Local Live Music Event 'School Night' To Make Its Melbourne Debut This Month

The local live music event, School Night, returns to Sydney and expands to Melbourne for the first time this month.

The series of free events, which serve as a tool for music discovery, sees APRA AMCOS team up with the program to give rising songwriters a chance to perform.

Launching in Sydney last year, Australian acts such as flowerkid, Hellcat Speedracer, Miss Kaninna, Surely Shirley, and The Tullamarines had the opportunity to grace the stage at the inaugural music discovery event.

Now, it’s Melbourne’s turn. School Night will host four free shows per year, each at Sydney’s The Lansdowne and Melbourne’s The Evelyn. Melbourne’s first event will take place on Thursday, 31 July, and feature indie pop songwriter Ama, electronic punk outfit Billions, hip-hop star REDD., and alt-rockers Sunday Honey.

Expressions of interest for APRA AMCOS songwriter members will open from the first Sydney event on Thursday, 28 August, onwards. Head to the APRA AMCOS website for more information. If you want to attend the inaugural School Night event in Melbourne, head to Oztix for tickets.

School Night launched in the US in 2010 and has been the starting point for big names such as Billie Eilish, alt-J, Dua Lipa, Moses Sumney, HAIM, and Yungblud, as well as Aussies Amy Shark, Lime Cordiale, RÜFÜS DU SOL, and The Teskey Brothers.

In a statement, Adam Townsend, Director of Writer Services at APRA AMCOS, described School Night as an “incredible” event that provides a “fantastic opportunity” to emerging songwriters.

“School Night is an incredible event that has been supporting local talent across the US, UK and locally for years now, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for our Australian songwriter members to perform and hone their craft,” Townsend said.

“We know that rising local songwriters need all the opportunities they can get right now, so this is the perfect place for them to do that in front of key industry as well as music fans. It’s also a great opportunity for local music lovers to see some free, live music and discover their next favourite Aussie artist!”

Joel Siviour, Seismic Talent Agency, added: “I’m so excited to have School Night return in Australia (and debut in Melbourne!) with APRA AMCOS’s support. Now, more than ever, Australian artists need pathways to help grow and expand their careers, and the undeniable legacy of School Night is the perfect platform to help spotlight the amazing homegrown talent we have here.”

Of the event’s debut in Melbourne, Nathan Farrell, CLBR (booker for The Evelyn), said: “School Night is an iconic international new music brand. I’ve been lucky enough to attend the original LA night a few times and fully realise the effect it can have, connecting developing acts to industry and fans.

“CLBR is beyond proud to play a small part in hosting this night to Victoria, and there is nowhere more deserving than The Evelyn Hotel. It’s been a massive part of developing Melbourne acts over the years and has been supporting live music for over 55 years.”