Overview
Sydney's Little Italy is throwing a two-day street party next month, with spritz specials, live jazz, roaming performers and fresh pasta made on the footpath all taking over Leichhardt for the inaugural Taste the Music festival.
Running across Friday, June 19–20, the free festival is set to spill through Norton and Marion streets, with some of the suburb's best-known restaurants, bars and music venues hosting drink deals, live performances and one-off events celebrating the area's Italian roots and evolving dining scene.
Friday night kicks off with $7 Aperol spritzes at Aperitivo Pizza Pasta and Capriccio Osteria, while long-running Norton Street favourite Moretti Ristorante will set up a pop-up bar pouring Lyre's Spirit Co mocktails alongside freshly piped cannolis. Over at The Royal Hotel, the Miss Pia Jazz Trio will soundtrack the evening with jazz, swing and blues sets, while Crosstalk Records and OTiS Bar host outdoor DJ sessions as roaming performers The Lampshades weave through the streets.
There's also a few old-school Leichhardt touches thrown into the mix. At La Botte D'Oro, owner Gabriele Franco's nonna will be stationed at the front door hand-making fresh pasta, with pizza slices coming straight out of the window for passersby.
The festival continues on Saturday with coffee and biscotti at Caffe Bianchi before live music and food specials roll through the suburb all day. Lunetta Gelato is putting on $10 hot brownies alongside circus performers, and the Rockstar School of Music will host performances from up-and-coming young musicians covering everything from classic rock to smoother jazz and soul cuts.
The weekend will also mark the Australian debut of Broadway musical Tootsie at Teatro at the Italian Forum, which is a theatre that we absolutely knew existed.
Taste the Music Festival will run from 11am-10pm, June 19-20. Entry is free. See the full program here.
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Images: Supplied.