Live music can play a vital role in fostering community connection, social cohesion, and individual wellbeing. It brings people together to share in collective experiences, helps strengthens bonds between residents and reinforces a sense of belonging.

Our City is home to a live music scene that supports our identity, economy and sense of place. It not only fuels local nightlife and creative expression, but also boosts our City’s reputation as a hub for cultural diversity and innovation.

In 2019 alone, Maribyrnong hosted 3,397 live music events, drawing more than 324,000 attendees and generating $36.4 million for the local economy (Live Music Census 2019, most recent).

Based on previous conversations with venue operators, local musicians, and young people, along with calls from our community for more live music during engagement on the New Horizons: Creative Maribyrnong 2030 Strategy, we've drafted a Live Music Action Plan. It will ensure that live music continues to play a key role in our City's creative and economic life.

How to participate

We're keen to hear from residents, musicians, promoters, and venue owners to ensure the Live Music Action Plan reflects your lived experience and aspirations for live music.

We want to know if the four key outcomes of the draft Plan are in line with your thinking and what actions you would like us to prioritise.

We are also keen to understand how we can continue supporting live music in our City, generally.

View the draft Plan in the document library and share your feedback online via the short survey or ideas wall below, or in-person at one of our engagement events (see 'Timeline' for upcoming dates).

Feedback closes midnight Sunday 21 September 2025.

The draft Live Music Action Plan proposes a series of actions over a three year-period to realise four key outcomes. Some of the key actions proposed include:

• creating a live music working group engaging promoters, programmers, venue owners, artists, and other music industry professionals, to advice Council and share ideas on how to create a music friendly city
• bidding for a major music industry conference for Melbourne's West
• education for live music venues, neighbouring residents and businesses
• developing an updated busking and public performance guide
• engaging with priority cohorts to create a database of local performers from culturally diverse backgrounds
• expanding and growing partnerships with the Melbourne Internal Jazz Festival and Fringe Festival partnerships
• further positioning Footscray Park's Western and Eastern Lawn as a preferred space for major national and international music festivals
• positioning Yarraville Gardens as a venue for boutique commercial and community music festivals in partnership with local venues.

Further information is available in the Draft Actions Document.