Every room runs on a full Funktion One sound system and carries its own custom lighting and visual identity.

One room is set up in a Boiler Room-style format. The whole thing is spread across three named spaces: the Power Station, The Loft and The Kitchen, with programming rotating across all three each Saturday night.

The doors open on 16 May, with three Saturdays lined up across the month.

Eat The Beat

• Where: 546 Collins Street, Melbourne CBD
• When: Opening night 16 May
• Tickets here for the grand opening

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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16 May — Grand Opening (SOLD OUT)

The first night at the new address brings a solid spread.

The Power Station opens with a b2b-heavy lineup, while The Loft hands things over to Italian act Adapter for a headlining set, supported by Etwas, Mimosa, Mateo Blanco and Max Glyde.

Over in The Kitchen, Pong and Human Resources share the bill alongside a b2b from DJ Youtube and Devi Fairweather.

Lineup:

Power Station

• Lockdown
• Brooke Powell
• Korey Dobson b2b Bickeez
• Toska
• Marilyn Matrix
• Coupla Selectaz

The Loft

• Adapter (ITA)
• Etwas
• Mimosa
• Mateo Blanco
• Max Glyde

The Kitchen

• Pong
• Human Resources
• DJ Youtube b2b Devi Fairweather

23 May

The second Saturday brings a couple of international guests into the mix.

 

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The Power Station features Benjamin, Jayden Eddy, Acid Baby, Hooks & Patto, Meekå and Carter Walsh.

The Loft welcomes Bastian Bux from Spain, associated with Petit Comité and Elrow Music, alongside Italian act Pako S and a supporting cast including Blackie, Sarah Armstrong and Matteo Freyrie.

The Kitchen rounds things out with Jack Ahearn, Lewy Taylor b2b Aminde, Charlotte Delilah and Lord Roberts.

Lineup:

Power Station

• Benjamin
• Jayden Eddy
• Acid Baby
• Hooks & Patto
• Meekå
• Carter Walsh

The Loft

• Bastian Bux (ES)
• Pako S (IT)
• Blackie
• Sarah Armstrong
• Matteo Freyrie

The Kitchen

• Jack Ahearn
• Lewy Taylor b2b Aminde
• Charlotte Delilah
• Lord Roberts

30 May

The month closes with a strong bill.

The Power Station features Nik Kastel, Lola Voss, Røsah and Andrea Guadalupi. The Loft is headlined by John Course and Nick Reverse, with Max Glyde and Apolett in support.

The Kitchen goes long with an eight-strong billing: The Nilk, UP2, Cybergirl, Miggle, Yasumi, Mage, Arkhive and Into Ash.

Lineup:

Power Station

• Nik Kastel
• Lola Voss
• Røsah
• Andrea Guadalupi

The Loft

• John Course
• Nick Reverse
• Max Glyde
• Apolett

The Kitchen

• The Nilk
• UP2
• Cybergirl
• Miggle
• Yasumi
• Mage
• Arkhive
• Into Ash

Further programming and concepts are expected to be announced down the track.

This isn’t just a new venue; it’s a shift in what Eat The Beat is. The brand is moving from event-based programming into a permanent, curated multi-space environment, and the team has flagged that further concepts, programming and announcements are on the way.

Consider this the beginning of a new era.

For more information, head here. 

This article was made in partnership with Eat the Beat. 

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The Castlemaine Documentary Festival has been building into one of regional Victoria’s most interesting cultural weekends, and the 2026 edition doubles down on that reputation with a lineup that swings between the deeply personal and the politically charged.

Films arrive from the US, UK, Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Scotland and beyond, sitting alongside work from Australian filmmakers and a brand-new community project that puts locals front and centre.

That community project is The Love Compilations, one of the freshest ideas the festival has introduced.

Inspired by Wendy Clarke’s Love Tapes, a video project that has been running since the 1970s, the concept is simple: community members step into a recording booth and speak for three unedited minutes about love.

The recordings screen across multiple locations throughout the weekend, building into a collective portrait of the Castlemaine community. As a bonus milestone, the Castlemaine contributions will be archived at the University of Wisconsin alongside the original international collection, making this the first Australian material to enter that archive.

Also returning for its fifth year is LOCALS, the short documentary competition dedicated to regional filmmakers. This year’s jury includes Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Katie Mitchell and Sundance-recognised director Noora Niasari. Entries run up to six minutes and draw from stories emerging across central Victoria.

