Get Up Close And Personal With Bakehouse Studios

Here's one for the history buffs – as part of Melbourne's recently announced Leaps And Bounds Music Festival, the storied Bakehouse Studios is opening up its doors to the public for the first time on Saturday, July 12.

A one-time home for venerated Aussie acts such as Nick Cave, The Drones, Missy Higgins and Paul Kelly, the historic building was also the birthplace of the inaugural SLAM (Save Live Australia's Music) rally, and serves as the movement's headquarters.

This sort of public opening is party-in-the-street worthy, and so the studio is doing exactly that, with stalwart gospel-gallows blues act Harmony and “splatter jazz” quartet The Impossible No Goods, featuring BJ Morriszonkle, bringing the good times to Little Hoddle Street from 11am, when the studio opens to the masses.

There will also be presentations from some of the country's premier visual artists and artisans, with whom Bakehouse has collaborated to stage a series of new works – contributions will come from the likes of Patricia Piccinini, Emily Floyd, Veronica Kent and Dirty Three guitarist and painter Mick Turner.

In addition, installations have been created in the studio's rehearsal rooms that include a creation made of icing from NGV's Melbourne Now, the Hotham Street Ladies, vegan artist Julia deVille's taxidermy, jeweller Cass Partington's metal room, an early punk retrospective from photographer Peter Milne, design duo Brustman + Boyd's bespoke 'backstage' area, and screen printer Stewart Russell's pulp fiction homage. Bakehouse will be running tours throughout the afternoon.

Leaps And Bounds, a celebration of local music from in and around Yarra, will take place from Friday, July 4, to Sunday, July 20. More than 40 venues will hold events during the festival.

Check the festival website for more details.