It is with much sadness that festival promoters Hear Them Holler have announced the cancellation of the Almost Summer music festival. Funding partners ALWAYS LIVE and the City of Greater Bendigo support the decision to cancel the event as a result of major flooding in the entire region.

Celebrating the return of good weather and even better times, the Almost Summer Music Festival announces its inaugural lineup. Three days of music, food and festivities in the heart of Bendigo, Almost Summer will bring a cornucopia of talent to an outdoor stage next to the historic Capital Theatre. Catch Black Cab, Bananagun, Gabriella Cohen, Geoffrey O’Connor, Pookie, Phoebe Go, Cool Sounds, Greatest Hits, Sunfruits, Freeds, Suzi, Yorta Yorta Dja Dja Wurrung singer songwriter Carissa Nyalu, locals Nadia Phillips, Flora and Aplegate with DJs Joey Lightbulb and DJ Friday. Melbourne’s energy efficient music power source Mikey Cahill will be Mc’ing on Friday night and Triple J Producer and Presenter Pip Rasmussen, who makes everyone feel like they’re her friend will be MC’ing on Saturday and Sunday.

Almost Summer is part of ALWAYS LIVE, a new state-wide celebration of contemporary live music supported by the Victorian Government through Visit Victoria. Think squelchy pop-disco, wistful folk, edgy hip hop, new-school R&B, alt-country and an unmissable performance from all-female First Nations act from the Red Centre, Kardajala Kirridarra – the first since their Naarm show in 2018.

Across three days, on one stage outside the iconic Capital Theatre, Bendigo’s local talent will combine with burgeoning and established Australian acts ready to throw off their cumbersome North Face jackets to embrace the sunshine. Genres are out the window this weekend, with a carefully curated playlist including 16 bands and DJ’s that will tick boxes for every music lover. Adding to that there’ll be locally sourced liquid refreshments and food available, as well as summer fruits and creamy cool ice creams and icy poles on offer to keep your dance energy levels at an optimum. And if you’re looking to add to your vinyl collection and support the artists on the bill, Bendigo Vinyl will host a pop-up record store throughout the event.

We’re keeping things a bit boutiquey and limiting tickets to 500 per day – this isn’t a massive field situation. Enticing, accessible and cool in the shade, it’s Almost Summer.