Melt Festival 2025 heated up faster than a Queen in full drag in the Brisbane sun! Week One saw the fabulous and fierce Kitty Obsidian slay her way to the Miss First Nation 2025 crown, Bernadette Peters belt her iconic heart out and a blaze of theatre, music, visual arts and mayhem ignite stages across Brisbane/Magandjin. And guess what? There’s so much more to come! Week Two is giving even more fire, fun and some wonderful events for the family.
From choirs and comedy to parades, picnics and performance, Melt Festival stays turbo-charged right up until the final curtain on Sunday 9 November. Melt Festival’s second week brings even more sparkle and spectacle across Brisbane/Magandjin. Here are just a few highlights not to miss:
Brisbane’s beloved Briefs Factory return home for Briefs: Jealousss, a cheeky mix of circus and drag. Expect feathers and filth from the award-winning burlesque collective in their brand-new creation.
Cabaret’s sharpest tongue Reuben Kaye hits Brisbane with a double dose of provocation. His show enGORGEd delivers glamour and wit at QPAC before the curtain rises again at Brisbane Powerhouse for The Kaye Hole, the late-night fever dream where anything can happen.
A radiantly-beautiful gender-fluid twink who discovers that there’s money to be made from ‘transactional relationships’, Tomáš Kantor stars in the Queensland premiere of the award-winning production SUGAR.
The Brisbane River will transform into a ribbon of rainbow pride as the River Pride Parade fleet takes float for the second time and the River Pride Picnic fills New Farm Park with colour and connection. Whether you’re afloat or on the grass, it’s a family-friendly celebration of love, inclusion, and community spirit.
No boat? No problem! Check out the ultimate floating party zone at Splash Out! and keep the party going at Melt X Quivr’s River Pride Parade Kick Ons!
For lovers of the big screen, Sparrowland Queer Film Fest showcases bold new voices and beloved classics, celebrating LGBTQIA+ storytelling across four days of screenings.
Artistic, Mind Bending, Hilarious and filled with stunning hi-level bubble skills, Bubble Show for Adults Only is executed by two of the most shredded performers you will see this Festival!
Actor, writer and star of X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Dance Academy, Tim Pocock joins next week’s Melt Talks Series to share shares the story behind his memoir The Truth Will Set You Free: Growing Up Gay in Opus Dei.
The musical melting pot of Rythmology – Reset combines Hip-Hop, rap, spoken word and burlesque to tell powerful stories of cultural preservation and resilience.
The outrageous wrestling-meets-drag spectacle HOLE-MANIA 2.0: The Final Meltdown crashes Melt’s closing weekend! Special guests Shandy and GoGo Bumhole lead the final instalment in an explosive night of camp carnage.
To close the festival in spectacular style, 1000 Voices will unites over a thousand singers from LGBTQIA+ and Pride Choirs across Australia and Aotearoa/New Zealand for a free, breathtaking choral event hosted by Reuben Kaye. A heartfelt, large-scale celebration of community power, open to all and ending the festival on a high.
The 2025 Melf Festival continues to Sunday 9 November. For more information and full program, visit: www.melt.org.au for details.
Images: 1000 Voices (supplied) | Tomas Kantor in SUGAR – photo by James Reiser | Bubble Show For Adults Only – photo by Cris Berserker Third Eye Shoots