A Queer Jazz Session

Presented by North Star Barbershop & Mz Rizk as part of Darebin FUSE Festival

A Queer Jazz Session invites you into a sun-soaked Sunday of live queer jazz, lingering drinks, and quiet history-making — the debut of one of Darebin’s most exciting new venues, and a room full of music, community, and joy.

North Star Barbershop opened in 2026 in a location Darebin knows well — the former home of Open Studio, one of High Street’s most cherished live music venues. Carrying that legacy forward, North Star operates as both a barbershop and event space, with a vision beyond the chair. On Sunday September 6th, that legacy is honoured — and a new chapter begins.

MzRizk is one of Melbourne’s most trusted curatorial voices — events have included Melbourne International Jazz Festival’s Jazz Out West (2017 & 2018), Art Souk at Arts Centre Melbourne (2024), Golden Threads (2025), and Brunswick Music Festival (2026). For this event, she has assembled AKEY: ARIA-nominated, APRA Award-winning, and one of the most electrifying forces in Australia’s nu-jazz vanguard. Performing as a trio, AKEY pulls audiences into a future-jazz cyclone — club weight, harmonic complexity, and keys solos that light up the room. Their 2025 release Astro Shooter is a queer refusal to be erased: music as liberation, music as survival.

The afternoon moves from AKEY’s live set into a DJ set by MzRizk plus special guest Thndo.

First events become founding stories. This is North Star’s.

FREE to attend, no bookings required. Suitable for ages 18+. The venue is licensed: beer and wine will be available for purchase on the day. 

Learn more

This event is supported by the City of Darebin as part of Darebin FUSE Festival's FUSE Funded program and Live Music Weekend. 

Promotional posters for A Queer Jazz Session created by artist Yolanta Rado, featuring images provided by AKEY and THNDO

 

                    

Darebin Arts and Darebin FUSE Festival acknowledge the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung people as the Traditional Owners, custodians and cultural leaders of this land. We pay respects to Elders past and present, and acknowledge the continuing connection to Land, Water and Culture of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

 

When

Location

North Star Barbershop, 204 High Street, Northcote, 3070, View Map