They go together like chips and ice cream.
Cecil Street will be closed and lined up with street vendors slinging the best of Melbourne food, live music, games for all ages, interesting cooking demos, roving performances, and plenty more.
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Victoria’s Port Phillip is home to many of the world’s most sought-after ingredients, the expansive winery region and popular beaches stock many restaurants across the suburbs. The Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz festival will feature a significant amount of seafood from the region, besides mussels, there’ll be lobster rolls, crab bao bus, paella, oysters, and plenty more.
But don’t fret if you’re not a fan of the much-maligned mollusc, there’s options for all at the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz festival, showcasing the best other delicacies that are staples at the South Melbourne Market. This will include pastries, pasta, and lots of other snacks.
It’s also set to be a fun few days out for the whole family, hitting the market over Labour Day weekend, there’ll be fun activities for kids of all ages, so the kids can play while you enjoy the best food Melbourne has to offer.
Perhaps most important of all to Beat readers is the music. As the name suggests, the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz festival will feature local icons in the soul and jazz scenes.
With a completely different line-up each day, there’ll be music of all different tastes, Saturday’s line-up will feature the sounds of The Sugarfoot Ramblers, Steve Sedergreen, The Shuffle Club, Margie Lou Dyer, Jolene Moran, and even an Elvis cover act. Each of these acts are extremely popular and well-known in their respective scenes.
Margie Lou Dyer
Margie Lou Dyer has been an integral part of the music world for decades, playing a unique blues style. She’ll be hitting the stage with her quintet, which includes clarinet, trumpet, bass, and the washboard.
Steve Sedergreen
Steve Sedergreen is a staple of the Melbourne jazz world, most well known as a former director of Dizzy’s Jazz Club, a stage that housed one of the first performances from The Cat Empire. He’ll be hitting the stage with his trio, who have played in many of Melbourne’s popular jazz venues, including the Bird’s Basement.
Sunday’s lineup continues the fun, music fans will hear music from The Bluetone Assembly, Hoodoo Mayhem, The Dan Felix Express, The Swinging Cat’s Pyjamas and The Jackson Combo.
The Shuffle Club
The Shuffle Club will hit the stage just as the sun starts to set, getting everyone off their chairs and dancing the night away. They’ll be playing the best of blues, jazz and swing music from over the years.
The Bluetone Assembly
The Bluetone Assembly are one of Melbourne’s most popular collectives, interpreting many of the best jazz tracks from the last few decades, going all the way back to the 20s.
The Jackson Combo
The Jackson Combo will be closing proceedings on Sunday, a group full of virtuosos, who’ve played with a number of the world’s most well-known and respected groups. Their repertoire spans artists like Ella Fitzgerald, Mel Torme, and Nat King Cole, among many more.
There’s always a plethora of stories and images blasted over social media about festival littering and rubbish, but the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz festival is aiming to combat this by initiating the Shuck Don’t Chuck campaign.
This is a joint effort from the South Melbourne Market and The Nature Conservatory, who aim to recycle shells from oysters, scallops and mussels, stopping them from moving into landfill. There’ll be marked bins all around the festival, placing your shells in there will help the cause. Additional information about the Shuck Don’t Chuck campaign can be found here.
Our city has a lot to offer, and the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival is set to do an excellent job in bringing it all together. Moreish mussels with smooth soul, is there any better combo than that?
More information about the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival can be found here.
This article was made in partnership with Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival.