MUSIC NEWS: Summer in the Park, and Port Fairy Folk Festival Satellite shows

Summer in the Park closes with Opera in the Park and announces Port Fairy Folk Festival satellite shows for the March long weekend at Kew Court House

The City of Boroondara’s much-loved Summer in the Park continues to light up the season, with more free, accessible and all-ages events still to come, alongside the exciting announcement of the Port Fairy Folk Festival satellite shows landing in Boroondara this March.

Summer in the Park 2026 continues through to 28 February, presenting free events every Friday night and across weekends in some of Boroondara’s most iconic parks and gardens. Championing sustainability, local artists, cultural diversity and community connection.

The summer season launched with Djirrungana Kulture at Maranoa Gardens, featuring First Nations music, dance, and opera. Festivities continued at the Camberwell Civic Precinct Hub with Party in the Park on a solar-powered stage. The second weekend included the popular Kylie and Danni disco and Classical in the Park at Alexandra Gardens, attracting over a thousand visitors. While Slow Art Collective’s progressive live art installation has been evolving each Friday throughout the program, inviting festival-goers to contribute to its colourful structure, which will continue across the five festive weeks.

Still to come in Summer in the Park, there’s plenty more to enjoy:

Friday 20 February – Country in the Park
Boot-scootin’ and line-dancing fun with Country Struts, plus toe-tapping live bluegrass from Canyon Callers.

Saturday 21 February – Jazz In the Park
Get swept up in the explosive energy of Havana Club Orquestra, a 14-piece mambo powerhouse bringing the spirit of Buena Vista Social Club to life. 

Friday 27 February – Gusto Gusto in the Park
A euphoric global-music party from one of Australia’s hottest festival bands, Gusto Gusto, fresh from international stages including Glastonbury.

Celebrate the closing weekend of Summer in the Park on 28 February with a spectacular open-air operatic finale at Canterbury Gardens. The park will come alive as a vibrant Italian piazza for Opera in the Park – La Dolce Vita, featuring internationally acclaimed tenor Alexander Lewis, pianist Rhodri Clarke and the emerging voices of Opera Scholars Australia. Audiences are invited to bring a picnic and enjoy soaring arias, romantic duets and much-loved Italian favourites under the stars. Free and all welcome, this unforgettable evening promises romance, passion and glorious music to farewell summer in true Boroondara style.

And if that's still not enough, Boroondara Arts has announced the return of Port Fairy Folk Festival satellite shows, presented in partnership with the internationally renowned festival for a second year.

From 4 to 6 March 2026, international acts Inn Echo (CAN) and Chloe Foy (UK), First Nations favourite Radical Son, and a curated selection of Australia’s brightest emerging folk artists will perform a series of intimate Melbourne satellite shows at Kew Court House.

A proud Kamilaroi man with family roots in Tonga, Radical Son (David Leha) is celebrated for his powerful, soul-stirring voice and deeply resonant storytelling. Drawing from lived experience, his music blends soul, hip hop and spoken word to explore themes of cultural identity, survival and connection to Country, with his latest album Bilambiyal (The Learning) cementing his place as one of Australia’s most commanding voices.

Built in 1888, Kew Court House is a historic building with an 80-seat theatre. These special performances offer a taste of the acclaimed Port Fairy Folk Festival, held annually over the Labour Day long weekend in the historic coastal town of Port Fairy, Victoria.

The collaboration is an initiative of Boroondara Arts, giving artists an additional stage and new audiences ahead of their journey to Port Fairy. It also builds on the strong reputations of Kew Court House and Hawthorn Arts Centre as leading live-music venues with year-round programming.

Port Fairy Folk Festival Program Director Justin Rudge said: “We love working with great arts organisations from all over the world, and our program of three special events in collaboration with Boroondara Arts is a great opportunity for us to share the music and culture of just some of the artists performing at Port Fairy in 2026.”

INN ECHO SUPPORTED BY CHLOE FOY
4 MARCH 2026
Kew Court House
Tickets: $30

PORT FAIRY FOLK FESTIVAL FUTURE TALENT AT KEW COURT HOUSE
5 MARCH 2026
Kew Court House
Tickets: $25

RADICAL SON
6 MARCH 2026
Kew Court House
Tickets: $35 to $42

All tickets on sale now at boroondara.vic.gov.au