Looking for the best music festivals in Melbourne, Australia? Well, look no further, because you’ve come to the right place!!
Melbourne is easily one of the best cities in the world I’ve ever visited! I could definitely see myself living there someday, especially because there are so many incredible music festivals in Melbourne! If you haven’t visited yet, then do yourself a favor and plan a trip soon. Whether you come to explore the beautiful graffiti found on the various laneways, soak up the coffee culture, or party it up at one the amazing clubs – you’re guaranteed to fall in love with Melbourne.
There really is never a dull moment in the cultural capital of Oz, especially if you’re busy following my popular Melbourne itinerary! Check out my list of the best Melbourne festivals, and start planning your next adventure!
1) Beyond The Valley
When: 4 Days over New Years Eve
Where: Lardner Park, South-Eastern Victoria, 75 minutes outside of Melbourne
http://www.beyondthevalley.com.au/
“A distinctive, unique and most of all carefully curated music festival over the New Years’ Eve period. From December 28th to January 1st, thousands upon thousands of people make their way to the spectacular site in Lardner Park, Victoria to see what’s in store for them each and every year. Our beloved main stage is a whopping 60 metres in width, housing truly breathtaking visuals, lighting, stage production and decor to bring the performances by our nationally and internationally acclaimed artists to life.”
2) Rainbow Serpent
When: Every year at the end of January
Where: Lexton, Victoria (2 hours outside of Melbourne)
https://www.rainbowserpent.net/
“For many of the 15,000 people that attend each year, Rainbow has become an institution, and annual reunion, a marker in the year that’s looked forward to for months in advance. For others it’s a fresh discovery of opportunity and escapism, a chance to connect with like minded individuals and to celebrate nature, community and harmony. No longer just an electronic music festival these days you can expect to experience a unique combination of music, art, performance, spiritual discussion, relaxation and healing.
3) Strawberry Fields
When: Every year Mid-November
Where: Australian Bush, 2-3 hours outside Melbourne
http://www.strawberry-fields.com.au/
“Strawberry Fields is an annual celebration of art, sound and creative expression held for three days each November, a few hours outside of Melbourne, Australia. Each year we bring you a diverse selection of both renowned and breakthrough electronic music from both Australia and overseas. Indulge yourself in a sensory feast, including soul shaking sound, world class decor, dozens of eclectic market stalls, artistic installations, live performance art, workshops, forum discussion and more.”
4) Babylon Festival
When: Mid March
Where: Carapooee West, Victoria
Website: https://babylon.net.au/
“Babylon is an enchanting music and lifestyle camping festival that will be set deep in the heart of the Australian wilderness; taking place across three days. Featuring an inspired curation of local and international live and electronic music artists, alongside a unique world of art, mindfulness and community exploration.”
Thank you to everyone that made this years Babylon Festival our biggest and best yet. See you in 2020. 🎥 my name is howdy (watch in HD)
Posted by Babylon Festival on Sunday, April 7, 2019
5) Earthcore
When: **Possibly Cancelled**
Where: Pyalong, Victoria (80 Minutes North of Melbourne)
Website: http://www.earthcore.com.au/
“What is this Parallel Universe that beckons beyond the darkness?” Set on 1500 acres of pristine land one hour drive from Melbourne feat 5 epic stages across 5 days, Boutique Camping, Worlds Beyond Speakers Forum, Fractured Reality Art Zone, Yellow Sunshine Chill Out, Muffplex Cinema, Elemental Planet Lifestyle City, District 13 Theme Camp Zone, DIY Social Calendar, Kinky Karnival Freak Show, Mind Bending Art Installations, your closest mates and you!
6) Let Go Fest
When: February 2020
Where: Mornington, Victoria
Website: https://www.facebook.com/letgofest/
A Festival For The Mornington Peninsula, With Multiple Stages and Multiple Genres, Nothing But Great Day Out With Friends!
We focus on a friendly, community based, a happy and social day, with plenty of different activities to make for an experience like no other. Let Go Fest. is a multi-genre and multiple stage meeting point for everyone on the 20th of February at the Mornington Racecourse. Celebrating all genres of music including: bands, live acoustic, deep house, disco, commercial, Melbourne bounce, RnB, hip hop, trap, techno, live performances of sax, percussion and vocal as well as a great blend of alternative & cross over Australian and international acts. Come.. Let Go.. finish the bucket list. A selection of International, Interstate and Local artists will be at Let Go Fest 2016 over 7+ stages of entertainment. Our main goal is to be a cheap ticket price and a diverse variety of music; we are sure there is someone on the line-up you know or maybe don’t know that you will like. A diverse selection of genres means there is a little bit of something for everyone. 20+ Things to do through out the whole day including: Free Silent Disco and Free Ferris Wheel.
