Yarra Council is proud to back our live music scene through the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic with an online Leaps and Bounds Music Festival 2020: Apart and Not Alone.

From performances and live album recordings, to cooking classes and tarot readings, this 10-day festival will bring some much-needed light to winter during this strange year.

The following events will be available to stream on the Yarra City Arts YouTube channel and will stay available for future viewing. 

Bruce Milne’s history of music in Yarra

Join music luminary, Bruce Milne as he walks you through the history of some of Yarra’s music venues, past & present recounting great bands’ first gigs and film clips. Bruce Milne has been involved in the Melbourne music scene since the 1970s. He is currently co-owner of the Greville Records store, host of Where Yo Is radio show on 3RRR and guide on the Melbourne Music Bus Tours. Bruce was once licensee of the Tote Hotel in Collingwood. He has headed record labels, including Au-go-go and In-Fidelity. First streamed on Thursday 11 June 2020.

Mission songs project at MAYSAR

Make a donation to Melbourne Aboriginal Youth Sport and Recreation (MAYSAR).

Mission Songs Project faithfully explores the musical journey of Australian First Nations songs from 1900 to 1999, focusing on the missions, state-run settlements and native camps where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were removed. An initiative put together by award winning composer, performer and creative entrepreneur, Jessie Lloyd under the guidance of Archie Roach and Professor Marcia Langton, Mission Songs Project engages through intimate storytelling, moving harmonies and historical insights using humour and truth to share the voices of elders as they would around a warm campfire or kitchen table. Performed by Jessie along with brother Brian “Bryte” Lloyd and Candice Lorrae, the City of Yarra Presents this special streamed performance of Mission Songs Project with interviews from professor Marcia Langton & Jessie Lloyd in the unique setting of the MAYSAR boxing ring.

“Islander rhythms, campfire country and defiant humour celebrate simple joys. Melancholy ballads chart a journey of blood, sweat and tears… you’ll almost hear the kettle boil as a closing home recording of the elders invites us to sit down with these unsung survivors.” – 4.5 stars, Fairfax Media