Here’s what’s screening across the full weekend!

Castlemaine Documentary Festival 2026

• When: 26–28 June
• Where: Theatre Royal, Castlemaine
• Tickets here

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here. 

Friday 26 June

Rod Quantock: Comedy Warrior (2:00pm)

An Australian documentary tracing five decades in the career of comedian Rod Quantock, from university revues and theatre restaurants through to the founding of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, exploring how he’s used humour as a tool for social commentary throughout. 98 minutes.

Agridulce (Bittersweet) (2:00pm) — Australian premiere

Set in Cabarete on the northern coast of the Dominican Republic, this film follows young bachata musicians as they come of age within their musical tradition, weaving in themes of migration, cultural heritage and identity along the way. Screens with Spanish dialogue and English subtitles. 98 minutes.

LOCALS (8:00pm)

The short documentary competition celebrating regional filmmakers from across central Victoria, with entries of up to six minutes each. This year’s jury includes Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Katie Mitchell and Sundance-recognised director Noora Niasari.

Saturday 27 June

The Golden Spurtle (11:00am)

An Australian documentary following the World Porridge Making Championship in Carrbridge, a small Scottish Highlands village, where contestants from around the world compete using just oats, water and salt. At its centre is longtime organiser Charlie Miller, who is preparing to step back from the event he has helped define. 75 minutes.

How Deep Is Your Love (2:00pm)

A UK film taking audiences into the deep ocean, where scientists are encountering species never previously seen by human eyes. Cutting-edge technology reveals ecosystems full of strange life while the looming threat of deep-sea mining adds urgency to what they are discovering and potentially stands to erase it. 100 minutes.

The Bend in the River (5:00pm) — Australian premiere

American filmmaker Robb Moss returns to a group of friends he first filmed on a rafting trip in the late 1970s, revisiting them in middle age and again in their seventies in a documentary that spans decades of friendship, change and reflection. 82 minutes.

Move Ya Body: The Birth of House (8:00pm) + DJ afterparty

Tracing the emergence of house music in late-1970s Chicago, rooted in Black and queer communities, this film blends archival footage with firsthand accounts to capture a cultural movement that transformed dance floors into spaces of resistance and belonging. A DJ afterparty follows the screening. 92 minutes.

Sunday 28 June

We Are Not Powerless (11:00am) — live Q&A with directors

An Australian documentary filmed over several years, following refugees in Indonesia who build a school starting with a $200 donation and a two-room classroom, eventually growing it to serve more than 1,300 students and 130 teachers. Directors Jolyon Hoff and Muzafar Ali will be in conversation after the film. 90 minutes.

Coexistence, My Ass! (2:00pm) — Victorian premiere

An Israeli activist and former UN peace diplomat turns to stand-up comedy to make her case for equality, navigating rising political tensions across several turbulent years including the aftermath of October 7. Screens in English, Farsi, Hebrew and Arabic. 95 minutes.

Bucks Harbor (5:00pm) — Australian premiere

A portrait of fishing communities on the remote coastline of Downeast Maine, following multiple generations of clammers and lobstermen across long hours and harsh conditions through an observational lens. 98 minutes.

Secret Mall Apartment (8:00pm)

The closing night film. The true story of eight Rhode Island artists who secretly built and lived inside a hidden apartment in the Providence Place shopping mall for four years starting in 2003, using the project to explore ideas around gentrification, consumer culture and public space. Executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg. 92 minutes.

For more information, head here. 

This article was made in partnership with Castlemaine Documentary Film Festival. 

The post Castlemaine Documentary Festival 2026: three days of nonfiction cinema, community love-ins and a secret mall apartment appeared first on Beat Magazine.

When two women met on a beach in September 2020 during Melbourne’s lockdown, they had no idea they were starting a movement. By December, sixty women had joined them.
They called themselves the Mt Martha Sea Wolves.

Sea Wolves Howl brings their extraordinary stories to life through vivid theatre and original songs. Five characters guide us through their daily ritual: waking before dawn, gathering on the shore, stripping down to their togs, joining hands so no-one can chicken out, howling like wolves, and plunging into the icy water together.

