Melbourne Festival 2011 Music Line-up

In 2011, Melbourne Festival’s contemporary music program features a truly international line-up reflecting the culturally diverse nature of the entire Festival program. The iconic Forum Theatre and the immersive Toff in Town will transform into worldly soundscapes featuring artists from Japan, USA, Iraq, Syria, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China and New Zealand, and audiences are encouraged to come together to witness what it is that unites us across cultures, to celebrate what can be achieved through unity, call-to-action, protest, politics and through music making en masse.

Opening this year’s music program will be Japanese post-rock legends MONO. Their singular blend of arcing guitar and surging drums will be partnered with the majesty of a 23-piece orchestra in order to reprise their otherworldly Holy Ground performance exclusively for Melbourne Festival. Bringing an all American idiosyncratic mix to the Forum is renowned force of the noise art movement, Black Dice, along with the shimmering sonic dreamscape of Lucky Dragons, overwhelming audiences to the point of sensory overload.

Texan alt-country six piece Okkervil River return to Melbourne with their rambunctious country underpinnings and flecks of melancholic rock. In addition to the Forum, the band will also take their brand of gritty lyricism to the Meeniyan Town Hall in Gippsland, plus their much acclaimed vocalist and guitarist, Will Sheff will also perform a one-off sideshow in the cosy surrounds of the Toff in Town. Making a trip back across the water is New Zealand’s Bachelorette; the solo project of Annabel Alpers, mixing '60s psychedelia and girl-group pop into a dreamy pool with folk and vintage electronics.

Welcoming a host of Australian premieres, part intimate folk jam, part art-hip-hop party, Aesop Rock and Kimya Dawson unite in a unique mesh of two of the brightest minds currently working in indie music; whilst bastions of the Arab-American hip-hop scene, The Narcicyst and Omar Offendum bring their highly politicised and cerebral sounds to Melbourne for a night of cross-cultural collaborations. In a long awaited first, Konono No.1 will wow crowds with the fuzzed out traditional trance of their ultra percussive Congo-tronics style, a sound all of their own, which has connected them with the most experimental forms of rock and electronic music the world over; and China’s king of 8-bit techno, Sulumi will provide a chaotic and ecstatic performance with his euphoric, take-no-prisoners electro-glitch-house sound.

To top off this empowering line-up, Jello Biafra, lead singer of seminal San Franciscan punk band The Dead Kennedys, will present his first solo Australian concert in eight years, with a very special night of spoken word. Part history lesson, part political comment, part protest, Jello’s incendiary live show guarantees an unforgettable close to this year’s program. Joining this year’s musical mash up is Australia’s finest homegrown talent including Rat Vs Possum, Wintercoats, Roller One, Qua, Geoffrey O’Connor, Jimmy Stewart, and Mike Noga.

The Forum

Fri 7 Oct - MONO (Japan), Wintercoats (Australia)

Sat 8 Oct - Black Dice (USA), Lucky Dragons (USA)

Fri 14 Oct - Okkervil River (USA), Roller One (Australia)

Sat 15 Oct - Aesop Rock, Kimya Dawson ft Rob Sonic & DJ Big Wiz (USA), The Narcicyst (Iraq), Omar Offendum (Syria)

Fri 21 Oct - Konono No.1 (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Bachelorette (New Zealand)

Sat 22 Oct - Jello Biafra (USA)

Meeniyan Town Hall 

Sat 15 Oct - Okkervil River (USA)

The Toff in Town

Sun 9 Oct - Sulumi (China), Qua (Australia)

Wed 12 Oct - Lucky Dragons (USA), Geoffrey O’Connor (Australia)

Sun 16 Oct - Will Sheff (USA), Jimmy Stewart (Australia), Mike Noga (Australia)

Wed 19 Oct - Bachelorette (New Zealand), Rat Vs Possum (Australia)

Ticket prices vary, visit melbournefestival.com.au for full details