The St Kilda Festival we know and love will return across two huge days in 2023, welcoming around 400,000 people for two massive days of free live music events on February 18 and 19.
It will be the 42nd edition of the iconic St Kilda Festival and will mark its return to a semblance of tradition as it takes place as a two-day program across Saturday 18 and Sunday 19 February 2023. In 2022, we saw more of the St Kilda Festival than ever before – in summer due to crowd restrictions, it took place over a mammoth nine-day stretch. In winter, we saw the emergence of its wonderful sister event, Southside Live, which adopted a similar format.
Proudly presented by City of Port Phillip, St Kilda Festival will continue the tradition of celebrating a First Peoples Festival and will showcase more than 50 artists as one of Victoria’s premier free live music events. Day one is a dedicated First Peoples Festival Day, with a music lineup showcasing established and emerging artists from the main stage on the St Kilda beach foreshore, as well as a day of family-friendly activities in O’Donnell Gardens.
St Kilda Festival 2023
- St Kilda Festival will return to tradition in 2023
- It will host two massive days of free live music events on February 18 and 19
- It will take place across the St Kilda foreshore and O’Donnell Gardens
Keep up with the latest music news, features, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
St Kilda Festival 2022 announces full lineup for nine-day extravaganza
The second day of the Festival is a large-scale, multi-stage event showcasing more than 50 artists and bands and welcoming an audience historically in the region of 400,000, to St Kilda’s iconic foreshore area. Port Phillip Mayor Marcus Pearl said: “This year we embraced the return of St Kilda Festival in an extended nine-day program. Next year, we’re proud to see the Festival return to its pre- pandemic form and we can’t wait to see droves of festival goers enjoying the best of St Kilda in summer.”
St Kilda Festival supports a broad range of musicians, from emerging talent to established and iconic performers, with a continued focus on championing Victorian artists. It has a massive effect on local businesses, and showcases the beauty and unique vibes St Kilda offers to people across Victoria.
The New Music Competition (NMC) will once again be a key feature of the festival program, giving audiences the opportunity to watch sets from new and emerging talent and vote for their favourite performance for a chance to win a voter prize pack. The winning act will take home prize money and receive an invitation to perform at the St Kilda Festival Main Stage in 2024.
Southside Live is bringing the hottest live music to warm up St Kilda this winter
The NMC will launch later this year with a call for entries from emerging artists across the country, we’ll have plenty of info on that later. Expressions of Interest open on Wednesday 7 September for community groups in Port Phillip – including local choirs, dance schools and performance collectives – to submit an application for their activities and events to be considered as part of the 2023 festival program.
The full festival program will be announced in 2023. To stay up to date with the latest news about St Kilda Festival, keep an eye on the St Kilda Festival website.
