The best music events at the Melbourne Fringe Festival 2023

In the year that saw Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner strike up a match, it seems 2023 is one for confounding pairings. So, while we would never think of putting Grand Theft Auto and country music in the same box, comedian Blake Everett has with his performance of Video Games Made My Son Country Music – and we can’t wait to see what it entails.

Once he finally got his hands on a PS2 copy of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Everett began to steal cars, turn on the radio and drive around the San Andreas countryside listening to the sounds of violence: Willie Nelson, Patsy Cline, Hank Williams and more. Expect to hear from Everett's band where they will “play the tunes that shaped their salad days”.

It’s bubble, bubble, toil and trouble over at this musical cauldron of soul-stirring live music. "Zenzi" and the Sonic Groove Foundation is a groove-laden musical extravaganza that includes a six-piece band – the Sonic Groove Foundation – as its backbone, with a string of Melbourne soloists gracing the stage nightly. 

The beating heart of it all is "Zenzi". Born in London with South African roots, Zenzi's multi-layered vocals and infectious rhythms will enrapture audiences from start to finish. See the chemistry between the two ignite in a performance chock-full of jazz, funk, rock, blues and soul.

Where does your mind take you as soon as you step foot in the shower? Are you more prone to a pang of existential dread or prefer to think about the Roman Empire? Set at the Melbourne City Baths, Shower Thots is a song and dance show that expands on the stereotypes of shower thoughts. 

The performance offers a private view into Bobbi's bathroom as she looks for jovial relief while living alone through Naarm's lockdowns. Her only company is her inner dialogue, a series of non-linear realisations sung by a choir inside the pool. 

Watch the show from above or sing along in the pool; there are very limited places for aquatic seats.

All aboard the train for this synaptic expedition back to the future that pays homage to the machines, people and processes that have created the sounds and songs of the present. The Modern Music Machine will see legendary electronic music machines – like the MPC60 and the Moog Synthesiser – take centre stage alongside the visionary minds behind them.

Part-time music producer and “full-time cyborg sympathiser” Boyd Kelly will be the captain of this ship as he re-discovers the secrets of these machines to delve into the lineage between New Order’s pulsating baselines, Rick Rubin’s pounding 808s and J Dilla’s wonky samples.

The undisputed king of pop parody, “Weird Al” Yankovic, has been poking fun at songs by contemporary musicians like Miley Cyrus and Madonna for decades. Now, with lyrics projected on the big screen, here’s your chance to sing, shout and laugh your way through Al’s best work.

If you love words as much as veteran bookworm Emma Knights, head along to Turning the Page. For her new original music show, Knights has created a collection of songs inspired by certain lines from books and also from the author’s words reimagined.

Some of the featured books include Pride and Prejudice, We Should All Be Friends, LOTR: Two Towers, Signs and Wonders, Anne of Green Gables and Notes on a Nervous Planet. Expect to hear songs that grapple with topics of imagination, climate change, social justice, mental health and how, if we turn the page, we might just be able to start a new chapter.