Nine spectacular outdoor live music shows coming to Melbourne in February

Words from Joanne Brookfield

Melbourne’s landmark amphitheater Sidney Myer Music Bowl provides outdoor entertainment with Live at the Bowl.

From January to April the program has ensured there is something for everyone, spanning the spectrum from the best local acts and international artists to music, dance, community-led and family-friendly events.

You can watch the full program on the Arts Center Melbourne website here, but for a real breakdown of what’s happening and why it’s so worth watching, let’s take a closer look at what’s in store for February comes to …

Darren Hayes: Do you remember? trip

February 4: Tickets – $99 – $546.75

With a quarter century of hits under his belt, Darren Hayes needs no introduction. Still, we’re big fans, so no chance for a quick crash course in his history: Darren Hayes founded the pop duo Savage Garden, they went insanely, incredibly, incredibly famous internationally in the ’90s and then they broke up. With such a phenomenal voice, he naturally went solo and AWOL from his home country and made his Do You Remember? Tour – 25 Years of Savage Garden, Solo Hits and More! his first time on Australian stages in over a decade. To fuel that nostalgia to eleven, Bachelor Girl are the support act for this Melbourne show, which he promises will get the crowd going with a mix of classic fan-favorites and new solo material.

Tickets and more information here.

Picnic Electronics: Kölsch, Cristoph, Korolova, Boogs & Wiser

February 5: Tickets – $39.95 – $89.95

The idea behind the open-air electronic music event Piknic Électronik, now entering its ninth season here in Melbourne (having started in Montreal 15 years ago and expanding to other cities such as Barcelona, ​​Paris, Santiago and more) , is about providing immersive, social experiences in a friendly environment and what place in Melbourne is better suited to that than the Music Bowl? Piknic Electronik Melbourne teams up with Thick as Thieves to bring you the million-selling Danish Kolsch along with Newcastle’s Cristoph, Kyiv’s Korolova, plus support from Melbourne local legend Boogs and fast-rising Wiser for this Sunday session set at 2:00 p.m. begins. (Despite the early start, this is an 18+ event)

Tickets and more information here.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – A Tchaikovsky spectacle

February 8: Free

Here’s a quick quiz for you: How long has the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra been giving open air concerts? More than 90 years. They’ve presented an annual series of concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl since 1959, so it makes perfect sense that they’d be doing three free shows as part of the Live at the Bowl festival.

This first will feature some of Tchaikovsky’s best-known works, conducted by Carlo Antonioli and Aaron Wyatt. Gates open at 4.30pm and the performance lasts two hours including intermissions.

More info here.

icehouse

February 11: Tickets – $111.85 – $218.70

It’s almost as if the pandemic still insists on being a problem for live performances, three full years after this thing. Icehouse had originally planned to stage their performance of Great Southern Land 2022 – The Concert Series at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl in November, but when frontman Iva Davies tested positive for Covid they were forced to reschedule the show, which is now on February 11. It’s been 40 years since their hit Great Southern Land became an unofficial Australian anthem, so Icehouse can rightly be called Aussie rock legends. They are joined by Eskimo Joe, Australian indie favorites Frente and anthemic alt-rock quartet Motor Ace.

Tickets and more information here.

Tiny little Stevies

February 12: Tickets – $25

Fans of Melbourne folk-pop duo The Little Stevies will most likely know that sisters Beth and Byll Stephen have also had an ARIA Award-winning career as Teeny Tiny Stevies. They wrote songs for children, independently released tracks like “I Ate A Rainbow” and “Family (Love is Love)” which landed them a deal with ABC Kids, and a few more albums followed. At this special open-air concert, for which gates open at 10am, little folks and their grown-ups can cheer, dance and sing with the Teeny Tiny Stevies as they perform their hits alongside songs from their latest ARIA-nominated album How Play to Be Creative.

Tickets and more information here.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Mosaics

February 15: Free

Celebrating the breadth and diversity of Melbourne in 2023, Mosaics features four dynamic and diverse artists from Melbourne’s west – singers Ag Johnson, ELAURA, Nomad and HVSH – performing original works, backed by the orchestra. Then the Sangam Ensemble presents Agam, a play of three interwoven ancient, contemporary and futuristic stories of Tamil Australians living and working on unceded land in the Kulin Nation. Choreography and lyrics combining dance, visuals and storytelling are by Priya Srinivasan, composition and arrangement by Hari Sivanesan, Uthra Vijay and Alex Turley.

Tickets and more information here.

SYNTHONY NO.3

February 17: Tickets – $100.80 – $202.55

Reinterpreting iconic club anthems and future classics, SYNTHONY No.3 gets you dancing in this orchestrated dance party that brings together electronic dance music, live orchestras, DJs, singers and immersive visuals. Headlining guest vocals is Natalie Bassingthwaighte (Rogue Traders) in a line-up that includes rising soul superstar Thandi Phoenix, Ilan Kidron (The Potbelleez), Cassie McIvor, Greg Gould, Matty O, Mobin Master and event host Aroha. Master Conductor Sarah-Grace Williams is considered one of the finest conductors in the southern hemisphere and will lead it all. Expect new music from Disclosure, Eric Prydz, Flume, Calvin Harris, Wilkinson and many more acclaimed artists along with all the fan favorites

Tickets and more information here.

Melbourne Symphony Orchestra – Carmina Burana

February 18: Free

The third of MSO’s free concert series begins with Hannah Shin, winner of the Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition, performing Prokofiev’s most celebrated piano concerto, conducted by Benjamin Northey. After the interval, it’s Carmina Burana, a work by German composer Carl Orff inspired by bawdy and irreverent poetry and satirical texts from the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. For this performance, it’s all brought to life by soprano Kathryn Radcliffe, tenor Paul McMahon, bass-baritone Warwick Fyfe and the MSO Chorus. If you get there early you can also see the Melbourne Youth Orchestra Curtain Raiser from 6pm.

More info here.

Picnic Electronics: dirt on acid

February 19: Tickets: $39.95 – $79.95

If you missed Piknic Electronic earlier this month or loved it so much you need another fix, don’t worry because Live at the Bowl has a second session. Or stand and dance, depending on the case. Piknic Électronik: Filth on Acid will feature Reinier Zonneveld, Kiki Solvej, Rory Marshall, Paul Abad, Lisa May, Emanni, Dagu and Acid Baby on stage.

Tickets and more information here.

Sorbaes: Sundae

February 26 – Tickets: $20 – $30

DJ and designer Soju Gang (Gunai/Kurnai, Yorta Yorta and Wiradjuri) returns to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl for a third year with her club concept Sorbaes, which is a concert by day, a club by night, with an exceptional line-up of artists, bands and DJs as well as dance battles and VIP boiler room. This is a family friendly place for all ages where $2 from every ticket sold and $5 from every VIP ticket sold is donated to the Dhadjowa Foundation which supports and amplifies the voices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families, and their loved ones died in custody.

Tickets and more information here.

To view the full packed program visit the Arts Center Melbourne website here.

Beat is the official media partner of Live at the Bowl.