Yarra City Council’s annual winter music festival, Leaps and Bounds, returns with a focus on uplifting and amplifying Yarra's diverse live music scene. Including the reopening of a historical venue that has been dormant for decades, this year's festival strives to highlight the diversity of bands, performers and song writers that attract an equally diverse audience of music lovers across all ages.

“Much loved for over a decade, Leaps and Bounds is a favourite in the Yarra calendar” Mayor Edward Crossland said.  

“We’re so proud to continue hosting this spectacular festival and to support local musicians, venues and workers, particularly in light of recent challenges that the industry is facing relating to rising rents, cost of living pressures and increasing public liability insurance.”  

A celebration of local music, the diverse line-up of live shows will hit venues across Fitzroy, Fitzroy North, Collingwood, Abbotsford and Richmond from Thursday 25 July to Sunday 28 July. 

Spanning four days and nights, the festival boasts a succession of parties and performances for all age groups and every budget, including plenty of free and family-friendly gigs on the program.  

This year’s program provides a platform for venues to program a diverse lineup from LGBTIQA+ and First Nations musicians and to build audiences across generations. Highlights include:

• Tribute shows to Mazzy Star at Lulie Tavern, Gillian Welch at The Gem and John Prine at Catfish Bar.
• Amos Roach Unplugged featuring the award-winning musician, dancer and director, for an intimate performance at the Railway Hotel Fitzroy.  An unmissable opportunity to also see the newly refurbished bandroom, which hosted dances for returned soldiers in the 50s through to local rock acts like Weddings Parties Anything in the early 2000s, but has sat dormant for decades, until now!
• Other First Nations shows include Tjum Tjumba Fundraiser at Glamorama and Kiwat Kennell at Bodriggy Brewing Co.
• Berada by Nighthawks x Rama Parwata promises to deliver an unforgettable experience as a showcase of Southeast Asian artists that merges cultural influences, experimental sounds and dynamic performances including Hantu, the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and ethnomusicologist Isobel D'Cruz which draws on her Western and Indian classical training and Malaysian background.

Shows for young families and teenagers including: Baby, You're a Star at Lulie Tavern: a gig for parents, pals and kids in conjunction with Yarra Youth DJ Skills plus Horsepower Two Year Anniversary Show (All Ages) at The Tote featuring Horsepower and a host of acts from Melbourne and Sydney with J.O.Y (SYD), Bozo (SYD), Mindrace and Tarnished.

PBS Presents ‘Swinging City’ Live from The Corner Hotel: To celebrate and launch Leaps and Bounds 2024, PBS will continue their tradition of a live broadcast from one of Yarra’s finest establishments the Corner Hotel, presenting not one, but two PBS radio shows live-to-air from the rooftop bar and courtyard. Join hosts Crispi Winsor and Myles O’Neil-Shaw for 4 hours of live music, special guests and rare records as Radio City and Swinging Doors combine for this special broadcast.

Successful events from last year will also return for another exciting instalment in 2024:

• GRRLS to the Front at Bad Decisions Bar – a hip hop show spotlighting female identifying, non-binary, and LGBTIQA+ rap and hip-hop artists, and their passionate fan bases.
• FLIGHT! - a showcase featuring the new generation of Naarm’s best artists, featuring 9 acts from culturally diverse backgrounds. Presented by The Boite & The Evelyn Hotel.
• Leaps and Bounds Record Fair at Collingwood Town Hall.

As part of the festival, Council is also proud to announce a partnership with Live Music Locator (LML), a pilot project to promote all the live music taking place in the municipality from July onwards, including Leaps and Bounds Festival. Live Music Locator is a new website making it possible to discover every gig playing at every venue across every genre at any one time.

This information will always be verified and free, importantly supporting musicians, our small to medium live music venues and you the punters.

Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is proudly presented by Yarra City Council, with presenting partner PBS FM. For more information visit Leaps and Bounds Music Festival.