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Suitcase: Emerging Voices

The Boite's Suitcase Open Mic is an event that recognises the contribution that musicians have been making to our lives for thousands of years and the invaluable heritage they carry with them as they move from one place to another.

 

These events do not adhere to any particular genre or style. We offer musicians from all backgrounds and languages an opportunity to be heard in a city that abounds with diversity but has limited outlets for showcasing it musically. And we celebrate the creative contribution that they all bring to the musical landscape of Melbourne.
 

Suitcase Open Mic will take place at Open Studio on the second Wednesday of each month and will also be live streamed on Facebook. They are free to attend (pay as you feel to support the venue).

Join the Suitcase

Suitcase is a program that supports early-career musicians with an opportunity to showcase their work and connect with peers and audiences. The project aims to showcase new voices and equip them with tools to help them access professional opportunities in the future, with a particular focus on celebrating the creative contribution that migrants bring to the musical landscape of Melbourne.

Since 2020, Suitcase has provided support for musicians to record themselves, and share their videos with The Boite’s extensive audiences. Musicians were offered access to professional recording equipment and assisted (sometimes remotely) to record a 15-minute set. The videos were mixed, edited and published on The Boite's YouTube channel, website and social media. Once a month, Suitcase held a showcase event during which the videos were premiered and the musicians interviewed live.​

  • YouTube
  • Spotify
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“There were many beautiful aural and visual moments…difficult to pinpoint the strongest memory. It had an ephemeral feeling - I wanted to hold onto a moment but it passed and moved onto another captivating piece”

- Audience member during Melbourne lockdowns

Suitcase 2021-01.webp

“There were many beautiful aural and visual moments…difficult to pinpoint the strongest memory."

