Live Music Safari is a free Melbourne-wide music extravaganza this Sunday

Melbourne Music Week’s Live Music Safari is an entire day of free gigs set across the city’s live music venues, carefully scheduled so you can go on a gig crawl and easily check out four or five events in one day. This year there’s a whopping 13 events, packing in well over 60 acts across 13 amazing venues, one of which is brand new!

The weather is set to be 25 degrees and sunny, the genres are as diverse as the locations and there are big names a-plenty, from Press Club smashing a rocking set at The Last Chance, to Kylie Auldist soothing our souls at Cherry Bar.

Ultimately though, if there’s one day in 2021 that’s perfect to just lose yourself in exploration, this is it. It’s time that we all got to know our city all over again.

What you need to know

• Melbourne Music Week’s Live Music Safari is a totally free, all day music extravaganza
• It features 13 free events spread across different venues with over 60 acts
• It all takes place this Sunday December 12

Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.

The acts and promotion is paid for by the City of Melbourne, which started the program as a big celebration to mark the end of the city’s premier music showcase, and as an ode to the city’s hard working venues, which often pull in their biggest crowds across the day.

The style is a bit like Texas’ famous South by South West (SXSW) festival, which started the idea of a city-wide musical scavenger hunt, connecting locals with some of the best venues, known and unknown, from the early arvo well into the night. Live Music Safari takes that idea and Melburnises the shit out of it, which means this year the first event gets going at 7am.

7am onwards: Miscellania all day electronic party

• Miscellania, 2/401 Swanston St
• Sun 12 Dec 7am–1am
• Electronic

Featuring: Aarti Jadu + AsstraZeneca + Babyxxan + CaucasianOpportunities + DJ Burnout + Harold + Hextape + House Mum + Kitty Whip + Mulalo + Nerve + Soju Gang + Stev Zar + Yunzero + Corin + Grem

Yep, you read correctly, the awesome Miscellania club turns into a full-throttle, all-day electronic party that lasts from 7am Sunday to 1am Monday. Although, if you’re a particularly heady speed-freak, you can actually stay at Miscellania from 8pm on Saturday night all the way through.

This 18-hour party features 16 Melbourne DJs with a huge array of styles and backgrounds, from the likes of CORIN to Soju Gang, and promises to be an enlightening adventure into what’s new and emerging in Melbourne dance music.

2pm onwards: Hip hop, jazz and soul at Whitehart Bar

• Whitehart Bar, 22 Whitehart Lane
• Sun 12 Dec 2pm–10pm
• Dub / Hip Hop / Jazz / Soul

3pm onwards: Disco, hip hop, and soul at Section 8

• Section 8, 27-29 Tattersalls Ln
• Sun 12 Dec 3pm–11pm
• Disco / Electronic / Hip Hop / Jazz / Soul

Featuring: Tiana Khasi (live) + Beatnik Collective (live) + Colette + Pietro (3RRR) + Hdsnjmsjr B2B + Kgomotso + Nay Nay + PET$

It’s Live Music Safari everyday at Section 8, which always promises to be among the funnest, rowdiest places on the last Sunday of Melbourne Music Week. There’s no better place to hold a sunny, open-air day party and the likes of Thiana Khasi’s powerful neo-soul vocals, and four-piece instrumental masters Beatnik Collective, are going to make it very fun and uplifting indeed.

3pm onwards: Jungle and drum n bass at Block35 (The Joint)

• Block35 (The Joint), 35 Elizabeth St
• Sun 12 Dec 3pm–11pm
• Drum n Bass / Jungle / Dub / Reggae

Featuring: Anuraag + C:1 + Bevin Campbell + DJ Mum + Emelyne + General Feelings + Moopie + StormnKhan

This is a really cool opportunity for your average Melburnian to push themselves into unknown territory. First you’ve got the location, Sub Club’s sister club The Joint, part of the Block35 Entertainment Complex. Then you’ve got some of Melbourne’s finest jungle and drum n bass purveyors slinging those low-slung rhythms until 11pm. You might just see a side of Melbourne you didn’t know existed.