Let Go Fest 2019 – Our Biggest Year Ever!!
Push the button & spread the word. 📲 We are ON! 🙌 Saturday Feb 2nd. Who are you bringing to join the Let Go family? 🌺 & What are you most excited for? 🤔 Most creative answer wins 5 VIP tickets 😎 Save the date️ 🗓️: bit.ly/LGF19FB Get in early 🎟️: bit.ly/LGF19BT
Posted by Let Go Fest. on Sunday, May 27, 2018
7) Electric Gardens Festival
When: End of January
Where: Moonee Valley Racecourse, Moonee Ponds
Website: http://www.electricgardens.com.au/
8) Pitch Music & Arts Festival
When: March 2020
Where: Lake Wooroonook, Charlton, Victoria
Website: http://pitchfestival.com.au/
“A fount of sound. Four mercurial days of contemporary electronic music steeped in visual arts and landscape. A yearling community assembled in Victoria’s wide and promising plains – oracular international and local artists in the effervescence of plein-air.
Thank you! See you at Pitch Music & Arts 2020.
Posted by Pitch Music & Arts on Tuesday, April 2, 2019
9) Golden Plains Festival
When: Mid-March 2020
Where: Meredith, Victoria (110 Minutes from Melbourne CBD)
https://aunty.goldenplains.com.au/what-goes-on/
“Golden Plains is a Premium Music Festival on an Epic Long Weekend in the Greatest of Outdoors. It is staged in Autumn so the weather is warm and stable. Afternoon goes on all day, the sun like honey on the trees, then a giant spike of excitement goes kabloooey at nightfall. The Summer Fool is spent by March so GP is oblivious to that particular strain of vain folly. GP is for seekers. Hope u find It.
It’s at the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, same location as elder sibling Meredith Music Festival, though deliberately kept smaller – so there’s so much spacey space it’s funny.
There’s no commercial sponsors, no commercial signage on site, no market stalls, and nothing being marketed to you for the whole long weekend. It’s meant to be a haven. Camp wherever you like, bring almost everything and anything if you want – you can bring a couch (perhaps with matching armchairs and an occasional table, with a drawer) and plant it in the Amphitheatre for the weekend, and soak. it. all. up. For a long weekend.”
10) The Town
When: May 1-4, 2020
Where: Strathbogie Ranges (2 Hours Outside Melbourne)
‘A place of like-minded folk who’ve declared the real world a joke. We’re heading back to bikes and letters and the simplest of pleasures. From sustainable partying and funky-ass tunes, we invite you to get wild under the Easter full moon’. Welcome to our interactive Village, part parodying every-day life with absurd theatrics and awesome set design, and part exploring what makes a healthy sustainable Town, all to a soundtrack of incredibly fun music. We aim to deliver a wacky new experiment never before seen on our Festival circuit.
11) St Jerome’s Laneway Festival
When: January / February
Where: Footscray Park, Melbourne
https://melbourne.lanewayfestival.com//
“St. Jerome’s Laneway Festival is about leading new and revered seminal music. The festival has always been interested in finding what’s fresh and bringing it to unique settings and surrounds to be appreciated by music lovers. The size of the festivals, the locations and the way we encourage community all form part of the way in which the Laneway team strive to present a live music experience like no other.”
12) Groovin’ the Moo
When: May 2020
Where: Bendigo, Victoria (150km from Melbourne)
“Groovin the Moo is an annual music festival that is held in six regional centres across Australia. The festival is held during autumn, typically in May of each year. Groovin’ the Moo is Australia’s only annual six-date touring music event to visit regional Australia, spanning locations including Oakbank, Canberra and Townsville. It has developed into an illustrious space for like-minded people to gather and open their ears to both new and familiar sounds.”
13) Midsumma Festival
When: January
Where: Various locations across Melbourne
https://midsumma.org.au/what-s-on
“Midsumma Festival is an annual celebration of queer, intersex, transgender, bisexual, lesbian and gay culture, held during January and February in Melbourne, Australia.
The festival began as a one-week celebration of gay pride in 1989. The festival has expanded over the years to a three-week event that attracts 180,000 individuals to its opening Carnival alone.”
14) St Kilda Festival
When: February 2020
Where: St Kilda
https://stkildafestival.com.au
“St Kilda Festival is Australia’s largest community festival; a celebration of community spirit, live local music and the beautiful St Kilda foreshore. Since the first St Kilda Festival in 1980, this well-loved annual summer celebration has established itself as an iconic event that brings hundreds of thousands of people together for one massive day of free fun! Held on the second Sunday in February each year, the St Kilda Festival routinely attracts over 400,000 attendees. The streets of St Kilda are closed to traffic when the pick of the nation’s best musicians play over multiple stages, while people are entertained with a vast range of performances, workshops, kids’ entertainment, sport, dance, carnival rides, food and drinks, markets, shopping and a whole lot more.”