Each step of this journey offers particular physical challenges and evokes powerful stories. We meet women facing grief, illness, family violence, and social isolation. We witness their transformation as they discover that cold-water therapy becomes whole-life therapy— unleashing a wildness and playfulness that says yes to the universe with a mighty howl.

When they brave the wild sea, the differences that divide them on land are stripped away as they expose their bodies and souls to the water, to nature, and sometimes to each other. In this sacred space, they are seen, supported, celebrated and loved for their true selves.

Created through extensive interviews and conversations with the real Sea Wolves community, this work transforms their actual words into dialogue, monologue, song, image and movement. Featuring older female and gender-fluid performers boldly strutting their stuff in their togs, Sea Wolves Howl celebrates community resilience, the transformative power of nature, and the beauty of finding your wet and wild together.
Created from real interviews with the Mt Martha Sea Wolves swimming community. Sold-out seasons at Flinders Fringe 2024, presented at Showcase.

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The electronic music festival, presented by Novel, has built a reputation for treating the entire weekend as one cohesive environment: sound, lighting, spatial design and movement all working together rather than music just happening on stages in a paddock.

This year’s edition pushes that further with expanded infrastructure and a bigger focus on the physical experience of moving through the site.

A3 Festival 2026

• 27-30 November
• Lardner Park, Victoria

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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Four stage environments return: Main, Hangar, Forest and Pavilion, each with its own distinct energy and sound direction. Studio John Fish is back overseeing stage design, lighting and spatial direction across the grounds, alongside large-scale visual installations from REELIZE.STUDIO, and works by Lucas Gauci and Merinduh-Gunya x Rose Staff scattered across the festival site.

The 2026 lineup brings together an international cast across techno, house, trance and everything that blurs between them.

Kerri Chandler makes his first Australian return in almost a decade, bringing more than 30 years of deep house mastery to the Lardner Park dancefloor.

Nina Kraviz joins as one of electronic music’s most distinctively singular and globally recognisable selectors. Skin On Skin, whose trajectory spans South Sudan, Cairo, Brisbane and now a life split between Paris and Tokyo, returns for his first Australian camping festival since 2022, with a sound drawing from techno, house and alternative hip-hop.

UK duo LF System bring their groove-led, peak-time house energy off the back of widespread recognition following Afraid To Feel. Morgan Seatree and Max Dean and Luke Dean round out the UK contingent following strong international momentum across Europe and Ibiza.

Also on the bill: VTSS, whose sets drag hard techno into trance territory and back again without warning; Melbourne-London crossover STÜM, bringing his cinematic, festival-scale club sound; Sim0ne, whose trance and techno-leaning sets carry real emotional weight; and Rene Wise, whose groove-led techno approach has been refined across rooms like Berghain and Bassiani.

Ballot Stage One has already sold out.

For more information, head here. 

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The Western Australian band have announced the Heading Back Down Under Australian Tour, presented by Frontier Touring and triple j, complete with special guests Telenova and Armlock.

Spacey Jane 2026 Australia Tour

• 26 Nov – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
• 27 Nov – Riverstage, Brisbane QLD
• 4 Dec – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC
• 5 Dec – Sidney Myer Music Bowl, Melbourne VIC
• 6 Dec – The Drive, Adelaide SA
• 10 Dec –​ On The Steps, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
• 11 Dec –​ On The Steps, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW
• 12 Dec – ICF Outdoor, Perth WA
• 13 Dec – ICF Outdoor, Perth WA

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.

Fresh off the back of their third album If That Makes Sense – which debuted at #2, became the highest-selling Australian album of 2025 and scored ARIA nominations – Spacey Jane are riding an unstoppable wave.

With sold-out international tours, major festival slots including Lollapalooza and Bonnaroo, and heavy triple j rotation, they’ve cemented themselves as one of Australia’s biggest global exports. Now they’re bringing the party home for a string of massive outdoor shows.

Fans in Sydney can catch the band at the iconic On The Steps, Sydney Opera House Forecourt on 10 and 11 December.

Two Show Passes will be available for cities with double dates, giving fans the chance to experience the full spectacle across both nights. Joining Spacey Jane across the national run are cinematic Melbourne outfit Telenova and dreamy indie rock duo Armlock.

The tour announcement coincides with the release of new EP Exit Wounds (out 12 June) and latest single I Never See Her. With their blend of soaring anthems and heartfelt songwriting, Spacey Jane continue to prove why they’re one of the most loved bands of their generation.

