ALWAYS LIVE

Celebrated music journalist and one of the writers of the ALWAYS LIVE podcast, Mikey Cahill, turns the tables on host Alex Lahey to find out what she loves about live music in Victoria. This ‘warts-and-all’ chat was recorded in the Soundbox - a custom-made studio cube built right in the heart of Melbourne on the Arts Centre forecourt, as part of the Always Live program in 2022. Alex opens up about some of her very early live music experiences as both a fan and a performer, some of her favourite gigs, and some of her most memorable music moments.

Victoria's live music festivals are the stuff of legends -  from Big Day Out to Boogie … Riverboats to Red Hot Summer, and everything in between, Victorian festivals are where legends play and new legends are made. In this episode, we explore some of Victoria's festival stories from those who have been there and played there... and we’ll uncover the mystery behind the Meredith Boot.

A short road trip from the heart of Melbourne will take you deep into the heart of Central Victoria to discover a rich vein of live music venues with their own special stories that are absolute gold. In this episode, we explore the beautiful old venue which is haunted by an Indigenous horseman, and we'll recount the time Nick Cave played a very special one-off show in Ballarat... and wound up in a local fish and chip shop. 

It's a region famous for its spectacular gourmet produce, but Gippsland is also home to some of Victoria's most unique live music experiences. In this episode, you'll journey into the heart of Gippsland, just a few hours' drive east of the Melbourne CBD, where some unique venues are putting on sold-out shows with a wonderful Do-It-Yourself kinda vibe. Venues where you can BYO drinks, BYO food, and experience an amazing live music show like no other.

It was the biggest event to hit Victoria's surf coast, and first-hand accounts recall how ALWAYS LIVE was able to snare one of the world's premier rock bands for Australia's first post-COVID rock'n'roll gig... and it all happened in the regional hub of Geelong. Victoria's surf coast is also home to some amazing live music venues, like the Barwon Club, the Blues Train, and the Torquay Hotel, whose old-school band room is a place where legends are made.