George Lane is packing an extraordinary spread of live music into early spring, with Perth ska and boogie bands, Melbourne punk survivors, blues firepower, intimate acoustic performances, album launches and some much-loved Australian songs returning to a small St Kilda stage.
The program runs from early September into October 2026 and includes both evening shows and weekend matinees. One of the highlights is Fusion on Fitzroy Street, when George Lane joins a neighbourhood-wide program of free jazz and swing.
What’s on at a glance
- Ska Boogie — Friday 4 September, 7–11 pm
- Fusion on Fitzroy Street — Saturday 5 September; George Lane performance, 3.30–5.30 pm — free entry
- Simply 4 Eva: The Timeless Experience of Eva Cassidy — Friday 18 September, 7–10.30 pm
- The Fiction + The Gas Babies — Saturday 19 September, 2.30–5.30 pm
- Taxiride featuring TTSAR — Saturday 19 September, 7–10.30 pm
- Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers — Friday 25 September, 7–10.30 pm
- Brian El Dorado & The Tuesday People — Saturday 26 September, 7–10.30 pm
- Featherhead Album Launch — Saturday 3 October, 2.30–5.30 pm
- COPS Play The Police & Sting — Sunday 4 October, 3–6.30 pm
- Abby Dobson + The Deserters — Friday 9 October, 7–10.30 pm
- Bully Hay — Saturday 10 October, 2.30–5.30 pm
Ska Boogie
Friday 4 September | 7–11 pm
Two Perth groups make their Melbourne debut in a night devoted to musical forms designed to get a room moving.
The Pick Me-ups open with boogie-woogie rhythms and sweet vocal harmonies before the eight-piece Red’s Tribe heads to 1960s Jamaica for a horn-powered mix of ska, rocksteady and jazz. Featuring musicians associated with the Milford Street Shakers and Isolites, Red’s Tribe combines smooth vocals, a driving rhythm section and the instrumental fire of the Skatalites tradition.
Fusion on Fitzroy Street
Saturday 5 September | George Lane set, 3.30–5.30 pm | Free entry
For one day, Fitzroy Street becomes a free live-music trail filled with jazz, swing and blues.
Nineteen acts will perform across venues throughout the precinct from 1–10.30 pm, preceded by a free Swing Patrol dance class and demonstration at Pyramid Bar and Restaurant from noon. George Lane joins the program from 3.30 pm with Justin Brady’s Master of Lunacy.
Other performers across the neighbourhood include Lisa Miller, Monique DiMattina Trio, Ultra Fox, Nikki Nouveau, Jake Mason Trio, Peter Gaudion’s Blues Express and “Continental” Robert Susz.
View the complete free Fusion on Fitzroy Street program
Simply 4 Eva: The Timeless Experience of Eva Cassidy
Friday 18 September | 7–10.30 pm
This concert combines live performance with the story of Eva Cassidy, whose recordings found a vast international audience after her death at just 33.
The program draws from the jazz, blues, folk, gospel and pop repertoire that made Cassidy’s voice so distinctive. Expect interpretations of “Fields of Gold”, “Over the Rainbow”, “Songbird”, “People Get Ready” and “Bridge Over Troubled Water”, presented in the intimate setting of George Lane.
Read more and book Simply 4 Eva
The Fiction + The Gas Babies
Saturday 19 September | 2.30–5.30 pm | Matinee session
Two names from Melbourne’s original punk and garage underground return for a hometown Saturday afternoon.
Formed in 1978, The Fiction emerged alongside groups including The Boys Next Door, La Femme and Teenage Radio Stars. After reforming in 2015, the band began a productive second chapter that has included new albums and touring in Japan. The George Lane appearance comes as the group prepares to return to Japan in October.
The Gas Babies bring their mix of 1960s garage rock and 1970s rock and roll to the other half of the bill. Formed in 1984, the band has deep roots in St Kilda and a family tree connected to The Virgins, Young Savages, Little Murders, The Jets, Rumour Control, End Result, White Elephants, A.E.I.O.U. and Z-Cars.
Read more and book The Fiction + The Gas Babies
Taxiride featuring TTSAR
Saturday 19 September | 7–10.30 pm
After the punk and garage matinee, Saturday evening shifts into harmony-rich Australian pop-rock with Taxiride featuring TTSAR.