4pm onwards: Blues, rock and soul at Cherry Bar

5pm onwards: Huge variety across two levels at Colour

• Colour Club, 229 Queensberry St
• Sun 12 Dec 5pm–2.30am
• Disco / Electronic / Experimental / Hip Hop / Jazz / Punk / Rock / Tech-House

Featuring: Different Shades B2B Businessman + Gut Health + m8riarchy + Meron + DJ NayNay + Papiwhatsgood B2B A.Sure + Proto Moro + San of the Rambutan + Soju Gang + Tinika

5pm onwards: Indie, punk and disco at The Curtin 

• The Curtin, 29 Lygon St
• Sun 12 Dec 5pm–9pm
• Indie / Punk / Electronic

Featuring: EXEK + Laughing Gear + Raev

6pm onwards: Hip hop, jazz and soul The Workshop Bar 

• The Workshop Bar, 1/413 Elizabeth St
• Sun 12 Dec 6pm–12am
• Hip Hop / Jazz / Soul / Tech-House

Featuring Soju Gang + Walla C + Tumi the Be & jonQuil Quartet + Olive Yaah + Narli. + Simbiotic Vision + Glynn Urquhart + Shay Bakar + Enoki + Leili + High Bias + Electric Relaxation DJs

One for the artsy among us, The Workshop Bar is a beautiful, intimate venue to capture some esoteric art and sound project combinations and chill out all your senses simultaneously. This showcase features another massive lineup of Melbourne creatives – Soju Gang again! – over six hours, spinning a diverse array of music that will be in played in tandem with visual artists showcasing immersive light exhibitions.

6pm onwards: Light, sound and scent at Meat Market

• Meat Market, 3 Blackwood St
• Sun 12 Dec 6pm–11pm
• Ambient / Electronic / Experimental

Featuring Lost Few + R. Rebeiro + Golden Syrup + NERVE + Jess Sneddon

Meat Market is one of the finest venues in Melbourne, so there’s few better places to spend part of your Sunday afternoon thrilled by the experimental soundscapes of multi-sensory artist Lost Few. This event promises greyscale electronics matched with sensory experiences built around light, sound, vision and even scent.

It should be noted, however, that despite taking place on Sunday, this is the only event that isn’t part of Live Music Safari so isn’t free – tickets are $35.

7pm onwards: Hip hop, house and more at Max Watt’s

• Max Watt’s, 125 Swanston St
• Sun 12 Dec 7pm–12am
• Experimental / Hip Hop / Techno / House

Featuring: Teether & Kuya Neil + C.FRIM + Mulalo + Ryan Fennis + CaucasianOpportunities + ZK king 劉

New rapper and producer duo Teether & Kuya Neil are headlining the MMW Club, celebrating the launch their new mixtape GLYPH and their meteoric rise out of the Melbourne underground scene and into the spotlight. They’ve brought a talented support lineup with them to end the MMW Club with a bang. We did a feature interview with them here, check it out.

7:30pm onwards: Electronic, jazz and soul at The Toff in Town

• The Toff in Town, 2f/252 Swanston St
• Sun 12 Dec 7.30pm–5am
• Electronic / Jazz / Soul

Featuring: JK Group + Zepherin Saint + Ryan Berkeley + Aka Zeb + D. Tyrone + DJ INGRID

Head to The Toff in Town to catch some groundbreaking Melbourne producers and DJs, including label owner Zepherin Saint, who showcases indigenous artists in electronic music and is an expert in afro-house, alongside nu-jazz outfit JK Group, spearheaded by 30/70’s Josh Kelly.

8pm onwards: Indie, punk and rock at The Last Chance

• The Last Chance, 238 Victoria St
• Sun 12 Dec 8pm–11pm
• Indie / Punk / Rock

Featuring: Press Club + Face Face + Way Shit

Whether you’ve danced and drunk your way through a dozen venues or sat on the couch biding your time, The Last Chance are hosting everyone’s last chance to catch Melbourne’s best rock groups at Melbourne Music Week and this event is definitely not to be missed. Press Club need no introduction, having lit up the Melbourne scene, while garage-punk acts Face Face and Way Shit round out a stellar lineup.

9pm onwards: Disco, jazz and soul at Music Room

• Music Room, 258 Lonsdale Street
• Sun 12 Dec 9pm–3am
• Disco / Jazz / Soul

Featuring: Mehdi (Condesa Electronics) + Dea Barandana (Potato Head)

An uber-cool way to end such a massive week, head to brand new venue Music Room on Lonsdale Street to take in Condesa Electronics boss Mehdi, who’ll be showcasing a console-rotary mixer that he hand-built for the new venue. Adding to the alluring vibes, Dea Barandana is one of Indonesia’s most incredible dance exports, having played at the likes of Dekmantel, and he’ll be ending MMW on an international note.

Head to the Melbourne Music Week Live Music Safari homepage for all the info.