Soak up music magic at these mesmerising live shows: A bunch of must-see concerts, gigs and music-soaked soirees are coming to Brisbane this weekend, and we are primed and ready for some live tunes. Valley party palace The Zoo will host The Last Martyr, Five Island Drive and Vilify as part of the BONEZ TOUR 2022 on Thursday, Eliza & The Delusionals on Friday and Acid Cherry on Saturday. Music trivia game show Not On Your Rider! is back at The Triffid on Thursday, electro-pop star Boo Seeka will be taking over the venue on Friday and Alex the Astronaut will be playing live and loud on Saturday. Stage spectacular Matador returns to The Tivoli this weekend, while Confidence Man takes over Fortitude Music Hall on Friday. Running Touch will be taking over The Princess Theatre on Friday, and Prism of Light by Shokk Events will bring lasers and dance tunes to the Woolloongabba venue on Saturday.

Catch Vanessa Amorosi and Kate Ceberano at Queen Street Mall’s 40th birthday party: Brisbane’s iconic shopping strip, Queen Street Mall, is celebrating its 40th birthday this year – and we’re all invited to join the party! On Friday, the mall will transform into a vibrant day-long street party, featuring live entertainment from some of Brisbane’s most-loved performers, night markets, style workshops, pop-up bars and much more. The fun kicks off at 10:00 am, with party goers set to enjoy live entertainment throughout the entire day, a pop-up champagne bar and roaming surprise giveaways – all you have to do is be in the mall! The Queen Street Mall Stage will be fashion central, with ambassador Annabel Falco hosting the Spring Style Sessions from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm. The celebrations really amp up from 4:00 pm, with visitors invited to indulge their taste buds at an exclusive Friday night markets in Reddacliff Place. There will be tantalising eats and top-tapping beats to keep the market party going until 9:00 pm. Down in the mall, there will be fashion runways showcasing the latest spring/summer collections throughout the evening from 5:00 pm, as well as headline performers adding to the celebratory vibe. Homegrown superstars Vanessa Amorosi and Kate Ceberano will both be playing on the evening, with Kate serenading audiences from 5:30 pm and Vanessa taking the stage at 6:30 pm. To keep the party sparkling all night long, the champagne pop-up bar will be continuing until 11:00 pm.

Go back to the future at this movie marathon: Great Scott! This Saturday, Yatala Drive In Theatre is hosting a Back to the Future double feature. Fall in love with Marty McFly again as he travels back in time using an eccentric scientist’s time machine in the first film. Then in the sequel, Marty travels into the future with the help of Dr Emmett Brown. Pack up the DeLorean and grab your tickets here.

Have a boot-scootin’ time at this cowboy soiree: Get ready to say yeehaw, as Johnny Ringo’s is hosting a huge Wild West Cowboy Party this Saturday. Put on your flare jeans, cowboy hats and ride along to the best party in the west – there will even be prizes for best dressed! You can expect country music, dancing and a whole lot of fun. Learn more and grab your tickets here.

Catch this inspirational true story of growing up gay in central Queensland: The year is 1999 and Shannon has a secret – he is gay. Based on the best-selling memoir by award-winning journalist Shannon Molloy, Fourteen is the inspirational true story of growing up gay in central Queensland, transformed into a powerful must-see theatre production by nationally acclaimed shake & stir theatre co. Set to a nostalgic mixtape of 90s bangers from all your faves, from Shania Twain to The Spice Girls, Fourteen addresses the trials and tribulations of growing up with honesty, humour and heart. Equal parts uplifting and heart-wrenching, we follow Shannon in a year of self-discovery set amidst a backdrop of torment, bullying and betrayal – not just at the hands of his peers, but by the adults who were meant to protect him. This moving coming-of-age memoir about adversity and tragedy is also a story of resilience, hope and hilarity – thanks to the love of a group of close-knit friends, a fiercely protective family, an extraordinary mother and… S Club 7. So press play on your discman, lose yourself in a pumping 90s pop remix and take a technicolored trip back to your teens. Grab your tickets here.

Pop the top off a cold one at this craft-beer festival: Fans of froth rejoice – the Crafted Beer and Cider Festival is back for two huge days of goodness at the idyllic beachside precinct of Kurrawa Park in Broadbeach. This year’s lineup includes more than 50 brewers, which equates to roughly 300 unique brews! In addition to sampling exclusive beers, festival-goes can froth over live music from headline acts British India and Bobby Alu, delicious food and the picturesque Gold Coast backdrop. There are only a few final release tickets left, so head over to the website schooner rather than later.

Watch catwalks and explore fashion collections at this festival: PSA fashionistas – the Brisbane Fashion Festival will again take over King George Square in the heart of Brisbane City from August 22–26 and is set to welcome more than 2000 fashion fans across the three days of the event. The mammoth event showcases collections from top-tier local fashion designers, with past participants including the likes of alice McCALL, Camilla, George Wu, Scanlan Theodore and Ginger & Smart. This year, event-goers can expect looks from much-loved Queensland fashion labels alongside a clutch of adored national labels and pieces from the industry’s brightest up-and-coming talent. The official program of events has yet to be revealed so stay tuned for further details.