Taxiride’s 1999 debut album Imaginate entered the Australian album chart at number one and went double platinum, driven by singles including “Get Set” and “Everywhere You Go”. “Get Set” also appeared on the soundtrack to the film Election and earned the band an ARIA Award.
The band’s second album, Garage Mahal, added “How I Got This Way”, “Afterglow” and the enduring radio hit “Creepin’ Up Slowly” to the catalogue. The George Lane show brings those songs into a much smaller and more immediate room.
Read more and book Taxiride featuring TTSAR
Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers
Friday 25 September | 7–10.30 pm | Grand Final Eve
Melbourne guitarist Geoff Achison and The Souldiggers take over Grand Final Eve with a hard-driving blend of blues, funk and roots rock.
Achison’s expressive guitar work sits at the front of a band built for live performance: deep-pocket rhythms, soul-drenched vocals, improvisation and plenty of room for the songs to stretch. Footy allegiance is optional; a taste for fierce musicianship is more useful.
Read more and book Geoff Achison & The Souldiggers
Brian El Dorado & The Tuesday People: Songs from the Stairwell
Saturday 26 September | 7–10.30 pm | Album launch
Brian El Dorado & The Tuesday People launch Songs from the Stairwell on Grand Final night, with support from St Kilda soul-and-blues performer Zevon Lee.
After six studio albums with The Tuesday People and several EPs, El Dorado wanted to make something outside the band’s established method. Much of the resulting album was created as a solo project and recorded in an actual stairwell, using microphones across three levels to capture its deep natural reverberation.
The launch will bring that raw acoustic palette to the full band, alongside favourites from The Tuesday People’s eleven years together.
Read more and book the Songs from the Stairwell album launch
Featherhead Album Launch
Saturday 3 October | 2.30–5.30 pm | Matinee session
Featherhead launches its long-awaited debut album at the band’s only Melbourne show.
The line-up brings Gary Adams together with Robert King, Jimmy Williams and regional Victorian siblings Josh and Sarah Lobley. Between them are connections to Clip Clop Club, the Whittle Family, Japanese Comics, Paul Kelly & The Dots, The Cabarettos, The Frog Brothers, Broderick Smith, The Dead Clampets and Red Cherries.
The venue adds a neat historical circle: Adams’ Clip Clop Club years included a celebrated residency in the old George Public Bar. Now the humour, songs and collective history return to the same corner of St Kilda.
Read more and book the Featherhead album launch
COPS Play The Police & Sting
Sunday 4 October | 3–6.30 pm
Four experienced musicians gather around a shared affection for the music of Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland.
COPS reaches beyond the unavoidable hits to include deeper cuts that committed Police fans will recognise. The approach is deliberately straightforward: strong songs, musicians who understand them and no attempt to bury the material beneath tribute-show gimmicks.
Read more and book COPS Play The Police & Sting
Abby Dobson + The Deserters
Friday 9 October | 7–10.30 pm
Acclaimed singer-songwriter Abby Dobson shares the stage with The Deserters for an evening that moves through intimate pop, folk, country and blues.
Dobson first won widespread recognition as the voice of Leonardo’s Bride, whose song “Even When I’m Sleeping” became one of the defining Australian recordings of the late 1990s.
The Deserters are Brooke Taylor and Delsinki, a duo combining two voices, numerous stringed instruments and a dry sense of humour. Their road-worn songs draw on baroque textures, dusty country, classic folk and low-down blues, bound together by rich harmonies and sharp storytelling.
Read more and book Abby Dobson + The Deserters
Bully Hay
Saturday 10 October | 2.30–5.30 pm | Matinee session
Tasmanian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bully Hay strips his songs back for an intimate acoustic performance, joined by Drew Castles on drums and percussion.
Hay’s music moves between dark alternative-rock storytelling and warmer melodic spaces, carried by a rich voice and atmospheric arrangements. His 2024 debut, Black Dogs and Songbirds, was produced, recorded and mixed by Jeff Martin of The Tea Party. The follow-up, Anywhere But Here, has since taken Hay further up both the Australian and independent album charts.
The George Lane matinee offers the songs in their most direct form: close, unguarded and without a wall of production between performer and audience.
Venue and tickets
George Lane is located at 1 George Lane, St Kilda, behind 129 Fitzroy Street.
Ticket prices vary by event and booking fees may apply. Follow the individual event links above or visit the complete George Lane gig guide for current availability and further announcements.
Information supplied by George Lane and edited for publication.
