Spanning ten days, Leaps and Bounds Music Festival 2021 will present outdoor block parties, all-day open-air events and cosy, curated evenings perfect for winter.
After being forced to present last year’s festival digitally, the City of Yarra’s Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is back to its glorious physical form in 2021.
Across ten magnificent days, Melbourne will come alive with an expanded program of live music and activations, celebrating the versatility and dexterity of music with a range of different events.
What you need to know
- Leaps and Bounds Music Festival has just revealed its program for 2021
- Across ten days, the festival will present everything from outdoor block parties, all-day open-air events and other cosy, curated events fit for winter
- It all goes down from Friday July 16 until Sunday July 25, with ticketed events set to go on sale from Tuesday June 15
Keep up with all the festival news, reviews and interviews here.
So what’s in store?
Off the top, revered gig and festival booker Rich Moffat has programmed a special treat for longstanding Melbourne music lovers with a Punters Club Reunion Gig – paying homage to the iconic venue once located where Bimbo is today on Brunswick Street.
You read correctly… on Sunday July 18 at Fitzroy Mills, the likes of Angie Hart (Frente), Bodyjar, Dallas Crane and The Meanies will come together to celebrate the Punters Club scene from the ’80s and ’90s.
A member of the Music Victoria Hall of Fame, Mary Mihelakos has tapped into her years of music industry experience to curate ‘Fitzroyalty’ – a gig set to honour to soul, funk, blues and hip hop legends of Brunswick Street. Going down on Saturday July 17 at Fitzroy Mills, performers for this one include Dan Sultan, 1200 Techniques, Swingin’ Sidewalks and more.
Elsewhere, Live at Charcoal Lane is a dining adventure and live music experience in one. Accompanying a menu focusing on native Australian ingredients, intimate performances from First Nations artists will take place. This goes down July 16-17 and July 20-21 at Charcoal Lane on Gertrude Street.
The Killjoys will also be making a return to the stage, performing their ARIA-winning debut album Ruby in full as part of a special one-off performance. Produced by Jane Gazzo, this show goes down Friday July 16 at The Fitzroy Town Hall Ballroom.
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The ninth instalment of Smith Street Dreaming will go down at Atherton Gardens on Saturday July 24. Celebrating Koorie history in Collingwood and Fitzroy, this event will welcome performances from some of best emerging and established Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander musicians.
On Saturday July 17 on Victoria Street, Fitzroy, there will be a Music in Exile outdoor stage, showcasing some of the best music talent from around the world who now call Australia home. On the same day, the Record Store Day – Vinyl Party will see record stores across the City of Yarra come alive with festivities.
There’s a Winter Wonderland Roller Disco happening in Collingwood, while a free open-air block party will take place as part of Sounds of Richmond.
Capping off the program highlights, FesTAVARES is a one-day community festival celebrating Australians of African descent in the lane named after respected community advocate Antonio Tavares. This one’s going down on Sunday July 25 at Tavares Lane.
Leaps and Bounds Music Festival goes down from Friday July 16 until Sunday July 25. Tickets go on sale from Tuesday June 15. More info here.
