Ten Things You Definitely Can't Miss At Leaps & Bounds Music Festival

Paul Kelly’s iconic track Leaps & Bounds married great Australian music with classic Melbourne iconography, so it makes complete sense that it’s lent its name to The City Of Yarra’s rocktastic Leaps & Bounds Music Festival. Taking place at over 50 inner-city venues (as well as unique performance spaces) between 3-19 July, Leaps & Bounds brings the best music from all over the country to the epicentre of Melbourne’s heartland to celebrate our awesome live music community. Here’s just ten of the literally hundreds of events that happen during Leaps & Bounds (listed chronologically so our heads don’t explode):

Singing Pretty: Ron S Peno Performs The Songs Of Died Pretty

4 Jul, Corner Hotel

Legendary Died Pretty frontman Ron S Peno revisits the peerless catalogue of ‘80s and ‘90s gems from this great Aussie band, backed by locals The Hired Guns (who also open proceedings followed by The Pink Tiles). Died Pretty’s music is timeless, as evidenced by the four sold out Singing Pretty shows last year.

Graveyard Train

4 Jul, Melba Spiegeltent

Ever hear the clinking of chains and ghostly moans? Going into a Spiegeltent is like stepping back in time, as is watching the old school country horror conjured by Graveyard Train. Expect tales of death, ghouls and creepy crawlies delivered by a saloon band from Hades with designs on becoming a church choir from Hell. Warning: will contain bumps in the night.

Living Legends: Dave Graney & Claire Moore

12 Jul, The Gasometer

Celebrating the decades of great music brought to us by the wonderful creative coupling of Dave Graney and Clare Moore, Living Legends finds their music being broached by acts such as Kim Salmon, Conway Savage, Mick Harvey, Mick Turner, The Ocean Party, The Sand Pebbles, Penny Ikinger and many more fine artists.  

The Fauves

16 & 17 Jul, Richmond Theatrette

This band emerged swathed in rumour and intrigue from the Mornington Peninsula in the late-‘80s and managed to maintain this charisma and mystique as they conquered the semi-commercial realms in the mid-‘90s and beyond. They’ve released eleven great albums and we’re still trying to get a grip on what they’re all about, well played sirs.

Black Vanilla

17 Jul, Evelyn Hotel

Bringing some dance to proceedings is Sydney outfit Black Vanilla, who are combining the Leaps & Bounds shindig with the launch of their brand new single, Slug. The production-based trio — who feature members of Collarbone and Guerre — will be joined by HABITS, HTMLflowers and Felicity Yang for a night of electronica to remember.

The Television Addicts Play The Songs Of The Victims

17 Jul, The Tote

Perth punks The Victims only lasted some six months in the late-‘70s, but their music has reverberated through the ages. Founding members Dave Faulkner and James Baker are joined by Ray Ahn (of The Hard-Ons fame) to form The Television Addicts (named after The Victim’s greatest single) to bring this music to life once more, and are joined on the night by Power, HITS and Fire Escape Goat for a rollicking night of rock’n’roll revivalism.

I’m Flipped Out Over You featuring The Scientists 

18 Jul, Corner Hotel

The original line-up of the seminal Perth swamp rockers The Scientists — Kim Salmon, James Baker, Roddy Radalj and Boris Sujdovic — are back, and joining them for this party of Oz rock royalty is Spencer P Jones & The Escape Committee, The Dubrovniks, HITS, Rocket Science, The Pink Tiles, The Electric Guitars and Girl Crazy. Leave your inhibitions at home for this one but pack the earplugs.

Smith Street Dreaming

19 Jul, Corner of Smith St and Stanley St (1-5pm)

Indigenous culture and contemporary music collide to wonderful affect in the heart of Collingwood for Smith Street Dreaming, an exercise in tolerance, trust and community. The alcohol-free event finds much-loved artist Archie Roach joined by Emma Donovan & The Putbacks and Coloured Stone as well as MC Aaron Pederson, and aims to bring together all of the different people from the area to usher in an era of peace and respect.

Guitarelay

19 Jul, Bar Open

The multi-guitarist improvisation performance to end all multi-guitarist improvisation performances, Guitarelay finds some of the country’s best axemen and axewomen joining forces for a dynamic audio-visual feast for the senses. With visuals provided UK video artists Paul Rodgers, the guitarists feed off each other to create a piece of art which will never again be experienced here or anywhere else.

Music Site Bus Tour

3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 Jul, from Corner Hotel (departing 1pm)

One of the most popular aspects of Leaps & Bounds from the get-go has been the Leaps & Bounds Music Site Bus Tour, hosted by local luminary Bruce Milne, who shows you all of the music-related nooks and crannies that the City Of Yarra has to offer. Leaving the Corner Hotel for a 3-hour(ish) cruise, experience music history presented by someone who was in the midst of much of it.

Honourable Mentions:

Ice Cream Hands, Ross McLennan & the New World Sympathetique, Liam Gerner, Even, Ash Naylor, Black Cab, Dallas Crane, Mojo Juju, Emily Ulman and many more.