15) Melbourne International Jazz Festival
When: May / June
Where: Various locations across Melbourne
“The Melbourne International Jazz Festival is an annual, world-class jazz festival first held in 1998. The Festival takes place in concert halls, arts venues, jazz clubs and throughout the streets of Melbourne as the city comes alive with the spirit of jazz. Each festival program aims to appeal to young and old, to enthusiasts and the uninitiated, to encourage as many people as possible to experience the very personal impact that jazz can have on its listener.”
16) So Frenchy So Chic
When: January
Where: Werribee Park, Werribee
https://www.sofrenchysochic.com
Fancy prancing through fields laced with the charm of provincial France? It’s just casual summer weekendery when So Frenchy So Chic is in town.
The ever-popular one-day French festival is waltzing back to Melbourne’s Werribee Park Mansion for its eight year running this summer. If you haven’t been before, expect an entire afternoon of French-inspired niceties, including (but not limited to) gourmet picnic hampers, tartlets and terrines, offensively good wine and croquet all to a chill French soundtrack.
17) The Pleasure Garden
When: December 7, 2019
Where: Catani Gardens, St Kilda
Why: The Pleasure Garden returns in December, painting St Kilda’s Catani Gardens with colour, art installations, roving performers and, of course, some huge beats. A heady mix of Rainbow Serpent, Glastonbury and every other time you’ve had an impromptu sweaty day dance party with your mates (costumes mandatory), the festival, though only in its third year, knows exactly what it’s doing.The small festival packs a lot of punch, with five different stages and zones to flit between across the day.
18) The First
When: New Years Day, January
Where: Sidney Myer Music Bowl
“Melburnians will have two outdoor electronica festivals to choose from come January 1. This year, joining Werribee Park’s Let Them Eat Cake is Sidney Myer Music Bowl’s The First — a multi-stage music festival dedicated to live electronic, hip hop, house and techno that’ll take over the Kings Domain this New Year’s Day. While you’re there, visual art, food trucks and booze-a-plenty will be on the docket, too.”
19) Falls Festival
When: December
Where: Lorne, Victoria (150km from Melbourne)
“Falls Music & Arts Festival (commonly known as Falls) is a multi-day music festival held annually in Lorne (Victoria), Marion Bay (Tasmania), Yelgun (New South Wales) and Fremantle (Western Australia), Australia over the New Year’s Eve and January period. The festival hosts contemporary music performances, dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other art forms. Camping is available and all locations have nearby beaches which are either walking distance or a short bus ride away. Artists playing at the festival include rock, hip hop, indie music, electronic music, blues and roots.”
20) Let Them Eat Cake
When: New Years Day, January 2020
Where: Werribee Park, Werribee
http://letthemeatcakenyd.com.au
“Blitz through your New Year’s Day hangover with art, electronica and eats at Werribee Park. f you’re citybound and missing out on New Year’s Eve festivals like Falls and Beyond The Valley this year, don’t fret. Let Them Eat Cake is your inner city solution to satisfy those festival urges.
Held on New Year’s Day at Werribee Park, LTEC is not only great for the music, but also plays host to installation art, open-air exhibitions and some killer food offerings.”
21) FOMO Festival
When: January 2020
Where: Flemington Racecourse, Flemington
“FOMO — Australia’s clash-free, one-day summer festival — is back for a fourth year. This year, it’s making its return to Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, and bringing the full festival to Melbourne for the first time ever. FOMO Festival is a one day, one stage, all-inclusive entertainment experience, produced by music lovers for music lovers. See you in January for FOMO2020. 2019 saw Nicki Minaj headline.”
22) Meredith Music Festival
When: December
Where: Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, Nolan Farm, Meredith (100km from Melbourne)
Why: Meredith is a festival where you’re guaranteed to have a good time, no matter what. But whatever your reasons for heading to the three-day December festival in central Victoria, you won’t be disappointed with the acts Aunty Meredith showcases. Aunty is gifting us with sets spanning bush beats, 70s rock, deep house and everything in-between for her 28th year.
23) NYE On The Hill
When: December / January
Where: “The Farm”, Loch Village (100km from Melbourne)
https://www.nyeonthehill.com.au
Why: NYE on the Hill is a 3-day, 2-night boutique music and camping festival for good-vibing, music-loving folk. It takes place in the beautifully picturesque rolling Hills of South Gippsland near Loch Village, 90mins from Melbourne, 25mins from Inverloch, 35mins from Phillip Island. Good times with great people in a stunning location. What better way to bring in the New Year.
