Brisbane’s city-wide festival of queer arts and culture, Melt Festival, has kicked off for 2025, transforming the city into a rainbow wonderland of vibrant visual art, thrilling performances, side-splitting comedy, thought-provoking talks and so much more!
With hundreds of events taking place across 60 venues, there are countless ways to see, hear, dance, laugh and be inspired over the next 18 days. Melt welcomes everyone to celebrate creativity, identity and community. Opening week is sizzling! Here are just a few highlights coming in week one of Melt 2025:
Broadway legend Bernadette Peters is on her way to Australia for the first time in a decade. Her exclusive performance in Brisbane for Melt this Friday 24 October, promises a night of musical magic and Hollywood glamour.
With heats on Thursday and Friday, and the Grand Finale on Saturday night, Miss First Nation is set to slay! Contestants will bring their style, story, culture and power to the stage. So much more than a pageant, Miss First Nation is a celebration of community, connection and unfiltered creativity. Expect fierce sparkle, sass overload and Blak drag excellence.
The Lucky Country hits Magandjin with a 65-minute mix-tape of uniquely Australian stories, featuring six outstanding performers, a five-piece band including yidaki and an original score nodding to icons from Baker Boy to The Seekers.
Dendy Powerhouse will showcase Australian-made adult animated film Lesbian Space Princess on Saturday 25 October, telling the tale of a space princess, thrust out of her sheltered life and into a galactic quest to save her bounty hunter ex-girlfriend from the Straight White Maliens.
Whitefella Yella Tree is a heart-warming and heartbreaking tale of Blak Queerness, love and Country, following Ty and Neddy as their teenage romance unfolds under a lemon tree in the early 19th century, on land soon to be called Australia. Together, these productions highlight the festival’s commitment to diverse, bold and deeply moving theatre.
Week one of Melt’s Talks Series features an inspiring session from journalist, author and mental health advocate Jonathon ‘JMO’ Moran, sparking conversation, insight and connection on Friday 24 October.
Visual arts fans can take a tour of Brisbane to experience Shimmer – an evocative outdoor exhibition and installation by Gerwyn Davies, created with trans and gender-diverse youth. Shimmer offers a powerful and intimate perspective on identity and community, showing at the Museum of Brisbane and seven outdoor locations across the inner city.
Comedy lovers will fill the Powerhouse Theatre for Brisbane’s finest LGBTQI+ improvisers bring real-life queer experiences to life in Thank God You’re Queer – a fabulous gay twist on Australia’s most successful improvised show.
On Saturday 25 October, step into the most fabulous after-dark adventure when dazzling drag performers and wildlife experts sashay through Brisbane’s iconic Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Out in the Wild night tours are the perfect blend of entertainment and education, where sequins meet species and science. Your chance to experience Lone Pine like never before!
Plus there’s Queer Slice x Melt Markets on Sunday 26 October showcasing both emerging and established Queer creatives where you’ll fine artworks, ceramics, fashion and more!
Dive into the glitter, the glamour and the groundbreaking performances, the Melt Festival continues to 9 November 2025. For more information and full program, visit: www.melt.org.au for details.
Images: Bernadette Peters – photo by Andrew Eccles | Karlis Zaid, Jeffrey Liu, Vidya Makan and Phoenix Jackson Mendoza in The Lucky Country – photo by Jodie Hutchinson | Gerwyn Davies, Roadrunner 2024 from the series Mirage, 2024, archival pigment print. Courtesy the artist, Jan Murphy Gallery Brisbane and Michael Reid Galleries Sydney/Berlin