Leaps & Bounds Festival 2013 Gets Bigger With Morning Ritual Series & The Meanies Gig

Following on form announcing that over 50 venues were taking part in its inaugural launch, the Leaps And Bounds Festival, an initiative of the City of Yarra council, Music Victoria, and community radio station PBS FM, has a whole slew of new reasons to get excited about the live music event that puts the spotlight on Melbourne’s inner-north live music scene.

Named after the iconic Melbourne pub-rock anthem by local legend Paul Kelly, Leaps And Bounds aims to celebrate some of Melbourne’s best venues in a series of unique music events curated for Melbourne’s inner-north suburbs, confirming plans first announced in January that local music industry figures and venue heads were plotting a new cultural event.

The latest addition to the Leaps And Bounds Festival is an ace new series of gigs to be held at the unlikely but awesome Copacabana in Smith Street, Fitzroy that is likely to have music fans leaping out of bed.

Introducing Morning Ritual Sleeps In! a series of weekend gigs at midday, co-presented by Bird and Aarght Records, and hosting a fine selection of local bands sporting their wares, with two bands performing from midday to 4pm each weekend in July.

Highlights include The UV Race’s first gig back after their US tour, the first local gigs for Beaches and Super Wild Horses since their sold-out album launches and a rare appearance by the Ooga Boogas.

There will also be DJs, a record fair with low priced remaindered stock from local independent record companies, Bloody Marys, and Sticky Fingers Bakery. The five shows are supported by Mountain Goat and Vodka O.

As well as the new Morning Ritual Sleeps In! series, the Leaps And Bounds Festival asked local legends The Meanies if they’d like to take part in the festivities. Their response? “Fuck yeah!”

Taking over the Tote Friday 12th July, almost 24 years to the day that The Meanies played their first ever show at the legendary Collingwood venue, the band will be joined by Batpiss, Geelong punks The Kremlings, and Jan Juc stuff-ups, The Dipsticks. The Meanies even promise “you may even hear some brand new songs!”

Leaps And Bounds will also see the Tote hosting  I THANK YOU: The Powder Monkeys / Tim Hemensley 10th Anniversary Gig, which finds the surviving members of the cult Melbourne punk band joined by an all-star cast of local music legends to honour their former frontman, 10 years after his untimely demise.

The Corner Hotel is also going large with their Leaps And Bounds participation, including a double matinee show from Mikelangelo & The Tin Star with the Black Eyed Susans, Dick Diver’s shows for their recently announced Calendar Days Tour with Twerps and The Stevens, Ballarat’s Gold Fields on Saturday 13 July, Melbourne’s Kingswood, playing on Thursday 18 July (both selling fast) – and Warrnambool’s finest – Airbourne –playing their sold out Splendour Sideshow. There’s also Smith Street Dreaming, a street party that celebrates Indigenous music and culture.

Many more Leaps And Bounds events are to be announced in the coming weeks, and you can check the round-up of everything announced thus far below, right after you watch this awesome new video commissioned by The City of Yarra and Leaps And Bounds organisers, offering some unique insights on the inner-north’s rich musical legacy from the mouths and lips of those who’ve lived and breathed it.

Leaps And Bounds Music Festival 2013

July 5th – 21st, 2013
Proudly presented by City of Yarra, Music Victoria & PBS FM.
http://www.leapsandboundsmusicfestival.com/

Morning Rituals Gig Series

Copacabana at 137 Smith St, Fitzroy
Presented by Bird and Aarght Records
Entry only $5 and here’s the full band and DJ schedule:

Saturday 6 July
THE UV RACE
EARLY WOMAN
+ DJs Woody McDonald & Joe Kokomo

Sunday 7 July
SUPER WILD HORSES
TERRIBLE TRUTHS
+ Twerps DJs

Saturday 13 July
BEACHES
AUSMUTEANTS
+ Deaf Wish & Zond DJs

Sunday 14 July
NUN
EASTLINK
+ DJs Mike Squires & Max Crumbs

Saturday 20 July
OOGA BOOGAS
EXHAUSTION
+ Psychedelic Coven DJs

The Meanies At The Tote

FRIDAY 12th JULY, THE TOTE
71 Johnston St, Collingwood

Presented by Cheersquad and Leaps & Bounds

THE MEANIES
BATPISS
THE KREMLINGS
THE DIPSTICKS

Doors open 8pm
$20 + booking fee at http://bit.ly/MeaniesTOTEtix

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