Dead Wax Ceremony: Heavy riffs and handcrafted candles unite at this Bendigo Hotel takeover
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30.06.2025

Dead Wax Ceremony: Heavy riffs and handcrafted candles unite at this Bendigo Hotel takeover

Words by Staff Writer

Black Match Candles presents Dead Wax Ceremony, featuring doom and sludge acts across two days.

The Adelaide-based candle makers are taking over the Bendigo Hotel for a weekend combining live music, vinyl markets and handcrafted goods. Dead Wax Ceremony showcases four heavy acts alongside daytime market stalls featuring Black Match Candles and Underground Records.

The collaboration emerged from connections made at Beer & BBQ Fest Adelaide, where the South Australian businesses bonded with Melbourne’s Mill Brewery crew over shared interests in metal music and craft products. The weekend event merges community market culture with underground music across Saturday evening’s concert and two days of free daytime markets.

Dead Wax Ceremony

  • What: Live music event with market stalls
  • When: Saturday 19 July, 2025 (concert 9pm), Saturday and Sunday 19-20 July (markets 12pm-6pm)
  • Where: Bendigo Hotel, 125 Johnston Street, Collingwood
  • Cost: $15 presale, $20 door for concert; free market entry
  • Ages: 18+ for concert, all ages for markets

Check out our gig guide here.

Saturday night’s lineup features doom metal act Isua alongside South Australian guests Sundowner, delivering what organisers describe as nihilistic sludge. Local hardcore punk outfit Bruxist rounds out the bill with Speyer, a black metal project inspired by skateboarding legend Wade Speyer.

The weekend markets offer music-inspired soy candles from Black Match Candles alongside vinyl treasures spanning metal, punk, doom and psychedelic genres from Underground Records. Both businesses represent Adelaide’s thriving independent creative scene making their mark in Melbourne’s inner north.

The Bendigo Hotel’s weekend transformation reflects growing connections between interstate underground music communities. The venue’s support for independent South Australian businesses demonstrates the collaborative spirit driving Australia’s alternative music and arts scenes.

Market-goers can explore the curated stalls during daytime hours before the evening’s heavy musical programming. The combination of artisan goods and live performance creates an immersive weekend experience celebrating underground culture.

For more information, head here.