Author: Morgan Collens

  • MRB Presents: Carols by Queerlight 2024!

    GET YOUR TICKETS NOW: https://www.trybooking.com/events/landing/1304957

    It’s that time of year again! 🎄🌈

    WHEN: Saturday, December 7 @ 7:00pm (Doors open at 6:30pm)
    WHERE: St Kilda Town Hall – Corner of Carlisle Street and Brighton Road, St Kilda
    HOSTED BY: Cherry Charleston
    AND Featuring the CBQ Singers!

    Days are getting longer, and warmer. Decorations are going up in stores. Mince tarts are in the shops, and the smell of cinnamon and nutmeg teases your nostrils. It’s the sense of Christmas, which means that it’s time for Carols by Queerlight!

    Join the Melbourne Rainbow Band along with our special guest vocalist Guillaume Gentil and seasonal choir – the CbQ Singers – as we kick off the silly season in style.

    Gather your family and friends and get ready for a joyful sing along! There is nowhere like Carols by Queerlight, where being home with the LGBTIQA+ for Christmas puts the sparkle and glitter back into the festive season and brings together the Diverse Gender and Sexuality (DGS) communities.

    We are encouraging families of all ages to attend, with an early start time of 7pm and a visit from a certain jolly Man in Red likely to occur in the first part of the program. Then, after the interval, we’ll see how the grown-ups celebrate once the kids go to bed!

    Tickets for individual seats or whole tables, with special prices for concession and children 12 & under, as well as discounts for booking a whole table. It’s possible for everyone to be part of the festivities!

  • MRB Presents: Spectacular! Spectacular!

    Join the Melbourne Rainbow Band as we take you on a journey through some of our most Spectacular music. From movies and musicals to landscapes and strange lands, get ready to be swept away into mystical hunting fantasies, fight fantastical battles, and meet daring bushrangers.

    Featuring pieces from Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, as well as composers among the likes of Gustav Holst and Robert Sheldon, this is definitely one you don’t want to miss!

    Date: 1st October

    Time: 2.30pm

    Where:
    James Tatoulis Auditorium
    MLC
    207 Barkers Rd, Kew

    Tickets: Trybooking.com

    $25/$20

    Group Discounts available
    Early bird discount before 14th of September

  • Melbourne Rainbow Band Presents – Just Dance!

    The Melbourne Rainbow Band (MRB), under the baton of Music Director Tracy Videon, is proud to present “Just Dance”, a foot-stomping performance that will have you moving to the beat. 

    We have put together an incredible selection of concert music that will take you everywhere and every when. Get Jiggy with an Irish Riverdance. Or perhaps musicals are your thing?  We also have the classics Satiric Dances, the famous wind band composition by Dello Joio, the Snowflakes Waltz from the Nutcracker. With a touch of Hairspray, Strictly Ballroom, or Gangnam Style we have something for everyone. 

    Hosted by the sunny and effervescent Kirsty Webeck, this once only performance will be an event not to be missed. Come out and join us for an unforgettable afternoon of music, dancing, and community in the spirit of love, acceptance and connections. 

    • When: 2.30pm Sunday 21 May 2023
    • Where: St Kilda Town Hall (99A Carlisle Street St Kilda) 
    • Price:
      • $20 Early bird till May1st (online) 
      • $25 Full Price
      • $20 Concession  
    • Tickets: trybooking.com
    Book now

  • Summer Season 2023!

    Welcome to 2023! It’s officially our favourite time of year…Midsumma!!

    As always, its a busy two months – here’s what we have planned:

    22 January – Midsumma Carnival: See us on the main stage between 1:30pm and 2:00pm, and then listen out for us as we roam the grounds playing more music!

    2 February – MRB at the Pride Centre: Performing for the first time in the Pride Centre Theatrette, this will be an intimate one hour show featuring a mix of the popular as well as some classics. We guarantee to get your toes tapping. This is your chance to hear the Melbourne Rainbow Band perform an hour of our favourite music in the incredible Victorian Pride Centre as part of Midsumma Festival!

    www.midsumma-premier.eventfinda.com.au/2023/mrb-pride-centre/melbourne/st-kilda/tickets

    5 February – Pride March!

    We can’t wait to be performing out in the sun again, always such an amazing vibe!

    Unfortunately, we will not be holding our usual Picnic at Forest Glade this year.

    As many of our followers would already be aware, 2022 sadly saw the passing of the Late Cyril Stokes.

    As a result, MRB will be taking a break from our much loved Picnic at Forest Glade in 2023 to allow the Stokes Collection to reconvene and plan for the future.

    Thank you all for your understanding!

