From desert blues and candlelit concerts to silent films with live scores, Open Air at the Square is bringing a month of free events to Melbourne’s CBD this summer.
Fed Square will once again lay the soundtrack for Melbourne’s summer with its massively popular Open Air at the Square series.
Expect shows galore from February 4 including live music, candlelit concerts, cinema under the stars and cultural extravaganzas.
This year’s program brings desert blues pioneers Tinariwen together with Dutch psychedelic rock faves Altın Gün for one special show, alongside candlelit concerts from Thelma Plum and Drifting Clouds. There’s also the return of Silent Cinema with Live Scores, the Afro-Caribbean Carnival and indie muso launchpad Garage Band, returning for its fifth year.
Open Air at the Square 2027
- What: Free month-long festival of music, cinema and performance
- Where: Fed Square
- When: Feb 4 – March 8, 2027
- More info here
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
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Tinariwen, Altın Gün and The Gnomes
On Saturday 27 February, Tinariwen and Altın Gün will descend on the square, dazzling audiences with their Saharan blues and psychedelic rock sounds. This will undoubtedly be one of the must see gigs of the season, miss it at your peril!
Earlier in the month, Garage Band returns to shine a light on emerging Victorian musicians. The program champions Victorian artists with mentorships and workshops and culminates in a huge multi-performance show featuring participating bands at Fed Square on Feb 13. It’s an incredible opportunity for musicians in the early stages of their careers to perform live in front of an audience of thousands in the middle of the city.
If you’re in a band and this sounds interesting, apply here!
Garage rockers and Frankston’s hottest export, The Gnomes, will also perform as special guests, joined by rising Melbourne four-piece Salmon Sisters. High-energy rock ’n’ roll sets; tick.
Candlelight Concerts
As the sun sets, Fed Square shifts into a softer, more intimate mode for two special (and free) Candlelight Concerts.
On 9 February, the ARIA Award-winning Thelma Plum will bring her soulful vocals and heartfelt songs to the stage. The following evening, Arnhem Land’s Drifting Clouds weave dreamy synth pop and feel good disco with lyrics in Yolŋu language. Bring a picnic blanket and settle in for a couple of gorgeous evenings of live music under the stars.
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Films under the summer sky
What better way to really break in Fed Square’s newly upgraded Big Screen than by hosting a series of outdoor films? Genres are widely represented across the program, from queer Australian short films to classic cinema and live music docos.
Midsumma Movies – Australian Shorts opens the program on 4 February, presented with Melbourne Queer Film Festival and Midsumma.
For the star cross’d lovers out there, they’ll pair In the Mood for Love with Crazy, Stupid, Love on Valentine’s Day.
Silent Cinema with Live Scores runs from Feb 15 to 19, with musicians and DJs providing a soundtrack to a selection of silent films.
Highlights include The Phantom of the Opera, Metropolis with a live score by The New Pollutants, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari with a score by Alcides Neto.
Later in the month, the And the Oscar Goes To series revisits four celebrated films, including Moonstruck and A Fish Called Wanda.
The season’s film program concludes with six nights of music documentaries from 1–8 March, including Live Aid and The Last Waltz.
Street dance, twilight fairs and the Afro-Caribbean Carnival
The program also brings several cultural celebrations to the Square.
They Will Be Kings, a Midsumma Festival show exploring joy, power and gender, arrives on February 5.
The following evening, Nongkrong: Pasar Senja returns with Indonesian-Australian music, dance, food, markets and workshops.
The annual Afro-Caribbean Carnival takes over the Square on 20 February for a day and night of celebrations led by Jamaican reggae and dancehall artists King Yellowman and Queen Ifrica, alongside Melbourne’s Tribe Soundsystem.
From 16–21 February, ON&ON: Street Dance Festival will bring dancers, artists and DJs to the Square for six days of street and club dance culture, including the return of City Sessions, Melbourne’s longest-running freestyle dance battle.
For more information, head here.
Beat is a proud media partner of Open Air at the Square.
