dili, East Timor!) so apologies for the lack of updates of late. I’ll be back in …

Sunset Series 2015

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Melburnians don’t need much coaxing to get out and enjoy the city’s parks during summer, but in case you need some extra motivation, the Sunset Series in Melbourne’s Fitzroy Gardens should give you a kick where you need it. For the next two weekends, there will be free entertainment on Saturday and Sunday evenings, including two dance workshops. The Saturday events — each featuring four music acts — will start at 5pm and last till 8.45pm, while the Sunday dance workshops will also begin at around 5pm. There will be food trucks on site if you can’t muster a picnic. Here’s the full line-up: Saturday 10 January: 5–5.45pm Beautiful Beasts 6–6.45pm Dash 7–7.45pm APES 8–8.45pm Echo Drama Sunday 11 January: 5pm Melbourne Salsa Dance Workshop with Live Latin Band Saturday 17 January: 5–5.45pm Dan Flynn and the State of Things 6–6.45pm The Tiger and Me 7–7.45pm Passerine 8–8.45pm Madre Monte Sunday 18 January: 5pm Rhythm and Spice Bollywood Dance Workshop A couple years back I saw the Bollywood dance workshop and it was a lot …

Spectacular Christmas Spectacular

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If you’re keen to get down and Christmassy this festive season, why not kick things off with the Spectacular Christmas Spectacular. This concert, to be held at the Melbourne Town Hall on Saturday, is presented by The School of Hard Knocks, an organisation that aims to empower disadvantaged people through the arts. The show will feature a whole bunch of local choirs, including the Choir of Hope and Inspiration, formally known as the Choir of Hard Knocks (made famous by the popular five-part ABC documentary a few years ago). Here’s a short (heavily edited) clip from the documentary: If this video is anything to judge by, you’re in for a weepy evening of spine tingly goodness. Spectacular Christmas Spectacular! Date: 13 December 2014 Time: 7.30pm Venue: Melbourne Town Hall Address: 90–120 Swanston Street, Melbourne Damage: $35 full / $25 conc / $16 under 12s

Free Opera in the Bowl 2014

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Ooh! Free opera! This Opera in the Bowl event at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl on the 13th will feature five singers performing a selection of chorus pieces and arias from popular operas including Madame Butterfly, Carmen and The Pearl Fishers.     These free events are always incredibly popular so turn up early if you want a spot on the grass. Gates open at 4pm so I’d recommend taking a picnic and a good book and arriving as early as possible. As we all know, opera tickets are far too expensive in this country so if you enjoy classical music it’s really worth taking advantage of this rare free event under the stars.   Mazda Opera in the Bowl Date: 13 December 2014 Time: 8pm start (doors open at 4pm) Venue: Sidney Myer Music Bowl  

Free MSO performance at The Astor Theatre

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Psst, some exciting news hot off the presses, folks. Next Tuesday, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will hold a free, one-off performance of classic film scores at The Astor Theatre in St Kilda. Described as a ‘mini concert’, the gig will include works by Albinoni, Beethoven, Jonny Greenwood, Strauss and Nigel Westlake, and is designed to be a taster for the 2015 season. There are only 1000 seats up for grabs and there is no RSVP for this event, so if you’re keen you might want to turn up early. We all know how rare it is to see the MSO for free, let alone at the iconic Astor Theatre, which, as we recently heard, will sadly close its doors in April next year. Grab the chance while it lasts.   Free MSO performance at The Astore Date: 14 October 2014 Time: 7.30pm Venue: The Astor Theatre Address: 1 Chapel Street, St Kilda Damage: Free (seats limited to 1000)  

Evening of Korean culture in Melbourne

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It’s not often we get a chance to see a free event at Hamer Hall. But on Tuesday 23 September, the Melbourne Arts Centre’s premier venue will open its doors for a cultural evening hosted by the Korean Consulate-General. Held in celebration of the South Korean president’s G20 visit as well as the opening of the Melbourne Consulate-General of the Republic of Korea, the event promises ‘a beautiful Hanbok fashion show, followed by a traditional/modern fusion performance, a traditional music performance and modern dance (b-boying)’. Good enough for me. If you’ve never had the chance to see a concert in the beautiful Hamer Hall, now’s your chance. And as haphazard as this event sounds, my rudimentary knowledge of Korea’s fascinating culture tells me this should be a show worth seeing. It’s a little unclear whether any bookings are necessary, but if you’re keen you may as well email rsvp@mofa.go.kr just in case. The event’s still three weeks away, but it’s always a good idea to get in early.   Evening of Korean Culture — Hanbok Fashion, Music & Dance …

The Cat Empire free in Fed Squre

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Late notice for this one, but Melbourne’s much-loved band The Cat Empire will play a free gig tonight in Federation Square to mark their 1000th show. The Cat Empire originally grew out of a Melbourne jazz group called Jazz Cat, splintering off into a three-piece outfit in 1999 before adding three more band members in 2001. Their music is notoriously difficult to pigeonhole, with strong jazz, Latin, reggae, hip-hop, funk and gypsy influences creating a rich and seriously infectious sound. It’s almost impossible to stand still at a Cat Empire concert. Despite 1.5 million albums sold world-wide and fans around the globe, The Cat Empire have remained strongly tied to Melbourne, something that’s felt by audiences every time they gig in their hometown. It’s no surprise they’ve decided to give back with this free concert for their original fan base. I first saw these guys play over ten years ago, before the release of their first album. Their performance energy and incredible instrumental skills impressed me then, and they’ve only gotten better since then. Here …

Classical concerts and White Nights

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No excuses to stay in this Saturday night, folks, with two great free events happening over the weekend. The Sidney Myer Music Bowl will showcase the last of three free summer concerts performed by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra on Saturday 22 Feburary (the second of these will take place tonight). Take a picnic blanket and some nibbles and stretch out under the stars — this is one of my favourite events of the summer. Both tonight’s and Saturday’s concerts begin at 7pm, but it’s best to arrive early to stake out a decent spot on the grass. Also kicking off this Saturday evening is White Night Melbourne, an event that will see Melbourne’s CBD transformed with light installations, street performances, film screenings, music, food, fashion and much more from 7pm until 7am on Sunday. There will be over 100 free events happening over the 12 hours, with many of Melbourne’s major cultural institutions taking part. Last year’s inaugural White Night event attracted over 300,000 visitors, so this year will surely be a busy one. To …

Melbourne Music Week 2013

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If you love music, you’re in the right place. Not only is Melbourne the nation’s undoubted live music capital, with great live music happening all year round, but, for the next week, musicians from all over the world will converge on the city for Melbourne Music Week 2013. Starting today and winding up on the 24th, the festival includes acts from Norway, Germany, the UK, the USA and New Zealand, plus a tonne of home-grown talent.     On Saturday evening, Panthu Du Prince will work some magic on the Federation Bells at Birrarung Marr in the free event Panthu Du Prince vs Federation Bells. Another undoubtedly entertaining evening will be the free No Lights No Lycra dance class to be held in the art-deco Campbell Arcade on 21 November. (Read more about NLNL here.) For full line-up details, visit the MMW 2013 programme, which includes a bunch of free events.   Melbourne Music Week 2013 Dates: 15–24 November Tel: 9658 9658 Email: melbournemusic@melbourne.vic.gov.au