October in Melbourne: top events in your city this month
There are a couple of thousand events on around Melbourne this month. These are the fifty-odd we'd actually message the group chat about.
Every pick below links to its live page on Keen, with dates, prices and the ticket link. The links retire once an event is done, so if one of them tells you it's been and gone, that's the truth doing its job. For the always-current version, what's on in Melbourne is rebuilt from the catalogue nightly.
The big nights
Tame Impala
Rod Laver Arena · 14 to 17 October
The Deadbeat tour, four nights running, with Ninajirachi opening. Psych-rock at arena scale, and the one show this month the whole group chat will claim they were always going to.
Post Malone's BIG ASS World Tour
Marvel Stadium, Docklands · Friday 9 October
A stadium night with Don Toliver as special guest. Tens of thousands of people singing along to songs you swear you only half know.
Jay Chou: Carnival II World Tour
Marvel Stadium, Docklands · Saturday 17 October
The king of Mandopop brings a stadium-sized show to Docklands. If someone in your crew grew up on these songs, you already know who's organising this one.
The Teskey Brothers: 10 Years of Half Mile Harvest
Sidney Myer Music Bowl · Saturday 17 October
A homegrown soul band marking ten years of their debut album at the Bowl, starting mid-afternoon. Rug, jacket, the good mates.
Olivia Dean
Rod Laver Arena · 5 and 6 October
British soul-pop with a voice that fills a room this size without trying. A Monday or a Tuesday, which is exactly why it will feel like a treat.
Lily Allen
Rod Laver Arena · 28 and 29 October
A big headline pop night, two dates. Expect a crowd that knows every word, including the ones you can't say at work.
Hilary Duff
Rod Laver Arena · 26 and 27 October
Pure nostalgia at arena volume. Book it with the friend who still owns the Lizzie McGuire DVDs.
James
Margaret Court Arena · Sunday 11 October
Britpop veterans playing Laid in full, plus the big ones. A Sunday night that will leave your voice in pieces on Monday.
Avenged Sevenfold
Rod Laver Arena · Tuesday 20 October
Heavy metal titans back in Melbourne after twelve years. Tuesday night, doors early, earplugs recommended.
Freeform Festival
Sidney Myer Music Bowl · Saturday 3 October
Four outdoor stages of electronic music in the Bowl, afternoon until late. The easiest way to lose a whole Saturday with your favourite people.
The other Grand Final: where to watch
Melbourne's own decider is done, but Sunday 4 October has the other one: Roosters v Knights in Sydney, kick-off 7:30pm here as well (Victoria's clocks go forward that morning too, so it's 7:30 on the new time). Plenty of pubs are putting it on, and the full list is on where to watch the Grand Final in Melbourne.
Grand Final at The Duke of Wellington
Flinders Street, CBD · Sunday 4 October
Melbourne's oldest licensed pub, with huge screens, a stadium feel and the Sunday roast on. Book ahead.
Grand Final at Melbourne Public
South Wharf · Sunday 4 October
The big sports pub on the river, with the game on fourteen screens. Plenty of room for a crew, though it fills up on a night like this.
Grand Final at Munich Brauhaus
South Wharf · Sunday 4 October
The decider beer-hall style: steins, Bavarian food and every tackle on the big screens. Oktoberfest and a grand final in one sitting.
Grand Final at The Wharf Hotel
Yarra riverside, CBD · Sunday 4 October, from 4pm
A whole afternoon of it: live music, happy hour from 4pm, the NRLW decider first and then the big one. Entry's free with a table booking.
Grand Final at the Middle Park Hotel
Middle Park · Sunday 4 October, from 3pm
A bayside Sunday done properly: a roast special, live music from 3pm, $11 pints of Guinness from 6pm and the game on the big screens.
Jazz festival, orchestras and film scores
Melbourne International Jazz Festival
Venues across the city · 16 to 25 October
Ten days and well over a hundred events, from concert halls down to basement clubs, with a solid free program on top. The move is one big-name ticket and one wander into something you have never heard of.
