Yarra's annual winter music festival is back and bigger than ever, with free and low-cost events across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford and Richmond.
City of Yarra’s Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is returning to a full ten-day format in 2026, with programming that champions the venues, artists, promoters and collectives that make the area one of Australia’s most vital live music communities.
Running from Thursday 16 to Sunday 26 July, the festival will take over the beloved venues, DIY spaces, late-night haunts and neighbourhood locals scattered across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford and Richmond.
Leaps and Bounds Music Festival
- 16–26 July
- Various venues across Fitzroy, Collingwood, Abbotsford and Richmond
- All events free or low cost
- Tickets here
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
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Venue takeovers and all-day events
Several all-day venue takeovers anchor the program.
IN MOTION, part of the HIGH GROUND series, takes over The Night Cat, The Evelyn Hotel and Punters Club on Saturday 18 July with Public Figures and Skeleten among the acts.
Collingwood’s new train carriage venue Trainscendence hosts Loco Motion across two days, a weekend of music, arts and creative culture for all ages featuring Charlie Needs Braces.
The Gem hosts Stone Fest, a free Sunday session built around female-led artists with Girlatones, Daisy Kilbourne and Hannah Kate on the bill. Lulie Tavern holds LittlePalooza, a free and fully accessible all-day party featuring Leroy MacQueen and Platonic Sex.
Bodriggy Brewing runs Riggy Fest across four nights, showcasing a wide mix of femme artists performing live and DJing each night. The series features Girls Night In, Annalisa Fernandez (Close Counters) and Locus with DJ support from Yarra and Biscotti, KUZCO, and a closing night Viva Cumbia edition.
The Grace Darling Hotel hosts Open Circuit, a full-venue transmission across multiple rooms blending live performance, film, sound systems and selectors.
Global sounds and cultural exchange
Global music and cultural storytelling feature prominently across the ten days.
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Stani Goma’s To Bina: A Night of Soukous Vibrations Powered by El Gran Mono comes to Abbots Yard, while The Horn African Cafe hosts three nights of Diversity Funk, mapping the vast spectrum of groove music from the African diaspora with sets from 3,2,1. Jazz Trio, Cool Out Sun and Black Jesus Experience.
Akwaaba at Old Plates is a celebration of West African music, culture and food headlined by Immy Owusu and Sensible J. Sorbo Amplio, Melbourne’s self-styled ambassadors of cumbia, bring their energetic blend of ska, cumbia and freestyle hip hop to Bar Open across two live sets.
The Builders Arms Hotel hosts The Yalinguth Archives, a night of yidaki, songs and stories reflecting on Fitzroy’s iconic meeting places and the Aboriginal community that helped shape them. The Tote welcomes South Australian Aboriginal hip hop crew DEM MOB.
Emerging artists and club nights
Baxter’s on Brunswick St and Yah Yahs both spotlight emerging artists this year. Baxter’s presents Sounds Like Tomorrow, a three-night series with sets from Ebonnie Rose, Tia Lautier and Sharon Rose across the run, while Yah Yahs launches Stage Dive, a new live music series shining a light on the freshest names coming out of Melbourne.
Glamorama teams up with REELIZE Studio for INFUSE, an immersive AV club night featuring dozie.
Bar Open also hosts Queers to the Front, a showcase of high-energy live music, alternative drag, burlesque and sideshow performances anchored by a loud punk rock sensibility.
DIY, punk and neighbourhood highlights
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The Old Bar goes loud and fast with Old Bar Fever, a full day of punk.
Nighthawks and The Bendigo join forces for Lowlight on Lojo on Lower Johnston St, with soundscapes spilling across the strip for an evening of alternative, immersive and experimental performance.
The Railway Hotel in Fitzroy hosts Saloon Tunes, a one-off afternoon bringing together OjiAji, A.L.I.E.N and Nkechi Anele for an intimate session in the Saloon Bar.
Skydiver Records celebrates its tenth anniversary with a full day of deep crates and underground sound system culture.
Chesstivus returns to Runner Up Rooftop Bar for another night of its own particular brand of revelry.
New Delica returns to The Catfish for two free, all-ages sets after previous sold-out shows. Closing out the festival, Shackleton 3, featuring Mick Thomas, Anna Burley, Liz Stringer and Olivia Bolmat, revive their beloved Inner North holiday band for a Sunday evening at The Standard.
PBS broadcast and more community events
PBS keeps up its festival tradition with a live broadcast on Thursday 23 July, from the Yorkshire Stingo Hotel in Abbotsford, hosted by Melbourne radio legends Crispi and Ernie. The broadcast now boasts a stacked lineup of confirmed artists, including Georgia Fields, Charles Jenkins, Leah Senior, Rhiz and the Sugarplums, Sarah Carroll and Ella Hooper.
Tracey Miller and friends bring an afternoon of jazz classics and gospel to the Fitzroy Bowls Club, with a focus on older people and people with disability. Liberate Community presents Equaliser: A Disability Pride Party at The Leadbeater Hotel in Richmond.
The Leaps and Bounds Record Fair rounds out the festival on Sunday 26 July at Collingwood Town Hall, returning as one of Melbourne’s largest inner-city record fairs with bargains, rarities and classics across the floor.
Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is presented by Yarra City Council and supported by PBS.
For more information, head here.
This article was made in partnership with Leaps and Bounds.
