Melbourne's best gigs with tickets on sale now

What-what, what, what? It’s time to pop some tags and look incredible in your grandad’s clothes, because Macklemore is heading back Down Under with a series of headline shows in Australia and New Zealand in May 2024.

The multi-platinum and Grammy award-winning alternative hip-hop artist behind hits like ‘Thrift Shop’ and ‘Can’t Hold Us’ just dropped his first album in six years. BEN is his third solo studio album, and includes tunes like ‘CHANT’ featuring Australia’s very own Tones And I. Admittedly very listenable, this album has thrust Macklemore back into the charts. 

Does anyone else remember when Macklemore headlined the NRL Grand Final in 2017? And he performed marriage equality anthem ‘Same Love’ just a couple of months before the result of Australia’s same-sex marriage plebiscite was announced? Anyone else remember holding up their lighter and crying when that came on at the pub? Anyone? 

Moving on, our guy was last in Australia in 2022, performing the headline slot for the fifth edition of Fridayz Live alongside legendary artists like Akon, TLC and Craig David.

After a couple of shows in New Zealand, Macklemore will play four headline shows in Australia, playing at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, May 15. The national tour will kick off at Sydney’s Hordern Pavilion on May 11, 12 and 13, and also head to Brisbane’s Riverstage on May 17, before rounding out his headline tour with two final show at Perth’s HBF Stadium on May 20 and 21.

New general public tickets go on sale on Thursday, November 23, from 1pm. You can snap up tickets at frontiertouring.com/macklemore. 

Looking to head out to see more live music? Here's a list of the best gigs on in Melbourne this month. 

The only direction we will be heading in is towards Rod Laver Arena after hearing the news that former One Direction’er Niall Horan will perform next autumn. The hugely popular – and all-round ‘cheeky chappy’ – will return to Australia in 2024 for three huge shows in Brisbane, Sydney, and, of course, our dear Melbourne.

The singer will perform on May 3, 2024, off the back of his most recent album, The Show, which is scheduled to drop on June 9, 2023. Concertgoers can expect to hear tracks from the forthcoming album but also a whole mix of songs from his solo career, including fan favourites like 'Slow Hands', 'This Town' and 'Nice to Meet Ya' — he may even have the odd surprise, cover song or unreleased track up his sleeve.

Since finding fame as a member of the globally successful band One Direction, Horan embarked on a solo career in 2016. He has since established himself as a talented singer with bucketloads of on-stage charisma and an infectious blend of pop, folk and rock. 

Tickets to see Niall Horan will be released on June 2 at 10am local time. You can get tickets and more info on the TEG Live website.

Get ahead of the curve and grab tickets to Melbourne's upcoming gigs before they sell out.