The Brunswick Ballroom will open its doors this Queen’s Birthday long weekend to a bumper-to-bumper three-day extravaganza, the Ballroom Blitz.
Brunswick Ballroom is making lemonade out of lemons this Queen’s Birthday long weekend with its Ballroom Blitz. A three-day music festival from Friday June 11 to Sunday June 13, patrons can boogie on down to 20 different acts from a wide range of genres.
The brainchild of Brunswick Ballroom’s venue director, Will Ewing, and music booker, Mary Mihelakos, the Ballroom Blitz celebrates the humble fact that after the chaos of 2020, we are in fact still standing. Better yet, across three days of festivities, you can play witness to Australian artists and bands whose plans for greatness were dashed last year.
Catch up on the latest music interviews, news and reviews here.
With Victoria’s circuit-breaker lockdown set to ease ahead of the coming long weekend, the Ballroom Blitz is the perfect opportunity for everyone to come together.
“It’s the long weekend and it’s the perfect time to hang around and celebrate in Melbourne with these great artists,” Ewing says.
“We pulled acts that range from rock, indie, Americana and so much more. Over the three days, there’s a natural progression from rock to indie and more, so there’s something for everyone.
“It’s like a curated playlist for your Friday, Saturday and Sunday.”
Kicking off at 6pm on Friday June 11, punters will enjoy a rock-infused Friday night with the likes of Goldminds, Dr Sure’s Unusual Practice, Steel Wheels, Redspencer and Easy Browns set to perform. With Redspencer’s second album set for release this month, this is the perfect opportunity to get out of the house, don the party shirt and immerse yourself in some alt-rock jams.
“We can’t wait for our first headline show after our album tour to be at the incredible Brunswick Ballroom. We’re honoured to be asked to play alongside an incredible lineup of bands to celebrate all of the music released during the 2020 lockdown,” highlights Goldminds guitarist Jordan Barczak.
View this post on Instagram
Coming into Saturday June 12, the Ballroom Blitz has your party plans sorted from 4pm with music from a more indie-based collective, including BATTS, Merpire, Braille Face, Feelds, Cahill Kelly and Lewis Coleman.
“Will and Mary from Brunswick Ballroom putting on this festival to support and celebrate local artists really highlights how lucky we are to create and live in such a beautiful city like Melbourne/Narrm. To have venues like the Brunswick Ballroom that are always thinking about how they can help support artists. This is our first band show in 18 months and I can’t wait to play on the stage there. Tears guaranteed,” explains the voice behind BATTS, Tanya Batts.
The third and final day on Sunday June 13 will offer up opportunities to see the likes of Cool Sounds, Snowy Band, Michael Beach (solo), Martin Frawley, Jackson Reid Briggs & the Heaters, Emily Ulman and Monnone Alone.
Booking such a fantastic bill came down to looking “at the artists who traditionally have played at the Brunswick Ballroom and the impact of 2020. Bands [that] had big plans that were taken away from them,” Ewing says.
“2020 kicked us in the gut so we took this initiative to give some love. This was our opportunity to support and celebrate artists we love.
“Mary and I are very proud of the lineup we’ve put together. We just love music. It’s as simple as that and we just think these artists need to and deserve to be celebrated. They had such big plans for 2020 that were dashed.”
The Ballroom Blitz goes down from Friday June 11 to Sunday June 13. You can grab a three-day ticket here, a singular Friday ticket here, Saturday ticket here or Sunday ticket here.
