ProtomartyrThe Victorian suburb of Fitzroy will be the place to be this winter, and not just for its excellent cafes, record stores, and fashion.
Running from this month into August, a new live music series, HIGH GROUND, will take over venues including The Night Cat, The Evelyn, and Punters Club. The line-up is broad and exciting, bringing audiences to the independent venues of Fitzroy as the weather gets colder.
The inaugural program has locked in performances from international and local acts alike. Acclaimed American post-punk act Protomartyr, Senegalese rhythmic pioneers Mark Ernestus & Ndagga Rhythm Force, Japanese audiovisual collective Violent Magic Orchestra, and Los Angeles R&B artist Jenevieve perform on the same line-up as Melbourne psychedelic-jazz favourites, Mildlife.
In addition to numerous headline gigs at multiple venues, the crowning glory of HIGH GROUND is its multi-stage event, IN MOTION. Taking place on Saturday, 18 July, within the Fitzroy Triangle – The Night Cat, The Evelyn and Punters Club – the line-up stars Skeleten, sleepazoid, XIAO XIAO, Rain Dogs, Public Figures, Miles Nautu, and others.
HIGH GROUND: IN MOTION is presented by CLBR, PBS 106.7FM and Leaps and Bounds Music Festival and gives music fans the opportunity to enjoy multiple gigs, exploring venue to venue.
More artists, exhibitions, and activations will be announced in the coming weeks. Follow High Ground on Instagram for additional updates.
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“HIGH GROUND is our love letter to Fitzroy,” said Nate Farrell, CLBR’s Co-Founder & Managing Director. “We want to celebrate the creative and cultural history of this incredibly unique community.”
Farrell continued, “I spend 95% of my time between Johnston St and Alexander Parade, and every night already feels like a festival to me, being about to bounce between our venues (aka The Fitzroy Triangle). We wanted to bottle that feeling, that excitement of seeing all these dots connect in these spaces with different crowds and scenes coming together, all with Fitzroy as the backdrop.”
As a press release notes, the venues in the Fitzroy Triangle have significance in Melbourne’s music scene: Powderfinger, Spiderbait, Magic Dirt, and You Am I served their rite of passage at Punters Club.
Muse played their first Australian show at The Evelyn, a venue that welcomes everyone from Dirty Three to Hiatus Kaiyote, and with its 360-degree stage, The Night Cat is a destination for jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and marathon dancefloor sessions alike.
Everyone from The Cat Empire, The Bamboos, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Sampa The Great and Amyl & The Sniffers has taken to The Night Cat’s stage, and anyone who has attended events there has a story to tell.
HIGH GROUND FIRST ANNOUNCE
Bridget Small
College Of Knowledge Presents: Soul Dynamite
Disco Mediterranea
DJ Assault (USA)
DJ Colette
DJ Luv You
Eden Burns (NZ)
Horatio Luna
horse
Intermood
Jenevieve (USA)
Lamestream
Love Sensation
MAAJELA
Mark Ernestus & Ndagga Rhythm Force (SEN)
Mildlife
Miles Nautu
Milly Strange
Milo Eastwood
Mulga Bore Hard Rock
New York & Cortisa Star (USA)
Nice Girl
No News
Orange Moon
People Taking Pictures
Pollen Art Club Presents: Rinse
Protomartyr (USA)
Public Figures
Rain Dogs
Setwun & The Soultranauts
Skeleten
Sleepazoid
Sports (USA)
Steady Weather
Stupid F*ck the Silly Clown
The Gnomes
Tony Armstrong: The Let Down
Violent Magic Orchestra (JPN)
Weaver Pres.
XIAO XIAO
YHWH Nailgun (USA)
HIGH GROUND: IN MOTION
THREE VENUES, ONE NIGHT. SATURDAY 18 JULY
Skeleten
Sleepazoid
XIAO XIAO
Orange Moon
No News
Rain Dogs
Horatio Luna
DJ Colette
DJ LUV YOU
Public Figures
Setwun & The Soulstranauts
Miles Nautu
Bridget Small
