The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts is gearing up for an epic jazz-fuelled day featuring more than 150 musicians across five unique spaces.
Melbourne’s jazz lovers are in for a treat this autumn with the Big Jazz Day Out festival taking over Monash University’s Clayton campus. The all-access event will showcase international and Australian artists alongside talented students and staff from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music.
Punters can explore state-of-the-art venues, enjoy food and drinks, and immerse themselves in a full day of live music. The family-friendly event offers free tickets for kids under 14.
Big Jazz Day Out
- Saturday 3 May 2025, from 12:00pm
- The Ian Potter Centre for Performing Arts
- Tickets here
Big Day Jazz Out lineup
- Coco’s Lunch & Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music students
- Emma Donovan
- Ngaiire
- Paul Grabowsky
- Fem Belling
- Andrew Murray Big Band
- Monash Art Ensemble featuring Sandy Evans
- Sandy Evans
- Freyja Garbett
- Cairo Club Orchestra
- Amadou and Friends
- San Lazaro
- Jazz Party
- ZEDSIX
- Horns of Leroy
- Jake Mason Trio
- Students and staff from the Sir Zelman Cowen School of Music
Check out our gig guide, our arts guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
The lineup features some serious heavyweights of the Australian music scene. PNG-born, Australia-based artist Ngaiire will perform alongside the legendary Paul Grabowsky with the Monash String Sinfonia in the Alexander Theatre. With a sound that’s been described as “a combination of Mary J. Blige and Erykah Badu’s voices mixed with M.I.A.’s genre-bending sensibility,” Ngaiire has built a musical identity that transcends boundaries and genres.
Grabowsky, one of Australia’s most significant composers, brings his international acclaim to the festival. Having performed on stages worldwide including the Sydney Opera House, North Sea Jazz Festival, and Montreux Jazz Festival, Grabowsky is an Officer of the Order of Australia for services to Australian Music and has received eight ARIA awards.
The Soul of Jazz session will feature the powerful voice of Emma Donovan, who has been touring the country for over 20 years. The Indigenous singer-songwriter regularly performs songs in Gumbaynggirr and Noongar traditional languages, and shares stories to provide audiences with an understanding of Country and community. She’ll be joined by Fem Belling and Joshua Tavares with the Andrew Murray Big Band.
Other standout acts include the acclaimed vocal ensemble Coco’s Lunch, featuring singer/songwriter/percussionists Jacqueline Gawler, Lisa Young, Gabrielle MacGregor and Emma Gilmartin. The group has won hearts in over 13 countries and been described as a “national treasure” by the Herald Sun.
The diverse program spans multiple venues including the David Li Sound Gallery, The Count’s, The Count’s Courtyard, and The Speakeasy Alexander Theatre Bar, featuring performances by Monash Art Ensemble featuring Sandy Evans, Freyja Garbett, Cairo Club Orchestra, Amadou and Friends, San Lazaro, Jazz Party, ZEDSIX, Horns of Leroy, Jake Mason Trio, and more.
For more information, head here.
