The Garden Party

Overview

When we heard the Melbourne Recital Centre was turning a vacant lot in Southbank into a music festival for four weekends during summer, our ears pricked up. The Garden Party will, like the centre itself, be home to artists across countless genres and, we are hoping, many a warm summer evening.

Tim and Alix Design had the giant task of taking the space behind the recital centre and making it Garden Party ready. While it started very sterile and cold, it is promising to be reminiscent of long summer days spent on tree-lined streets running through sprinklers. It's an homage to summer in the 'burbs, and that ain't bad.

Each night — Friday through Sunday — will feature a number of bands and DJs from Australian and international shores. Expect indie, electro, and soul, with some of the headlining acts including The Bamboos, Van She, Art of Sleeping, Husky, Jonti, Jens Lekman, and many more.

If you want to sip a tipple while you dance, there will be a bar onsite where you can buy drinks in exchange for tokens (available inside), and Soul Kitchen, Gumbo, and Yogadiction will be serving up food to the masses.

The Garden Party opens Friday, January 25, with headliners The Bamboos, and they will be throwing a free Australia Day party on Saturday, January 26.