Yarra City Council is excited to announce the return of Leaps and Bounds Music Festival, set to celebrate the sounds of winter from July 5 - 14, hot on the heels of the CHANGES Music Summit & Festival. The City of Yarra is home to some of Melbourne's most iconic live music venues, each forming part of a thriving cultural ecosystem that caters to a vast variety of musical genres and tastes. Leaps and Bounds places the programming power in the hands of those that understand the area the best, local venues. It invites live music venues to create their own diverse and inclusive programs with financial, marketing and promotional support from Council. The winter music festival has always been about celebrating and promoting Australian music, encouraging music lovers out to see great gigs in Yarra venues during Melbourne's coldest months. This year the festival offers some new treats including Yarra's first Winter Record Store Day on Saturday July 6 featuring in-store performances by the likes of DRMNGNOW and exclusive sales throughout the day. Another new initiative for 2019 is Draw the Band, which invites local artists to attend one of our festival events, create an artwork and submit it for judging by an industry panel in a bid to win a stash of prizes. With over 50 live music venues in Yarra there are performances and events throughout Leaps and Bounds to suit music fans of every genre, all age groups and every budget. This year features singles launches from dark electro duo Asylum Sisters (Bar Open), grunge rock darlings Moaning Lisa (Grace Darling Hotel) and three piece punk powerhaus Piss Factory (The Burrow). Favourites from 2018's program make a return this year with Creme de le Femme (The Evelyn), Queering the Pitch (Hares and Hyenas) and Women of Country (The Standard Hotel) returning to showcase the best local artists throughout the week. The Laundry promise a huge night out under the musical tutelage of UMAMI collective, and Girls Rock! Melbourne brings their epic ALL AGES fundraiser to the Tote. Afrohub and Abbotsford Convent present two events this year. After Party features Pookie, Daniel Elia and Ijale, and the Melbourne Traditional Aftrican Ensemble supported by DJ Eva Lubulwa promises to warm your joints. Australia's iconic electro-punk heroes turned-children's performers Regurgitator will bring theireccentric kid's music project 'Regurgitator's Pogogo Show' to The Corner Hotel while Yah Yah's will present the Lipsychronised Grande Slam showcasing a culmination of six weeks of cut-throat competition for the title of 'The Lip Synch Slayer.' The 2019 Leaps and Bounds Music Festival will span 10 days from July 5-14 and includes a selection of free and ticketed events. Leaps and Bounds Music Festival is commissioned by the City of Yarra, programmed by Yarra venues and co-presented by Yarra community radio station PBS 106.7FM. More to be announced soon! Visit leapsandboundsmusicfestival.com for more info.