Some of Victoria’s favourite festival acts including Matt Walker and Ashley Davies, Henry Wagons and Kylie Auldist will headline the 18th Aireys Inlet Music Festival.
The boutique festival, now in its 18th year, takes place in six venues across the town, including the Aireys Pub, Great Ocean Road Gin Tasting Room, Sunnymead Hotel, The Captain of Aireys and the Lighthouse Tea Rooms. Great Ocean Road Mini Golf will once again will host the best local developing bands on the Push FReeZA stage.
Aireys Inlet Music Festival 2024
- Matt Walker and Ashley Davies (Playing I Listen to the Night)
- Henry Wagons
- Kylie Auldist
- Cambodian Space Project
- Tek Tek Ensemble
- Willie J & the Bad Books
- Sand Pebbles
- Ruby & Loretta
- The Resignators
- Beans
- Opelousas
- Kerri Simpson & Tim Neal Gospel Session Steppers
- Aireys Rolling Stones Allstars
- Daniel Aaron
- Jungle Jim Smith
- Honk
- Owsley
- Craig Horne Roots
- Book reading with Ian Lovell
- Troy Williamson
- Victoriana Gaye
- Anglesea Community Rock Choir
- Push FReeZA stage
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
The festival will host its first international act, with the Cambodian Space Project bringing their unique funky pop from Cambodia via Womad to the town on Sunday afternoon.
In another coup for the festival, Matt Walker and Ashley Davies will play a rare show at sunset on the Saturday, while shimmering psychedelic rock band Sand Pebbles will provide the sunset soundtrack on Friday.
Author and musician Craig Horne will do a book reading about the Great Ocean Road music scene and perform songs at Great Ocean Road Gin Tasting Room. Rising local star Daniel Aaron leads the charge of locally based acts on the bill, including ska favorites The Resignators, Geelong’s Beans (featuring Murlocs drummer Matt Blach), Victoriana Gaye, Honk, Owlsey, the Aireys Rolling Stones All stars and the Anglesea Community Rock Choir.
“This is the event’s most diverse line-up yet. Aireys residents have pretty broad tastes and they love to dance so we have booked some of the best purveyors of blues, ska, psychedelic rock, R ‘n’ B, folk, funk, country and disco. You’d be hard-pressed the find a more fun festival line- up for under $100 anywhere on the planet,’’ said festival Creative Director Patrick Donovan.
Aireys Inlet, a coastal hamlet where the Great Ocean Road meets the Great Otway National Park, is 90 minutes drive from Melbourne. It is a magnet for artists and creatives, and the festival was a key part of its recognition as Victoria’s Top Tiny Tourism Award for 2023 (and second in Australia’s Top Tourism Town Awards).
Local music champion Marty Maher ran the event for 15 years as an Open Mic event with a high-profile mystery guest (including Hoodoo Gurus and Tash Sultana), but since Covid it has been transformed into an accessible ticketed event that boosts spending in the town by 26 per cent.
Tickets: $50 early bird weekend pass. For more information: aireysinlet.com.au.