Check out stellar music acts at this year’s Quandamooka Festival: Quandamooka Festival celebrates the living history, knowledge, stories, arts and culture of the Nughi, Nunukul and Gorenpul clans, known collectively as the Quandamooka People of South East Queensland. With three days full of exciting activities and two evening concerts, the Quandamooka Festival has something for everyone. Each day of the festival features a program where visitors can immerse themselves in Quandamooka Culture through dynamic dance, music, visual art exhibitions, fibre art and weaving workshops, whale watching cultural tours, Kunjiel (corroboree), storytelling, insights into cultural heritage and caring for Country and much more. Music lovers will be excited to learn that acclaimed First Nations artists Roger Knox, Shakaya, Electric Fields, Emma Donovan & the Putbacks and Joe Geia will be playing at the festival. To see the full program, head to the Quandamooka Festival website.

Pick up some new greenery for your abode: Calling all green thumbs – The Plant Market is back in West Village this Sunday. You can expect a huge selection of indoor plants, an array of succulents, handmade pots and ceramics, stunning florals and much more. The Plant Market will also be bringing back the ever-popular Plant Adoption Centre back to West Village! Bring along your unloved plants and leave at the adoption centre for someone with a greener thumb! Plant lovers can pick up a free unloved plant and bring it back to its former glory. So bring your family, bring your dogs, pick up some new green friends and enjoy a plant filled day out.

Explore galleries after dark: Fancy an evening of soul-trembling nocturnal entertainment? You’re in luck – when the sun dips below the horizon on August 26 and 27, GOMA will be hosting the latest instalment of its much-loved Up Late series, celebrating Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles. As well as offering an after-dark look at the enchanting exhibition, Up Late will feature a bewitching line-up of live tunes and DJs under the stars, as well a delectable selection of pop-up bars, eats and themed experiences. Expect performances from Jon Cloher, flowerkid, Harvey Sutherland and more, as well as an immersive tea-drinking experience with designer Dr Sarah Winter. Grab your tickets here.

Unlock the doors to the city: Brisbane locals will have the rare opportunity to visit more than 40 of the city’s most significant and intriguing buildings when they open their doors for Brisbane Open House from August 27–28. This year, the program is offering up behind-the-scenes access to more than forty buildings across Brisbane – from heritage-listed eye-catchers to sleek new innovations, it’s a visual feast. Visitors will be able to explore venues such as The Tivoli, Government House, St John’s Cathedral, Princess Theatre, Fort Lytton, Roma Street Fire Station and even Wivenhoe Dam. In The City, wanderers can explore the Iconic Precinct program – which will cover Fish Lane Arts Precinct and Aria Property Group’s The Standard. To find out more, visit the Brisbane Open House website.

See award-winning author Holden Sheppard at Brisbane Powerhouse: This Friday, accomplished writer Holden Sheppard will sit down with Walkley Award-winning journalist, producer and presenter Mon Schafter for an enchanting evening of conversation and storytelling. For those not acquainted with his literary prowess, Holden has received many accolades and much praise for his debut novel, Invisible Boys (now in development as a ten-episode TV series) and its representation of young queer people growing up in Western Australia. It’s high time that Holden Sheppard popped in for a visit to Brisbane Powerhouse, especially with the release of his second novel on the horizon. The Brink, which is coming to book stores this August, is described as Euphoria meets Lord of the Flies – and if that doesn’t sound like a page turner, we don’t know what does. To grab tickets to Holden and Mon’s Chat, head to the Brisbane Powerhouse website pronto.

Traverse through a 700-sqm mirror maze: Are you ready to enter a labyrinth of mirrors? Installation artist Keith Courtney’s mesmerising mirror maze Kaleidoscope, an immersive artwork of glass, steel, mirrors and moving prisms that visitors can traverse through, has finally arrived at Brisbane Powerhouse. The eye-popping installation is taking the traditional funfair attraction, a house of mirrors, and turning it on its head. A sparkling crystal palace by day, Kaleidoscope uses a colour field of ever-changing light to both treat and disorientate the senses once the sun sets. Kaleidoscope will take residence on the riverside Performance Lawn at Brisbane Powerhouse from August 12 to October 3, with up to 25 sessions daily. Tickets are $16.50 per person and can be purchased on the Brisbane Powerhouse website.

Check out this nature-inspire exhibition: From August 3–31, art lovers can take their peepers on a cultural journey with help from breathtaking art pop-up The Love of Life. Created by three talented local Brisbane artists, Mabina Alaka, Ken Kikkawa and Hiroaki Eba, the installation was inspired by QAGOMA’s thread-filled exhibition Chiharu Shiota: The Soul Trembles. The exhibition combines a number of dazzling elements including live florals, clay and fabric creations that pay tribute to nature and utilise traditional Japanese techniques – you’ll be able to find man-made orchid trees using sphagnum moss and rainforest frogs crafted from clay. The Love of Life is open to the public Monday to Sunday from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Go have a gander now! If you’re feeling thirsty, head upstairs to Tenya Japanese Restaurant where you can try the limited-edition ‘The Love of Life’ cocktail, available for the month of August.