Tickets go on sale Thursday 21 May at 10am local time. Frontier Members presale begins Tuesday 19 May at 10am local. Get your tickets here.

The post Spacey Jane announce nine Australian outdoor shows this summer appeared first on Beat Magazine.

Luna Pride 2026 is back, bigger and more immersive than its inaugural 2025 outing, transforming the entire park into an after-dark celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community, allies, families and anyone who just wants a really good night out. We’re talking unlimited rides, live entertainment, DJs, drag, comedy, glitter and what is shaping up to be one of the more visually spectacular nights on Melbourne’s winter calendar.

At the creative centre of this year’s event is the disco ball, reimagined as the defining symbol of Luna Pride 2026, representing joy, self-expression and connection.

It’s a fitting choice for a venue that has spent over a century being exactly that kind of place: somewhere people come to let go, make noise and feel something. The disco ball runs through the entire campaign aesthetic, giving the event a visual identity that’s bold, cohesive and very, very shiny.

Luna Pride 2026

• Luna Park Melbourne
• 13 June, 6pm–11pm
• Tickets here

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here. 

 

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On the entertainment side, the 2026 lineup is stacked. Drag performer and host Beverly Kills leads the charge, with a supporting cast that includes DJs, live bands, comedy acts, vocal performers and, genuinely, giant illuminated rainbow snail stilt walkers, which might be the single most Luna Park thing imaginable.

There are also more than 10 LGBTQIA+ performers spread across the night, immersive photo moments from Volter International and glitter face painting for those who want to commit to the bit.

Beyond the headline acts, the park itself becomes the entertainment. Guests get unlimited access to Luna Park’s full ride lineup throughout the night, alongside immersive in-park activations, a designated licensed Bubbles Bar and live performances stationed throughout the grounds.

The event is explicitly designed to be welcoming to everyone, families included, with the emphasis firmly on creating a space where people can celebrate exactly who they are without any of the velvet-rope exclusivity that can sometimes creep into pride events.

Luna Pride sits within a broader shift for Luna Park Melbourne, which has been quietly but deliberately repositioning itself as a serious player in Melbourne’s nightlife and cultural events landscape, not just a daytime destination for school holiday crowds.

The park has been leaning into immersive, after-dark experiences, and Luna Pride is very much part of that evolution. For an institution that’s been operating for well over a century, it’s a genuinely exciting reinvention.

With tickets already on sale through the Luna Park Melbourne website, Luna Pride 2026 is shaping up to be a fixture on the city’s June calendar, a night that manages to be simultaneously nostalgic and completely of the moment, which is a harder trick to pull off than it sounds.

For more information, head here.

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As part of the city’s Festival Programs Refresh, a proposal was made to significantly reduce the two events and instead use the funding to create a new, two-week festival in the north of the region that would also absorb the Fawkner Festa and Glenroy Festival.

Stay up to date with what’s happening in and around Melbourne here.

 

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After much public outcry surrounding the potential changes to the annual Sydney Road Street Party, both through online petitions and in person during the meeting, Cr Sue Bolton moved to amend the proposal to keep the Street Party at it is, while still cutting down the Coburg Night Market.

Cr Adam Pulford seconded the motion. “There’s a clear, overwhelming call from our community saying ‘Let’s keep this an annual event, it’s so important to us,'” he said.

“I know lots of people do love the Coburg Night Market. For me, I’m happy to see that shift to every two years because it’s a newer event. Sydney Road Street Party has such a deep history in our community now. It’s nearly been running as long as I’ve been alive.”

Mayor Cr Nat Abboud, who represents the district that’s home to the Coburg Night Markets, suggested an eight-month deferral instead, stating an unwillingness to limit one of Coburg’s biggest cultural events and fears the decision would become highly politicised ahead of the upcoming state elections.

“I can’t support a motion that prioritises the south and the north of the city and completely wipes out the central part of the city,” she said.

In the end, the councillors agreed that more time as well as further public consultation was needed to determine the best path forward for the city, so they settled on a four-month deferral.

“I’d really love to see a way that we could make, if possible, find a way to make all of these festivals work and add in a festival in Pasco Vale, but I feel like making that up on the fly right now is probably not the best way to do that,” stated Cr Katerine Theodosis.

The proposal will now be re-evaluated in September.

To watch the Merri-bek Council meeting, head here.

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