Free Jazz at Fed Square
Federation Square · Saturday 17 October Free
The festival goes outdoors for the afternoon: a New Orleans brass parade, jazz sets and a film. The Second Line street party with Rebirth Brass Band is part of the same afternoon, so bring comfortable shoes.
Dee Dee Bridgewater with Helen Sung
Hamer Hall · Saturday 24 October
A legendary jazz vocalist with a brilliant pianist beside her. The dress-up night of the festival.
The Bad Plus: Farewell Tour
Melbourne Recital Centre · Wednesday 21 October
A seminal jazz trio playing their last ever Australian show. Last chances are the best reason to go out on a Wednesday.
Hans Zimmer
Rod Laver Arena · 24 and 25 October
Epic film scores, played live at arena scale. Someone in your group will be humming a film theme on the tram home; everyone does.
Edward Scissorhands in Concert
Hamer Hall · 30 and 31 October
Tim Burton's film on the big screen with Danny Elfman's score played live underneath. Halloween weekend, sorted, with no fake blood required.
Theatre, ballet and Fringe
Melbourne Fringe Festival
Across the city · until 18 October
Hundreds of shows of the strange and brilliant kind, running into the middle of the month. Book one thing on purpose and one thing purely because of its title.
The Stuttgart Ballet: The Sleeping Beauty
Regent Theatre · 9 to 18 October
One of the world's great companies dancing a classic fairytale. The kind of night that makes you feel like a person with their life together.
The Australian Ballet: The Nutcracker
Regent Theatre · from 24 October
Tchaikovsky's Christmas story in a lavish staging, landing just early enough to be the first festive thing you do this year.
Briefs: The Works
Spiegel Haus Melbourne · sessions until 18 October
Circus, drag and burlesque colliding, with glitter getting everywhere. Brilliant with a group, better after a drink.
Gugu Dindi Gunyah
Arts Centre Melbourne · Saturday 3 October
A landmark First Nations ceremony of song, dance and story. One night only.
Big exhibitions
Rome: Empire, Power, People
Melbourne Museum, Carlton · until 25 October
Statues, mosaics and everyday treasures from Imperial Rome, now in its final weeks. If it has been on your list since April, this is your sign.
Discoteca Italiana: Arrivederci Roma
Melbourne Museum, Carlton · Friday 16 October
A disco floor, pizza and Roman treasures after dark, seeing the exhibition off in style. Easily the best-dressed farewell on this list.
Melbourne Winter Masterpieces: Cartier
National Gallery of Victoria · until 4 October
Nearly 400 jewels and timepieces, closing on the first Sunday of the month. Consider this the polite final warning.
Passage: The Art of Atong Atem
The Ian Potter Centre: NGV Australia · from 30 October Free
Vibrant self-portraits exploring identity, myth and diaspora, opening at the very end of the month.
Making Memoir of a Snail
ACMI, Fed Square · until 1 November Free
The handmade sets and puppets from the Oscar-winning claymation, up close. Wonderfully detailed and completely free.
Comedy
Aziz Ansari
Margaret Court Arena · Thursday 1 October
A big name doing an hour of proper stand-up in a big room. A strong way to open the month.
Carl Barron: Just Wondering Why
Palais Theatre, St Kilda · 9 to 18 October
Warm, observational comedy from a local favourite, with plenty of dates to pick from. Take your dad; he'll pretend he doesn't love it.
Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee
Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre · 24 and 25 October
A comedy spelling bee that is far more chaotic than it has any right to be. The crowd is half the show.
Damn Fine Laughs
Fad Gallery Bar, CBD · Wednesday nights Free
Weekly stand-up in a neon-lit laneway bar, with cheap drinks. A midweek plan that costs you nothing but the train home.
