The VICE Guide to Music Festivals in Melbourne

Melbourne is the music festival city. There’s something for everyone, all year long. While we’ve said goodbye to some favourites in recent years, the good City of Melbourne is constantly conjuring up more music-fuelled festival activities to keep the walls from closing in.

If anything, there are too many music festivals in Melbourne. If only there was a dedicated guide to help you keep all of them in one place…

Here’s our guide to the best, greatest, and most unmissable music festivals in Melbourne.

The baby sibling of the widely beloved Port Fairy Folk Festival, the Port Fairy Jazz Festival takes place from 7-9 February, in the quaint beachside town about a three-hour drive south-west of Melbourne.

Port Fairy, Victoria, tickets and info here.

Laneway started out in 2005 as a cool, DIY-style festival in a CBD – you guessed it – laneway, and now it’s one of the country’s biggest one-day music festivals. Usually held at Flemington Racecourse, the Laneway lineup frequently draws big international acts, as well as home-grown favourites. It’s filled with underage kids and vape smoke.

448 Epsom Road, Flemington, tickets and info here.

According to their website, St Kilda Festival is Australia’s largest free and all-ages music festival. It’s held across a weekend in February, usually Feb 17-18, and features music, artists, market stalls, street performers and more.

St Kilda, tickets and info here.

Every suburb gets a festival! The iconic Brunswick Music Festival happens across March 3-11 yearly, with a range of parties, events and gigs held across a variety of bars and venues.

270 Sydney Rd, Brunswick, tickets and info here.

The sleepy seaside town of Port Fairy comes alive for its beloved annual Folk Festival. Happening across four days, from the 7-10 of March, it’s all-ages, all-fun.

Port Fairy, Victoria, tickets and info here.

Part one of Melbourne’s best music festival, Golden Plains descends upon the sleepy Victorian town of Meredith every April. Held on the Labour Day long weekend, March 9-11 yearly, Golden Plains is the yearly farewell to the summer festival season, featuring a beautifully-curated genre-spanning selection of local and international acts.

Golden Plains Shire, Victoria, tickets and info here.

This humungous doof presented by Untitled Group is known for blazing heat, dust storms, incredible art installations and big-European-electronic-music-festival-style light shows, stage design and lineup curation. It’s BIG. Expect techno, techno, techno.

Moyston, Victoria, tickets and info here.

From June 1 - 16, RISING Festival will save Melbourne from the grim tragedy that is winter in this cold city. With an incredible lineup of arts, music and culture, RISING seems to get better and better every year.

Melbourne CBD & surrounds, tickets and info here.

From June 7-10, the hill town of Woodend will celebrate its winter arts festival. Expect a vast array of music events, including free gigs, classical music and choirs.

Woodend, Victoria, tickets and info here.

On the King’s birthday weekend, 7-10 June, Mornington on the Peninsula will host its annual winter music festival, with jazz, blues, rock and more.

Mornington, Victoria, tickets and info here.

The City of Melbourne’s “congratulations you’ve nearly made it out of winter” festival, its first iteration last year brought Kelela, Autechre and Giant Swan to the Royal Melbourne Exhibition Building’s hallowed halls. A festival of “art, ideas and technology”, the lineup for this year’s edition is yet to be announced, but it’s hotly anticipated nonetheless.

City of Melbourne, tickets and info here.

Its first iteration last year was pretty sick, with a bunch of events happening at iconic venues all down the 86 tram line’s route – encompassing Northcote, Thornbury and Preston. Hopefully the Eighty Six returns in 2024.

Northcote, Thornbury, Preston, tickets and info here.

Held in Melbourne from October 18-27, the Melbourne International Jazz Festival began in 1998, and has been bringing incredible international and local jazz acts to concert halls, venues and jazz bars ever since.

Melbourne, tickets and info here.

Last year’s Always Live Music Festival brought Christina Aguilera to the Sidney Meyer Music Bowl. Bananas. There were plenty free events, too. Hopefully it’ll return for 2024.

Melbourne, tickets and info here.

Part two of everyone’s favourite music festival. Held annually in December, Meredith is the perfect gateway into the summer season, with a revelatory curation of acts, the best facilities, a wonderful crowd and just the best overall vibes.

Golden Plains Shire, tickets and info here.

Maybe the only NYE festival worth attending, BTV often has a pretty good lineup, good facilities and multiple stages. It’s more like a five-day-concert than a doof, more like Splendour in the Grass than Pitch, set on a sprawling, hilly green in semi-regional Victoria.

Hesse, Victoria, tickets and info here.

Arielle Richards is the multimedia reporter at VICE Australia, follow her on Instagram and TikTok.