Preston's Merri Bar is mixing things up this April, with live music across the weekends joined by something a little different — comedy open mic nights!
Merri Bar, the Gilbert Road local hasn’t reinvented itself, just added another dimension.
Saturday evening sets and Sunday afternoon sessions continue as usual, anchored by a mix of solo artists, trios and a couple of genuinely exciting debut performances.
Folk, Celtic, country and sophisticated pop all feature across the month, alongside a not-for-profit showcase that’s one of the more interesting bills Merri has hosted.
Worth noting: the bar will be closed on Easter Sunday (5 April) but is open as normal across the rest of the long weekend.
Regulars will know Tuesday trivia runs every week from 7.30pm. Open mic nights return on Thursdays, but this month splits into two streams; music open mics on the 2nd, 16th and 30th from 7pm, and comedy open mics on the 9th and 23rd from 8pm.
No affiliation with the Comedy Festival, just a good excuse to lean into the season. Sign up to play or perform at themerribar.com.
Dive in to the rest of the month below!
Merri Bar
- Free entry for all live shows
- Trivia Night every Tuesday from 7.30pm
- Music Open Mic: Thursdays 2, 16 & 30 April from 7pm
- Comedy Open Mic: Thursdays 9 & 23 April from 8pm, sign up here
- Saturday 4 April: The Deadly Apple-Johns, 7pm
- Sunday 5 April: CLOSED (Easter Sunday)
- Saturday 11 April: Scarlet Fever, 7pm (debut show)
- Sunday 12 April: Nick Hyde, 4pm
- Saturday 18 April: Music Roof Presents — Hann., JAM & Miss Gabrielle, 7pm
- Sunday 19 April: Brendon Siemsen Trio, 4pm
- Saturday 25 April: Southern Duck, 7pm
- Sunday 26 April: Karlo Arcinue, 4pm
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
Scarlet Fever
11 April, 7pm
Scarlet Fever are Narm’s newest girl trio, and they’re kicking off with a debut show that promises to be anything but tentative. Emily O’Connor, Laura Pryor and Lois Rose combine guitar, fiddle and autoharp with interwoven harmonies, drawing on timeless folk, Celtic melody and old-school country for what they describe as “a haunting, messy and heartfelt evening.” A debut worth being at.
Music Roof Presents: Hann., JAM & Miss Gabrielle
View this post on Instagram
- 18 April, 7pm
Music Roof, the not-for-profit initiative founded by Siki Daha, brings three independent artists to Merri for a night of debuts and returns. Hann. delivers sophisticated pop with a singular sound, her debut EP arrives later this year and single COW is already out. JAM is back after five years away, her new direction crystallised in lead single “Body of Work”. And Miss Gabrielle, a globally experienced DJ now stepping into original music, opens and closes the night while debuting new material on stage.
The Deadly Apple-Johns
View this post on Instagram
- 4 April, 7pm
Love, death, cowboys and Carlton. The Deadly Apple-Johns are perennial runners-up in love, life and songwriting competitions, and proud of it. Whatever that means for their sound, it’s clearly earned them a following. Come find out why.
Nick Hyde
View this post on Instagram
- 12 April, 4pm
Wellington singer-songwriter Nick Hyde wears his heart on his sleeve, blending alternative rock with acoustic depth and raw emotional vocals. Drawing on Ryan Adams and the Goo Goo Dolls, his sound is honest and unhurried; exactly the kind of thing a Sunday afternoon at Merri was made for.
Brendon Siemsen Trio
View this post on Instagram
- 19 April, 4pm
Melbourne guitarist Brendon Siemsen brings his emotive, genre-fluid playing to life in trio format. Expect a blend of jazz, blues, rock and fusion, original compositions alongside creative reworks of familiar tunes. Instrumental music that tells stories without words, and does it well.
Southern Duck
- 25 April, 7pm
Formed in Melbourne in 2024, Southern Duck — Roger Evans, Adam Fforde and Sala Kord — play jazz and beyond, mixing originals with interpretations in a style their own fans describe as eclectic, creative and smooth. A young band already worth paying attention to.
Karlo Arcinue
View this post on Instagram
- 26 April, 4pm
Melbourne folk singer-songwriter Karlo Arcinue deals in fingerpicked guitar and a warm baritone that pulls you straight back to the 1970s. A regular at folk festivals around Victoria, his heartfelt originals are the kind that stay with you long after the last chord rings out.
For more information, head here.
