Music

For those who have been eagerly holding their breath for a Kendrick Lamar tour in Australia, you can finally exhale.

Fresh local produce, goods crafted by local creatives, and vintage bargains — Melbourne markets are some of the best, and well worth a Sunday morning peruse with coffee in hand.

Ditch the couch—Melbourne’s serving up another weekend full of things to do. Heathcote in the City turns Meat Market into a wine-lover’s paradise (95 drops + food trucks!), while the Korea Festival brings Squid Game challenges and K-Pop battles to Fed Square.

The festival of art, light, music and cutting-edge technology, confidently returns in July for its fifth edition, promising more kaleidoscopic installations, late-night gigs set to trippy projections and a cracking new program of dining events. 

There's nothing quite like the music scene in Melbourne. Any night of the week in pretty much any stretch of the town, you can catch live tunes—be it howling, foot-stomping rock 'n roll in sticky-floored pubs, sultry jazz in booth-seated lounges, or dirty techno at one of the many dens and d-floors in town.

We love Melbourne, but you know ... living in one of the world's best cities comes with a price tag, good thing Urban List has you you covered with a stack of things to eat, drink, do and see all on a shoestring as part of our series Budget Ballin'. This time we've teed up 20 of the best cheap and free things to do in Melbourne to keep both you and your hip pocket happy.

He sent Australia in a manic frenzy last year, selling tickets in a record 3.4 seconds to 'secret' warehouse raves alongside headlining at Laneway Festival, and now Fred Again is back with his pop-up shenanigans. After a surprise show in Sydney last night, Fred is gracing Melbourne and we couldn't be more hyped

From Midnights to Fearless, and every era in between, we've got a list of Eras Tour outfit ideas worthy of even Taylor herself. 

If you live in Melbourne, it means you live close to some of the best galleries our great nation has to offer. So, in the spirit of Urban List Art Month, here’s our round-up of some of the best galleries you can feast your eyes on in Melbourne when you’re starving for some culture.

It’s been a couple of spins around the sun since we’ve been able to crack into the timeless tradition of the summer music festival. With restrictions at an ease, there’s enough day boogies, warehouse soirees and out-of-town celebrations to swing a cat at. 

Around this time each summer, MONA’s Mona Foma descends upon Hobart and Launceston. If you’re not familiar, it’s best described as a (slightly) less hedonistic version of DARK MOFO packed into one weekend. Like many festivals in a post-pandemic world, 2022’s jaunt looked slightly different to years gone by, but if one was to assume a few extra restrictions would stop the gang down at MONA from throwing one heck of a party, one would be very, very wrong. 

​

Leaps and Bounds showcase of the sheer talent that’s smattered liberally just north of the Yarra river. In its third year, Leaps and Bounds is making, well, leaps and bounds with a festival that’s as diverse as it's ever been. You’d be remiss not to explore the program to its fullest—which you can do so here—however there are several unmissable events in the near two-week celebration of all things audible, visual, sensory and beyond. Scope them out here:

 One of the world’s most acclaimed musicals, Hamilton, is coming to Melbourne.

Community radio has been at the grassroots of Melbourne’s music scene for decades, launching homegrown talent and showcasing some of the best tunes from around the globe.

It’s that wonderful time of the year again as lagers, stouts, sours, pilsners and pale ales descend upon Melbourne for Good Beer Week 2021. Celebrating its tenth trip around the sun Good Beer Week kicked off back in 2011 and this anniversary is one hell of a sud soaked festival of amber ales. 

It’s been a bit dry out there on the festival front for the last 12 months, we all know the story of COVID et cetera. But Victorians have stuck through it and now it’s time to party—safely, of course. There are plenty of local festivals to hit up over the next couple of months, so get in the car, get the glitter out, have a boogie and live your best festival life. 

Brunswick Music Festival is back with an impressive line-up of local talent spanning over ten huge days. From Friday 5 March to Monday 16 March, beloved Brunswick venues will play host to a plethora of live music, with all tickets $10 or free. That’s right, ten bucks or free.

With indoor capacity limits still in place, many of our cultural institutions are taking it outdoors. The latest to announce their iteration of the open-air celebrations is the Melbourne Museum with Summer Sessions, and the program is a doozy.

A Live Music Series Featuring Confidence Man and Client Liaison Is Coming To A Yarra Valley Winery This Month.

Those who rang in the 2019/2020 new year at Sun Cycle will recall quite the rave. Looking back, anyone would have thought we were partying like it was one of the last festivals of our time. Well, after a year hiatus, Sun Cycle returns to give it another nudge on Saturday 30 January (restrictions permitting). 

