Bowie Bonanza

People who’ve seen Jeff Duff’s show, Bowie Unzipped, have remarked they couldn’t believe it wasn’t the great Thin White Duke on the stage before them. Accompanied by a band of some of Australia’s finest musicians, Duff takes on Bowie’s classic songbook, performing the likes of ‘Let’s Dance’, ‘Young Americans’ and ‘Golden Years’. Now it’s your chance to catch his tribute when it comes to Melbourne for one night only.

WHEN 26 October

WHERE Bird’s Basement

Pipe Dreams

It has 9568 pipes and uses 2500 cubic metres of air every minute. It’s Melbourne Town Hall’s grand organ and members of the public don’t get too many opportunities to hear it being played. But if you’re in the city at 1pm on 10 October, you can witness young performer Myfanwy McIndoe fire up this beauty at Organic Lunch. She’ll play works by Johann Sebastian Bach, French baroque composer Nicolas de Grigny and more. It’s a free event and there’s no need to book.

WHEN 10 October

WHERE Main Auditorium, Melbourne Town Hall

Beat Feast

For 11 days, the venues of Melbourne’s inner north are going to be pumping as the Darebin Music Feast presents more than 120 events showcasing the amazing talent and diversity of local performers. More than a third of the events are free, there are plenty of all-ages shows, and you can also book tickets to movie nights, talks and song-writing workshops. Don’t miss the huge closing night party, with 18 acts, including Banoffee, Jess Cornelius (pictured) and The Mamas, across three stages.

WHEN 18–28 October

WHERE Across the City of Darebin

Rising Tides

Former Powderfinger guitarist and songwriter Darren Middleton is back with a new solo album, Tides. This month, he’s heading to Melbourne to launch these new songs – with Even’s Ash Naylor supporting – although he’s promised there’ll be some tracks from the back catalogue, too. Yep, don’t be surprised if there’s a bit of a singalong to a few Powderfinger favourites.

WHEN 26 October

WHERE Northcote Social Club

A Classic Reborn

It was last seen in cinemas in 1976, when Barbra Streisand and Kris Kristofferson steamed up the screen. Now, a new remake of A Star is Born (there is a total of three earlier versions) is just about to open in theatres. Starring Bradley Cooper and Stefani Germanotta, better known as Lady Gaga, it tells the story of a young singer-songwriter who falls in love with a hard-living country musician – and there are already Oscar whispers. It’s released here on 18 October.

Image: courtesy Warner Bros

Sounds of the Deep South

Memphis is coming to the waterfront with the Docklands Blues Music Festival. This free weekend event will feature four stages and unlimited opportunities to boogie. Across the two days of non-stop music see artists such as Sweet Felicia and the Honeytones – fresh off a European tour – Brian Fraser, Dreamboogie and Christina Crofts (pictured). Stay for a few hours or pull on your dancing shoes for the entire weekend.

WHEN 21–22 October

WHERE The District Docklands