Introducing HIGH GROUND & their inaugural winter program ft. including Protomartyr, Violent Magic Orchestra, Mildlife and lots more

Located on Wurundjeri Country, HIGH GROUND is a live music series inspired by Fitzroy’s traditional name, Ngár-go – an area long synonymous with creative independence, resistance, and pushing boundaries.

Launching this winter across The Night Cat, The Evelyn and Punters Club, HIGH GROUND celebrates Fitzroy’s rich musical legacy with a multi-genre collision of sound from the fringes to the forefront. Running from May through August, the program features a broad lineup of live music, bringing audiences back to Fitzroy’s beloved independent venues during the colder months.

The inaugural program features performances from internationally acclaimed post-punk outfit Protomartyr, Senegalese rhythmic pioneers Mark Ernestus & Ndagga Rhythm Force, Japanese audiovisual collective Violent Magic Orchestra, New York experimental group YHWH Nailgun, Naarm psychedelic-jazz favourites Mildlife and Los Angeles R&B artist Jenevieve, alongside a mix of local artists, collectives, DJs and community-led programming.

At the centre of the program is HIGH GROUND: IN MOTION, a multi-stage event taking place Saturday, July 18, across all three venues within the Fitzroy Triangle: The Night Cat, The Evelyn and Punters Club. Presented by CLBR, PBS 106.7FM and Leaps and Bounds Music Festival, audiences can move between venues for one night of live music, DJs and late-night programming.

The first IN MOTION lineup includes performances from Skeleten, Sleepazoid, XIAO XIAO, Orange Moon, No News, Rain Dogs, Horatio Luna, DJ LUV YOU, Public Figures, Setwun & The Soulstranauts and Miles Nautu.

Fitzroy has stood as one of Australia’s most important homes for live music for decades – a suburb built on independent venues, underground scenes, DIY spaces, late nights and generations of artists shaping counterculture. From the influential Punters Club era of the 1990s to Fitzroy’s underground warehouse rave movement and the vibrant scenes emerging today, the suburb has long been a meeting point for artists, communities and ideas.

Across the years, global cultural figures have intersected with Fitzroy’s creative identity; Muhammad Ali walked Gertrude Street during his 1979 visit to the Aboriginal Health Service, Keith Haring painted nearby walls in the 1980s, Kylie Minogue performed one of her earliest shows at a Fitzroy Football Club fundraiser, and Jeff Buckley played an impromptu rooftop set above Triple R on Victoria Street in 1996.

Fitzroy’s music venues have helped shape generations of local and global music culture. The Punters Club became a rite of passage for Australian bands throughout the 1990s, helping launch and nurture artists such as Powderfinger, Spiderbait, Magic Dirt, and You Am I. The Evelyn evolved from a historic Brunswick Street pub into one of the northside’s most important independent bandrooms, hosting everyone from Dirty Three and Hiatus Kaiyote to Muse’s first Australian performance. Meanwhile, The Night Cat transformed Johnston Street into a late-night cultural meeting point, with its iconic 360-degree stage becoming synonymous with jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and marathon dancefloor sessions, hosting artists including The Cat Empire, The Bamboos, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Sampa The Great and Amyl & The Sniffers.

As part of the program, HIGH GROUND will present a free public gallery exhibition featuring archival photography and memorabilia celebrating some of Fitzroy’s most iconic cultural moments.

“HIGH GROUND is our love letter to Fitzroy. We want to celebrate the creative and cultural history of this incredibly unique community,” says Nate Farrell, CLBR’s Co-Founder & Managing Director. “I spend 95% of my time between Johnston St and Alexander Parade, and every night already feels like a festival to me, being about to bounce between our venues (aka The Fitzroy Triangle). We wanted to bottle that feeling, that excitement of seeing all these dots connect in these spaces with different crowds and scenes coming together, all with Fitzroy as the backdrop.”

Additional artists, exhibitions and activations will be announced over the coming weeks. Follow High Ground to stay updated.