Oktoberfest and other excuses to eat
Italian Festa and Expo
Royal Exhibition Building, Carlton · 17 and 18 October Free
A hundred and eighty stalls, three stages, a beer garden and an all-day discoteca, in one of the grandest buildings in town.
Oktoberfest in the Gardens
Catani Gardens, St Kilda West · Saturday 17 October
Bier halls, bratwurst and a silent disco by the water. Lederhosen optional; commitment to the bit encouraged.
Oktoberfest at Munich Brauhaus
South Wharf · 10 and 17 October
Keg tapping, oompah bands and steins held aloft. If the gardens sell out, this is your indoor backup.
Pinoy Octoberfest
Queen Victoria Market · 24 and 25 October Free
Filipino barbecue, street food and live music at the market. Arrive hungry, leave slowly.
Free days out
Victorian Festival of Diwali
Fed Square · Saturday 31 October Free
Dance, kirtan, a bustling bazaar and fireworks over the Yarra. Melbourne Diwali at Marvel Stadium is on the same afternoon, so the 31st is not short of light.
Festival Indonesia
Fed Square · Saturday 24 October Free
Street food, choirs, dance workshops and a flashmob at a quarter past two. Diarise it; the flashmob waits for nobody.
Queensberry Cup
Errol Street, North Melbourne · Saturday 17 October Free
Billycarts hurtling down Errol Street, with food, music and the whole neighbourhood out. Peak community energy.
Melbourne International Games Week at ACMI
ACMI, Fed Square · 2 to 11 October Free
A hundred indie games to play, free, right in the city. Bring the mate who says they are not a gamer and watch it happen.
Circus Fire Spectacular
Prahran Square · 15 to 18 October Free
Fire, acrobatics and sharp gags in the middle of the square, after dark.
A Séance at State Library Victoria with Lawrence Leung
State Library Victoria · Wednesday 28 October Free
A candlelit séance in Queen's Hall, built from real Victorian history. Free and spooky is a winning combination, so get in early.
Late ones
Carl Cox: Extended 3 Hour Techno Set
Northcote Theatre · Saturday 17 October
Three straight hours of techno from a genuine legend, in a room this size. The rare gig people will still bring up in five years.
Terminal V Melbourne
PICA, Port Melbourne · Saturday 17 October
A big international electronic lineup in a Port Melbourne warehouse, afternoon into night.
Something weirder
Halloween at the Museum: The Haunted Gala
Melbourne Museum, Carlton · Saturday 31 October
A red carpet, roaming characters and tarot in a museum after dark. The costume bar is high; clear it.
Dog Lovers Festival
Melbourne Showgrounds, Ascot Vale · 17 and 18 October
A whole weekend of wagging tails, dog sports and treats. The Cat Lovers Festival runs alongside, for the part of the group chat that will never be convinced.
Dark Fae Fantasy Market
Box Hill Town Hall · Saturday 3 October
Forty vendors, bards and a fae bar, with a dragon rumoured. Deeply specific, deeply fun.
Candlelight: 90s Unplugged
Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium · Monday 26 October
A string quartet playing 90s anthems by candlelight, with sharks for a backdrop.
The part where you actually go
That's the list. The gap between reading it and standing in one of those rooms is the same as ever: someone has to pick a date and make the call.
That's the job Keen does. The quickest way in is Find a time: pick two or three dates that could work, add an idea or two from this page, and drop one link in the group chat. Everyone answers from their browser, no app and no account needed. You see which date wins, tap once, and it's a real plan with RSVPs and a chat of its own.
And once your mates are on Keen too, it starts doing the noticing for you: everyone marks the nights they're free, and when yours line up, Keen tells you, along with what's on that actually suits the crew. Cup Day is the first Tuesday of November, so that long weekend is closer than it looks.
October's fifty-odd best excuses are above. Pick one, name a night, and send the message.
Start closer in. See what's on in the next few days, pick a night, send the link.
What's on in Melbourne this weekendGet Keen free on the App Store or Google Play.
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