- Audience member during Melbourne lockdowns

YouTube Showcase

Suitcase: Earth Music Showcase

Suitcase: Earth Music Showcase

Suitcase: Earth Music Showcase
Suitcase presents Perolas feat  Vinod Prasanna

Suitcase presents Perolas feat Vinod Prasanna

17:36
Suitcase presents Bella Rose

Suitcase presents Bella Rose

13:16
Suitcase presents Daley Smith

Suitcase presents Daley Smith

12:44

Upcoming Events

  • Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 2, 2026
    Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 2, 2026
    15 Apr 2026, 6:30 pm – 03 June 2026, 8:00 pm
    St Brigid's Parish Hall, 378 Nicholson St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, Australia
    Get together in a fun, friendly environment to learn Spanish through song under the direction of Colombian singer-songwriter Iaki Vallejo. The choir is open to all levels, no experience required.
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  • The Boîte presents Voices of the Earth | A Matsudo Week Concert
    The Boîte presents Voices of the Earth | A Matsudo Week Concert
    Fri, 15 May
    15 May 2026, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
    Box Hill Community Arts Centre, 470 Station St, Box Hill VIC 3128, Australia
    Voices of the Earth celebrates two instruments that come from the earth. The shakuhachi made from the bamboo stem and the timber koto, offer a variety of works ranging from traditional pieces to contemporary work by Japanese and Australian composers.
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  • Melbourne Georgian Choir - Term 2, 2026
    Melbourne Georgian Choir - Term 2, 2026
    Sat, 13 June
    Community Church of St Mark
    13 June 2026, 2:30 pm – 15 Aug 2026, 4:30 pm
    Community Church of St Mark, 100 Hodgkinson St, Clifton Hill VIC 3068, Australia
    Krys Derwinski has been MGC's music director since January 2020. Georgian songs are noted for their sublime harmony, mysterious key changes and dissonance. All singers are welcome to this musically adventurous and friendly group. Be prepared to to be patient and perseverant!
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  • The Boîte presents PASSAGES
    The Boîte presents PASSAGES
    Sun, 14 June
    Victorian Artists Society
    14 June 2026, 5:00 pm – 6:30 pm
    Victorian Artists Society, 430 Albert St, East Melbourne VIC 3002, Australia
    PASSAGES is a journey into the constant shedding of history and memory and an ode to new beginnings built on that which was always there, yet emerges as open and new through ancestral creative exchanges in a new land. A project by Goran Ðurić with Nela Trifković and ensemble SARAY Iluminado.
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  • Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 3, 2026
    Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 3, 2026
    17 June 2026, 6:30 pm – 05 Aug 2026, 8:00 pm
    St Brigid's Parish Hall, 378 Nicholson St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, Australia
    Get together in a fun, friendly environment to learn Spanish through song under the direction of Colombian singer-songwriter Iaki Vallejo. The choir is open to all levels, no experience required.
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  • Healesville Festival - Family FunDay at Queens Park
    Healesville Festival - Family FunDay at Queens Park
    10 May 2026, 10:00 am – 5:00 pm
    Queens Park, 36 Don Rd, Healesville VIC 3777, Australia
    Healesville Festival takes Mother’s Day Sunday, a free community day to a new location: Queens Park, Healesville. Running from 10am to 5pm, the Family FunDay features two live stages, a festival market, rides, kids’ activities and food.
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  • Healesville Festival - Saturday Venue Hop
    Healesville Festival - Saturday Venue Hop
    09 May 2026, 12:30 pm – 10:00 pm
    Healesville, Healesville VIC 3777, Australia
    The Healesville Festival is back for its second year, returning to the Yarra Valley across Mother’s Day weekend, Saturday 9 - Sunday 10 May 2026. Don’t miss the dual headliner concert with Rufous Whistler and Tessa Devine @ The Memo - tickets are limited, so grab yours now!
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  • The Boîte presents JPN and Sebastian Lugo
    The Boîte presents JPN and Sebastian Lugo
    21 Mar 2026, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
    Mark Street Hall, 1 Mark St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, Australia
    JPN (formerly Jason Khaw Trio) and Sebastian Lugo shares songs and stories at Mark St Hall. JPN uses traditional and modern instrumentation wrapped with thoughtful lyrics and interspersed with heartfelt story-telling. Lugo is renowned for his refreshing Latin-pop busking style around Melbourne.
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  • The Boîte & MHCMS present a Seminar in Song
    The Boîte & MHCMS present a Seminar in Song
    10 Mar 2026, 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm
    Kew Court House, 188 High St, Kew VIC 3101, Australia
    The Boite and Melbourne Hindustani Classical Music Society collaborate to present a seminar in song on Tuesday 10th March, 7pm at Kew Courthouse.
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  • The Boîte & Port Fairy Folk Festival: Songs, Stories and Celebration
    The Boîte & Port Fairy Folk Festival: Songs, Stories and Celebration
    08 Mar 2026, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm
    Reardon Theatre Port Fairy, 35 Bank St, Port Fairy VIC 3284, Australia
    On Sunday evening 8 March, The Reardon ceiling will soar with stunning music, sounds and stories from cultures across the world in a very special collaboration between The Boite and Port Fairy Folk Festival. Featuring three artists – Caisha Sprout, The Lost Clog and Northern Resonance
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  • The 2nd Festival of Georgian Songs
    The 2nd Festival of Georgian Songs
    Sat, 28 Feb
    Church of All Nations
    28 Feb 2026, 10:00 am – 7:30 pm
    Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
    The Boite will welcome Georgian academic, TV presenter and singer Gia Bagashvili to Melbourne in the last week of February. Gia together with 5 Melbourne based ensembles will share their passion for the ancient polyphonic vocal traditions of the Republic of Georgia.
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  • Melbourne Georgian Choir - Term 1, 2026
    Melbourne Georgian Choir - Term 1, 2026
    Sat, 07 Feb
    Community Church of St Mark
    07 Feb 2026, 2:30 pm – 04 Apr 2026, 4:30 pm
    Community Church of St Mark, 100 Hodgkinson St, Clifton Hill VIC 3068, Australia
    Krys Derwinski has been MGC's music director since January 2020. Georgian songs are noted for their sublime harmony, mysterious key changes and dissonance. All singers are welcome to this musically adventurous and friendly group. Be prepared to to be patient and perseverant!
    Share
  • Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 1, 2026
    Sonidos del Alma - Spanish Language Choir - Series 1, 2026
    28 Jan 2026, 6:30 pm – 18 Mar 2026, 8:00 pm
    St Brigid's Parish , 378 Nicholson St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, Australia
    Are you a Spanish speaker/language learner and/or have a propensity for singing? Then join us for our Spanish Language Choir! It's a great way to sing and socialise in a fun, relaxed and friendly environment.
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  • The Boîte presents Sweet Monas Choir 'Let the Good Times Roll' Album Launch
    The Boîte presents Sweet Monas Choir 'Let the Good Times Roll' Album Launch
    07 Dec 2025, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm
    Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
    The Sweet Mona’s Choir is on tour to launch their latest album, 'Let the Good Times Roll'. Joining them is The Boîte 's Spanish Language Choir, Sonidos del Alma directed by Iaki Vallejo and Carl Pannuzzo's Feel Good Choir.
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  • The Boîte presents Bujrum! | Celebrating Sevdalinka
    The Boîte presents Bujrum! | Celebrating Sevdalinka
    06 Dec 2025, 7:30 pm – 9:30 pm
    Mark St Hall, 1 Mark St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068, Australia
    Bujrum! (pronounced Booyroom/ translation Welcome/ Help Yourself) is a creative gathering that celebrates the first anniversary of Sevdalinka, the traditional song from Bosnia and Herzegovina, being inscribed as UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage.
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  • The Boîte presents Joseph Tawadros AM
    The Boîte presents Joseph Tawadros AM
    Fri, 28 Nov
    Church of All Nations
    28 Nov 2025, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
    Church of All Nations, 180 Palmerston St, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia
    Due to popular demand 8-time ARIA Award winning oud virtuoso, Joseph Tawadros AM is back for a second Melbourne performance this year. Joseph is known for his brilliant technique, deep musicianship, storytelling, humour and joyous style of performance. Don't miss it!
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  • The Boîte presents Pal Mar at Box Hill Community Arts Centre
    The Boîte presents Pal Mar at Box Hill Community Arts Centre
    Fri, 14 Nov
    14 Nov 2025, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
    Box Hill Community Arts Centre, 470 Station St, Box Hill VIC 3128, Australia
    Arguably one of Naarm's/Melbourne's most well known Latin-pop bands, Pal Mar expertly weaves together a diverse mix of stories and cultural influences, creating a vibrant tapestry of rhythms and genres.
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  • The Boîte presents Shaking The Tree & Son Candela
    The Boîte presents Shaking The Tree & Son Candela
    14 Nov 2025, 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
    Mark Street Hall, 1 Mark St, Fitzroy North VIC 3068
    Shaking the Tree is one of Melbourne’s most vibrant and exciting choirs full of heart, soul and good fun. Collaborating this year with Colombian master-percussionist Gustavo Moreno. Supported by South American duo, Son Candela.
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Upcoming Events
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