Our History

The Melbourne Rainbow Band was formed in May 1995 in a small church hall in South Yarra. The purpose was to provide an opportunity for all amateur musicians to develop their musical abilities in an environment free of prejudice and discrimination.

Since 1996 we have proudly taken part in Melbourne’s Midsummer Festival and Pride March. We continue to perform at various charity and fundraising events, along with occasional private events.

In 2002, we hosted the first LGBA (Lesbian and Gay Bands of America) conference outside the USA. Over 100 musicians joined us in Melbourne, during which time we presented a  concert at the internationally renowned Melbourne Festival. We also performed at the opening and closing ceremonies for the Sydney 2002 Gay Games, Sydney Town Hall and the Opera House before a crowd of more than 30,000.

In 2005 and 2006 we received Special Commendations as an outstanding community group in the nationwide Community Idol competition. In 2007 we received a significant grant from the City of Stonnington for a successful series of free community concerts.

We recorded our first CD, “Live in San Francisco”, in 1997 on our tour of the USA, and in 2005 produced a DVD of our 10 year anniversary concert, “The 10 Year Itch”. In 2010, were recorded our first studio CD: “15 & Fabulous”, which was released in January 2011.