  • Carols by Queerlight Returns!

    It’s that time of year again!

    Saturday, December 10 @ 7:00pm

    (Doors open @ 6:00pm)

    St Kilda Town Hall
    Corner of Carlisle Street and Brighton Road, St Kilda

    Carols by Queerlight is back to help you see out 2022.  Join the Melbourne Rainbow Band, along with our special guests and seasonal choir – the CbQ Singers – as we kick off the silly season in style.

    Gather your family and friends and get ready to sing along with what has been billed the “Campest thing since Christmas” and “A rainbow Christmas for everyone”. There is nowhere like Carols by Queerlight, where being home with the LGBTIQ+ for Christmas puts the sparkle and glitter back into the festive season and brings together the Diverse Gender and Sexuality (DGS) community.

    We are encouraging families of all ages to attend, with an early start time of 7 pm and a visit from the jolly Man in Red likely to occur in the first part of the program. Then, after the interval, we’ll see how the grown-ups celebrate once the kids go to bed!
     

    Tickets for individual seats or whole tables, with special prices for concession and children 12 & under, as well as discounts for booking a whole table, it’s possible for everyone to be part of the festivities.

    Book now! https://bit.ly/3Uovgs4

  • Together We Were Well and Truly Heard

    Wow, what an amazing afternoon.

    We couldn’t be more proud of both ourselves and our talented friends at Kyneton Rainbow Voices, Castlemaine Pride, and shOUT Youth Chorus! All that hard work paid off and we successfully juggled watching two conductors to pull off one of our most exciting (and daunting) performances yet.

    A huge thank you to the Darebin Arts Centre for the use of their amazing stage, and the help of their brilliant tech and stage crew. Walking into a beautifully set stage made our jobs so much easier than we thought, we couldn’t have done it without you.

    And of course we can’t forget our favourite sound guru Colin, patiently walking us through our collective sound checks with endless patience.

    Thank you also to our supporters at City of Stonnington and Thorne Harbour Health.

    Can’t wait for our next gig…Christmas, OMG!

  • Together, We Are Heard! – Tickets!

    Ticketing is officially live!

    We can’t wait for everyone to join us for our biggest collaboration yet – hint: start practicing your vocal warmups so you’re ready to sing along…??

    Book today!! https://bit.ly/3QMTj1Q

  • MRB Presents – Together, We Are Heard!

    In what is perhaps our most ambitious collaboration yet, the Melbourne Rainbow Band is excited to announce Together, We Are Heard!

    What started as a mid-lockdown dream has finally become a reality, and we cannot wait to be joined on stage by not one, but three LGBTQ+ choirs: shOUT Youth Chorus, Rainbow Voices Kyneton, and Castlemaine Pride Choir.

    We are beyond thrilled to be partnering with these amazing choirs to bring you a celebration of protest, change, and unity, showcasing songs that highlight the change we can make when we work together.

    Stay tuned for ticketing details, and we hope we see you there!

  • MRB at the Victorian Pride Centre!

    Join your favourite Rainbow Band in their first ever performance within the Victorian Pride Centre!

    Featuring vocalist, Campbell Reither, and soloist, Damien Hickey (aka Mr Australasia Bear 2022) on Tuba.

    This Sunday afternoon will certainly be sizzling, can’t wait to see you all dancing along to your favourite tunes! (there might be some YMCA, maybe even some Queen, who knows…)

  • Trivia Night 2022

    Oh trivia how we have missed thee!

    After almost 5 years, our annual trivia night was a huge success, stretching brains and stimulating community generosity.

    The night was hosted by the fabulous Frock Hudson and saw a room full of rainbow folk, friends and family duking it out for the ultimate trivia trophy.

    Pop culture, music, videos and general knowledge were the name of the game leading to shrieks of laughter and groans of consternation.

    Guests bought amazingly scrumptious feasts and drank our bar dry in about 45 minutes. After a quick re-stock our glamorous trolly dollies took the bar to our guests, keeping social lubrication running at an all-time high.

    Our coveted raffle prizes featured exotic prizes like a ’Spring Time Fling’, ‘Winter Warmers’ and ‘High Tea’.

    Our trivia competitors sashayed away with prizes from DTs, Cat Camp, Scratchies (we’re sure everyone won at least $10k), mulled wine kits, Haighs chocolates and many many more.

    The MRB also launched our new pronoun badges on the night, being snapped up at $3 a pop.

    A huge thanks to all our supporters and prize sponsors, and an extra special thanks to Vic Bears Inc who have made an amazing donation to support the band.

    Funds raised on the night will go towards purchasing a big, burly new Tuba in the near future.