For nearly a decade, Melt Festival has been the beating heart of Brisbane’s queer calendar. A shameless, high-voltage celebration of identity, creativity, and community.
Under Executive Producer Emmie Paranthoiene, it has evolved into something much bigger. What started at Brisbane Powerhouse now spills across the entire city, from riverbanks to rooftops.
“What makes Melt so special is that Brisbane just hasn’t had a festival like this,” Paranthoiene says. “Especially not for the queer community. Last year, when we expanded beyond Powerhouse, we were asking artists, venues, and businesses to trust in this vision, and the community absolutely showed up.”
Show up they did. Last year packed in more than 200 events across 70 venues. Spencer Tunick’s nude installation turned Story Bridge into a living artwork, while the River Pride Parade transformed city streets into a moving rainbow. Brisbane became a glitter-drenched celebration of queer visibility, energy, and joy. This year, Paranthoiene says things are levelling up again. “It’s about having something for everyone. We’ve done a lot of work to listen to the community to make sure we’re growing in the right direction.”
That growth comes with some serious wins. This year, Broadway royalty Bernadette Peters will perform exclusively in Brisbane, marking a massive coup for the festival. “Usually, you’d have to travel to Sydney or Melbourne to see someone like Bernadette,” Paranthoiene says. “So it’s huge for Brisbane. We want Melt to be a destination festival, to really draw national and international attention – and bringing a queer icon of that magnitude signals how far we’ve come.”
Bernadette Peters - Image © Andrew Eccles
But Melt’s power isn’t just in its headliners. It’s an open-access festival where anyone can be part of the programme. “That’s the beauty of it,” Paranthoiene explains. “If you have a show, you can be in the festival. It means emerging artists get visibility, they get marketing support, and through our development programme, some even get financial help. It’s about lifting everyone up and making sure there’s space for fresh voices.”
That grassroots energy runs through the entire line-up. Theatre, sport, drag royalty, and visual art all collide. Paranthoiene is especially excited about 'Shimmer', a project amplifying young trans voices. “It’s a partnership with Open Doors Youth Service, Museum of Brisbane, and the incredible artist Gerwyn Davies. The photographic exhibition will be shown at the museum but we’re also taking it to the streets with giant banners around the city. For trans youth visibility right now, that’s really powerful.”
Brisbane’s queer scene doesn’t have the global shine of Sydney or Melbourne, but Paranthoiene says that’s exactly what makes it special. “There’s a resilience that comes from fighting for visibility in a smaller city,” she says. “It breeds work that’s raw, political, celebratory, and completely original. We might not have the same scale, but we have a fierceness that can’t be faked.”
Melt’s history goes back to 2015, when it began as a smaller LGBTQIA+ festival at Brisbane Powerhouse. Since then, it’s grown into an annual, city-wide celebration of queer arts and culture. Guided by the Melt Reference Group – a committee of LGBTQIA+ leaders and artists – the festival has become a platform for both new and established voices. With Brisbane gearing up for the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics, Melt is carving out an essential space for queer stories to be seen and heard amid the city’s transformation.
When asked what she hopes people take away from Melt, Paranthoiene doesn’t hesitate. “Joy,” she says. “Joy and visibility. Especially now, joy is powerful. We want people to leave feeling represented, connected, and like they belong. That feeling of community – that’s what keeps the festival alive.”
Melt isn’t just another date on the cultural calendar. It’s a city-wide statement. A celebration of survival and pride, with roots deeply planted in the queer community. And with Paranthoiene steering the ship, Brisbane’s queer culture is rising, loud and impossible to ignore.
“If you’re thinking about coming to Melt, you should,” Paranthoiene says. “It’s bold, it’s beautiful, it’s a proper takeover of the city.”
Brisbane's Melt Festival 2025 is on from 22 October-9 November.
This story originally appeared on our queer sister site, FROOTY.
