Live music every weekend at Merri Bar, plus trivia and open mic nights throughout May.
Merri Bar’s May is stacked from top to bottom, with live music every weekend, trivia every Tuesday from 7.30pm, and open mic nights on 14 and 28 May. Saturday evening sets and Sunday afternoon sessions cover folk, country, blues, roots, alternative rock and electronic music across the full month.
A few acts stand out. Mr. Alford brings Nashville-seasoned country storytelling to 9 May, with chart-topping radio credits and Tamworth festival appearances to his name. The Dusty Dimes deliver swampy Mississippi hill country blues, all gritty guitar and harmonica.
For something harder-edged, Naarm five-piece Ebi Nori fuse alt-country, hardcore and noise rock on Sunday the 3rd. And rounding out the month’s more distinctive offerings, Manic Joy bring a hardware-only electronic set, exploring the space between Aphex Twin experimentation and classic synth-pop.
European singer-songwriter Szara Fox closes out May with Flamenco and Balkan-influenced songs about wanderlust and revelation. Plenty of reasons to make the trip to Gilbert Road.
Merri Bar
- 15 Gilbert Road, Preston
- Free entry for all live shows
- Dog-friendly venue with beer garden
- Trivia Night every Tuesday from 7.30pm
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
Tall Timber
- 2 May
Melbourne’s own Tall Timber bring their folk duo sound to Merri Bar for a Saturday night set. Two voices, acoustic strings, and the kind of unhurried songwriting that rewards your full attention. Perfect for easing into a weekend evening with something warm and well-crafted.
Ebi Nori
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- 3 May
Ebi Nori don’t sit still long enough to fit neatly into one genre. The Naarm-based five-piece drag alt-country, hardcore, noise rock and alternative into something distinctly their own, held together by Ebi’s fierce vocals and songwriting. With guitar, bass, drums and synths all in the mix, Sunday afternoons at Merri just got considerably louder.
Mr. Alford
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- 9 May
Mr. Alford arrives with a Nashville-seasoned back catalogue, chart-topping songs, Tamworth credentials, and a reputation for shows that feel more like conversations. The Melbourne-based country, folk and roots musician, also a respected visual artist, draws comparisons to James Taylor and Glen Campbell, but the stories he tells are unmistakably his own.
Stella Hannagan
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- 10 May
Raised on the NSW Central Coast with music in her bones, Stella Hannagan brings something rare to a Sunday afternoon: a voice that’s raw and powerful, wrapped around songs that marry organic warmth with electronic texture. Her lyricism hits with the kind of honesty that lingers. Melbourne’s gain.
The Quantum Psychics
- 16 May
The Quantum Psychics claim to know the song you want before you ask. Bold. With over 40 years of combined experience and a set list that spans decades of pop, rock, blues, country and Aussie classics, they might just be right. Leave your requests at home, apparently they’ve already handled it.
The Dusty Dimes
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- 17 May
The Dusty Dimes have been hauling Mississippi hill country blues around Melbourne since 2017, and they’re not cleaning up anytime soon. This guitar-and-harmonica duo deal in the swampy, gritty and gloriously unpolished. If your Sunday afternoon needs a little dirt under its fingernails, you’ve found your band.
Manic Joy
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- 23 May
Manic Joy made an impression at one of our open mic nights, enough of one to earn a full show. Performed entirely on hardware, their sets explore the territory between Aphex Twin-style experimentation and the warmth of classic synth-pop, mixing lo-fi and modern electronic textures across two evolving 45-minute sessions. Curious and worth your Saturday night.
Mariah McCarthy Trio
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- 24 May
Mariah McCarthy writes songs that stay with you. The Central Victorian folk artist, a darling of the Bendigo scene, brings her trio to Merri Bar for an afternoon of delicately crafted storytelling. Love, loss, betrayal and quiet hope, delivered with a serene voice and an honesty that commands the room. Don’t sleep on this one.
Kier Stevens
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- 30 May
Kier Stevens moves between ballads, blues and the genuinely experimental, playing both regular and steel guitar with a restless, improvisational spirit. There’s no fixed destination in a Kier Stevens set, just a musician who writes, records and performs with equal curiosity.
Szara Fox
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- 31 May
Szara Fox closes out May with something you won’t hear anywhere else. The European singer-songwriter weaves Flamenco and Balkan influences into songs about revelation and wanderlust, music that feels like it’s been carried across borders and left richer for the journey. A transportive end to the month.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Merri Bar.