24) Brunswick Music Festival
When: March
Where: Sydney Road, Brunswick
https://brunswickmusicfestival.com.au
Why: Music all day across seven official stages and at all your fave local venues: Bombay Rock, The Brunswick Green, The Penny Black and The Retreat Hotel. Plus music, food, First Nations artist market and more at Blak Dot Gallery. Jam-packed into a 800m stretch of Sydney Road between Union to Victoria Street, the Sydney Road Street Party is a one-of-a-kind free fiesta of the hottest local music, dance, food and market crafts that represent the Moreland municipality.
25) Listen Out
When: September 2020
Where: Catani Gardens, St Kilda
Listen Out is Australia’s premier dance music event, bringing quality dance music to four spectacular inner city venues across Australia this spring.
Listen Out is the antidote to many of the things you don’t like about bigger music festivals. It is a carefully handcrafted party, with a killer lineup of the dance music that matters and a philosophy of best, not biggest.
Posted by Listen Out on Tuesday, May 21, 2019
26) Melbourne Music Week
When: November
Where: Various venues across Melbourne
https://mmw.melbourne.vic.gov.au
Why: More than just a music festival, Melbourne Music Week’s imaginative line-up spans music, film, art, design and hospitality. Melbourne Music Week (MMW) is an annual, nine day music event presented by City of Melbourne. In our 10 years we are proud to have programmed over 2,200 acts, presented 1,000 events, opened the doors to 200 venues and spaces across the city and invited over 350,000 people to experience music in a different way.
27) Happy Wanderer Festival
When: November
Where: Benalla, Victoria (200km from Melbourne)
http://www.happywandererfestival.com
The Happy Wanderer Festival started a few years back when a brother and sister and a pair of adopted kin, gathered friends together for a working bee on a beautiful farm in North East Victoria and the idea for a festival born. A truck was fashioned into a stage, cows temporarily re-homed from a natural ampitheatre, tractor adorned with fairy lights, camp set-up by Broken River and several Melbourne bands hoodwinked into taking the trip up to Yin Barun. With all of that came a few wanderers, and that company of friends has grown to what the Happy Wanderer is today. It’s an ecology of good local music, fresh thoughtful food and drink, creators and adventurers that will take you along their wanderings, and soulful good times.Toes in the earth, love in the heart, laughter in the belly, wander together to a place you belong.
28) Out On The Weekend
When: October
Where: Seaworks, Williamstown
https://www.outontheweekend.com.au
“A celebration of Americana music, great food and fine booze.The Out on the Weekend Festival is billed as a “celebration of Americana music, great food and fine booze’’. Organiser Brian Taranto said he hoped to attract about 2000 music lovers to the dockside festival each October. “The main stage will be heading out towards the pier so you are looking at the main acts with the city skyline and the Sea Shepherd in the background – that’s the vision,’’ Mr Taranto said.”
29) White Night
When: August
Where: Various locations across Melbourne CBD
https://whitenight.com.au/melbourne/
“As winter fades and on the eve of spring, join us for a ‘Reimagined’ White Night experience. This year for the first time, over three consecutive nights in three key precincts, Melbourne’s inner city parks and gardens will undergo a transformation to host White Night Reimagined. Experience Carlton Gardens, Treasury Gardens and Birrarung Marr like never before, as three unique creative experiences are unveiled. Artists from across the city and across the globe take you on journeys mythological, mysterious and mesmerising. Enticing food and music offerings will complement the event, showcasing some of Victoria’s best local produce and talent.”
30) Mount Beauty Music Festival
When: April
Where: Mount Beauty (3.5 hours drive from Melbourne)
“A full 3 day festival bringing a range of music arts and culture to the town, indigenous music and traditional culture, involving community groups to celebrate and raise money for their chosen groups. A town full of thriving arts and interactive installations, catering for the whole family, bringing visitors to the town to share our beautiful valley.”
Ecstatic Festival 2020
When: March 27-29, 2020
Where: The Otway’s, Victoria (1.5 hour drive from Melbourne )
https://www.ecstaticfestivalmelbourne.com
Join the Ecstatic Festival 2020 Facebook Event
Am I Missing Any Epic Music Festivals in Melbourne…?
I really tried to find the most incredible events happening in and around the cultural capital of Australia, but I’m sure it’s possible one or two slipped through the cracks. Feel free to comment below or shoot me an email so I can keep this list of Melbourne music festivals up to date!
Looking for more festivals in Australia & The World…?
My website is loaded with articles just like this, and I’d love for you take a read through a couple more for some travel inspiration and music festival madness! Browse through some of my reviews, watch some after movies, and feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have!
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