Eighty-Six music festival set for Northcote, Thornbury and Preston

Melbourne’s inner northern suburbs will host a monster music festival next year with international acts to take the stage. Find out more here.

A huge music festival is coming to Melbourne’s north next year. ​

A huge music festival coming to Melbourne’s inner north next year will provide a lifeline for venues still struggling post-pandemic, with international artists set to head the line-up.

The festival ‘The Eighty-Six’ will light up High St across Northcote, Thornbury, Preston in late 2023, backed by $600,000 in government funding.

Thornbury Theatre venue booker Neil Wedd said venues were still doing it tough after years of closures during Melbourne’s lockdowns, but the new festival would be a way to “build things up” again.

“Music provides excitement and energy … I’ve run venues in many suburbs and you see the energy that music provides,” Mr Wedd said.

“The north (of Melbourne) is it now, I’ve worked in the south but the north is where it’s all happening … Darebin is home to the biggest lot of musicians in Victoria.”

According to the government, the artist line-up is set to be revealed next year with “iconic” international and national artists set to take part.

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The festival will also feature local musicians and “reflect the diverse music culture of Darebin”.

The Eighty-Six festival will be curated by Woody McDonald, the former program director of the Meredith and Golden Plains festivals.

Northcote state Labor MP Kat Theophanous said the priority was to boost the entertainment industry after the impacts of Covid-19.

“Our creative and live music industries were hit hard by the pandemic and it’s been a priority of mine to support them to bounce back,” she said.

“This festival will help our local live music industry to not just recover but to thrive, bringing in new investment and visitors to the area which will benefit workers and our entire small business community.”