To save you the heavy lifting in organising your crew, we’ve hand-picked the MMW-Extended events you won’t want to miss. 

There are plenty of reasons why 2021 is looking very attractive, though one major beacon of light after this stinker of a year is the return of Mona Foma in late January.

The second edition of the block party in December 2021 will feature international headliners, and will take up Duke Street as well as Bond Street, and Southampton Crescent.

Welcome to Culture Curve—your go-to guide to what’s on the rise and slide in culture in December 2020.

Melbourne is set to come back alive this summer, with outdoor events around the city like we've never seen before.

Melbourne Music Week is set to return in December, and this year, the program will be spread over three months to revitalise the local arts scene.

Saying that we all miss those amazing things we used to take for granted, be that leaving our 5km radius or making a day of things like we used to, is an extreme understatement.

The multi award-winning musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was initially due to head to our shores in March 2021. But with a little thing called COVID getting in the way, that's on the back burner for now. Fortunately, there's still a chance to see the ground-breaking hip hop musical, and you don’t even need to max out your credit card for it. Hype up, because Hamilton the movie is coming direct to your lounge.

Melbourne's music scene took a big hit when the pandemic hit our city, and as we climb our way out of isolation, it's time to look ahead to events getting back up and running around the city.

Your long weekend road trip might be cancelled but there’s no need to mope. The Easter long weekend is certainly looking a little different than what we imagined, but there are still plenty of ways to have a bit of fun, even in lockdown.

Undisputed legend, and host of Triple J’s Good Nights, is chucking on a party this Saturday night at 8pm with a bunch of her muso mates, and everyone is invited.

You may know Nkechinyere Anele (AKA Nkechi) from her time fronting Aussie soul legends, Saskwatch, or maybe you’re familiar with the singer, songwriter and radio presenter from Triple J’s eclectic world music program, Roots ‘n All. She also founded an online platform exploring race, identity and the wider conversation around culture in Australia called The Pin.

Forget about cherry-picking your gigs this month, because Melbourne’s hottest new festival—Can’t Do Tomorrow—is serving up fiery musical acts left and right. Not only is Can’t Do Tomorrow going all out in the street art scene, but the music lineup is not something to be scoffed at. With the likes of Melbourne legends TEYMORI and MzRizk, Triple j favourite Cool Out Sun, Australian dance music powerhouse DJ JNETT and more, Can’t To Tomorrow is about to become your ultimate February gig haven. And because we’ve always got your back, if you use the promo code URBANCDT when you book, you get $10 off your ticket cost.

Strap yourself in, because you’re about to get a face full of amazing artists that will be plying their trade at the 2020 edition of the Brunswick Music Festival.

There’s no better way to enjoy singledom than with live music in the sun, surrounded by a bunch of beautiful people. And it just got even better with Festival Mode: Tinder’s new feature to help your newly-single self thrive this summer. 

Studio Ghibli needs no introduction. Hayao Miyazaki has been the powerhouse behind the Japanese animation house, and now you’ll get the chance to see Melbourne Symphony Orchestra belt out classic scores from movies like Howl’s Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and more.

While Melbourne doesn’t face the same lockout laws like one of our neighbouring cities, our nightclub scene in recent times has been somewhat tumultuous.

This year marks a decade of Melbourne Music Week and if one thing’s for sure, they’re going all out to celebrate. Not only have they gifted us arguably one of their greatest programs of all time, they’re bringing back the original Balestra Berlin-designed, Melbourne Music Week Hub, Kubik—with a brand new design.

We’ve done the hard slog for you and picked out our faves of this month’s gig lineup. See you there.

We’re heading into the warmer months, guys. And that means it’s time to come out of hibernation and hit up some of Melbourne’s best clubs. Leave your dignity at home and get on the D-Floor. We're about to drop some bangers.

Underground Cinema is returning to Melbourne in August to present the second instalment of their sold-out immersive film experience from 5 years ago: La Guerre 2.0.

The mammoth line-up has finally dropped so mark your calendars.

White Night is scheduled to dazzle Melbourne for another installation this year, except instead of one single night, we’re getting three. That’s right: three nights of tip-toeing around in the cold and rubbing our hands together for what’s looking like a pretty sweet lineup.

Do you want the good news or the bad news first?

Hans Zimmer, musical genius and composer of almost every epic movie score in existence, will be touring the East Coast of Australia this spring.

Melbourne Music Week this year has been next level.

Is there ever a weekend where Melbourne isn’t packed to the brim? This week we've got the launch of Nike Air Max sneakers, a design trade show (helloooo new furniture!), a life-sized LEGO car and free tacos galore….count us the hell in.