The Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival returns in 2024

Prepare your taste buds and jazz up your weekend plans because the Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival is back, hitting South Melbourne Market on the Labour Day long weekend in March 2024!

On Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10, from 11 am to 9 pm, Cecil Street will be closed to traffic and the Market will come alive with a two-day seafood street party celebrating our favourite mollusc, set to a soundtrack featuring the city’s best in jazz and soul musicians.

The festival will feature a great range of street food vendors (for the non-seafood lovers, there will still be plenty to choose from!), a main stage of live music, bar, cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities, roving performances, giveaways and more!

Port Phillip Mussel & Jazz Festival 2024

• 11am – 9pm, Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 March 2024
• South Melbourne Market is open every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 8 am.
• Corner of Cecil and Coventry Streets, South Melbourne
• On the doorstep of the 96 Tram Line, South Melbourne Stop

Keep up with the latest food and booze news across the region here.

The food

Come hungry! The event is renowned for its delicious seafood offering, with some Melbourne favourites popping up at the two-day event to showcase their mouth-watering mussel and seafood dishes.

If seafood is not your thing, don’t despair, as there will be a diverse range of food stalls at the festival, plus the entire Market will be open during the day, so you can feast on Market favourites including French pastries, porchetta rolls, German street food, cannoli and more.

The entertainment

This event isn’t just about delicious seafood! The festival will be soundtracked by a music program featuring some of Melbourne’s best jazz and soul musicians. There will also be cooking demonstrations, kid’s activities, roving entertainers, giveaways and more. It’s free, family friendly and a whole lot of fun.

Did you know over six tonnes of mussels are consumed at the festival? That’s a lot of shells! South Melbourne Market partner with The Nature Conservancy all year round to recycle oyster, scallop and mussel shells so they don’t end up in landfill.

The Shuck Don’t Chuck program sees shells used in a reef restoration project aimed at rebuilding the precious ecosystems in Port Phillip Bay.

Full program to be announced in January.