The Shadow Electric crew is hosting a two-month summer festival featuring a killer line-up of film, music, art and great food and drink. Day and night, Shimmerlands will be putting on a show at University of Melbourne's Parkville location across four main precincts: The Cinema (for fans of Shadow Electric's past outdoor cinema events), The Pavilion, Live Music and The Food Quarter.
The Pavilion – designed by Ha Architects with the help University of Melbourne graduates – will form the hub of the two-month festival, and houses a bar as well as space for punters to hang out and relax. Expect local bands and international heavy-hitters to perform at Shimmerlands. The line-up has been curated with consultation from Melbourne's promoters and tastemakers; Andee Frost has been curating a line-up for Saturday afternoon gigs, while Dark Mofo alumni and creative duo Supple Fox are co-programming a series of outdoor shows. There are six large outdoor music events slated for the summer, with Brooklyn-based band Parquet Courts confirmed so far.
The Food Quarter will feature Melbourne's foodie favourites. Curated by former Time Out Melbourne writer and Smalls wine bar owner Jess Ho, the food line-up includes St Ali, Pho Nom, Pidapipo Gelateria, Shandong Mama and Trattoria Emilia.
Of course, it's not a proper summer festival without an outdoor cinema, so the Shimmerlands crew will be putting on a film programme curated by Human Rights and Arts Film Festival program director Lauren Valmadre. Films include 45 major releases, contemporary indie films, cult classics, and eye-opening music documentaries.