Catch Queensland Theatre’s newest production: Coming to the Bille Brown Theatre from August 13 to September 3, The Almighty Sometimes follows the story of Anna (played by Melissa Kahraman), a young woman who was diagnosed as a child with mental illness. Now 18, Anna has long been on a cocktail of prescription pills and she wants to know what life is like without medication. Penned by Australian playwright Kendall Feaver, directed by Daniel Evans and starring a super-talented array of actors, this multi-award-winning play will pull at your heartstrings while highlighting the important issue of mental health – especially amongst young people. Seriously captivating and with sprinkles of humour, The Almighty Sometimes is a must-see! To grab a ticket, head to the Queensland Theatre website.

Put on your glass slippers for this magical show: Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella is taking over QPAC! This huge production features incredible orchestrations, jaw-dropping transformations and all the moments you love – the pumpkin, the glass slipper, the masked ball and more – plus some surprising new twists. Be transported as you rediscover some of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beloved songs, including ‘In My Own Little Corner’, ‘Impossible/It’s Possible’ and ‘Ten Minutes Ago’ in this hilarious and romantic experience for anyone who’s ever had a dream. Get your tickets at the QPAC website.

Be amazed by this part show, part bar: If you like your cocktails served with a side of enchantment and neon-lit charm, then pull up a seat at the Maho Magic Bar and prepare for a night that will leave you bewitched. Straight from the streets of Tokyo, the Magic Makers from Maho Magic Bar are finally coming to Brisbane for a limited time and are ready to serve up delicious drinks and mystifying magic tricks. From Wednesday to Sunday for a strictly limited season, lovers of magic can settle in for a 60-minute performance session at the bar, sipping on a menu of curated authentic Japanese drinks while being wowed by Japan’s best close-up magicians. Head here to secure your spot at the bar before it disappears before your eyes.

Drink up this champagne-soaked cabaret: Go digging in your wardrobe and free your most sparkly outfit from the dark confines of hardly-ever-wear, as Blanc de Blanc Encore is shimmying its way back into our city as part of Brisbane Festival’s 2022 early event program. You can expect the usual suspects to turn up at its new Northshore home, Twilight Electric, including aerialists, comedians, singers and dancers, all who have performed around the world to adoring crowds. This is one Gatsby-esque party that’s worth your presence. Secure your seat at this hedonistic hub by visiting the Twilight Electric website.

Indulge your senses at this bottomless wine and high cheese experience: Few phrases get us as excited as ‘bottomless wine’ and ‘truffle-infused cheese’. Both are on offer at La Valle this month, as the Fortitude Valley wine bar hosts an indulgent fromage and vino-centric series every Saturday. This weekend, guests will be able to gorge on a tiered cheese tower (loaded with sweet and savoury truffle-infused morsels) while enjoying two hours of bottomless wine for only $55 per person. The High Cheese tower will boast truffle and fontina cheese arancini balls, truffle whipped mascarpone focaccia, house made truffle brie slices, and four-cheese croquettes with truffle aioli. The offer is available every Saturday in July, with seatings from 11:00 am, 12:00 pm and 1:00 pm. More details and bookings can be found on the La Valle website.

Explore a hidden underwater world in this immersive experience: Prepare to deep dive into an enchanting undersea world as a new bucket-list-worthy experience is swimming into our city this month. Love Lust Lost is the latest production from theatre collective Broad Encounters, the same folks who brought the Edgar Allan Poe-inspired theatre experience A Midnight Visit to Brisbane in 2021. Guests can expect to once again be transported to an otherworldly dreamscape, where they can discover 38 different spaces and a cast of seven stellar performers. These rooms will be filled with everything from song and spoken word to dance, circus and film – and a whole lot of skin. Oh, and we’ve heard that there’s a secret bar submerged somewhere in the experience, so keep an eye out on your escapade if you’re feeling thirsty. Want to dip your toes in Love Lust Lost’s water? Tickets are on sale now online, with shows kicking off from July 13.

Experience the magic of Disney coming to Brisbane in this enchanting exhibition: Fans of Mickey, Minnie, Elsa, Anna and everyone in between are sure to adore Queensland Museum’s newest exhibition, Disney: The Magic of Animation. This kid- and adult-friendly exhibition will draw back the curtain on almost 100 years of the Walt Disney Animation Studios, revealing the magic and hard work behind scenes of your favourite animated films. From pencil to paper and now computer-generated wonder, visitors will be able to take a step inside some timeless scenes from their favourite movies and discover how animators use colour to express emotions, and the technical skills of crafting character and storytelling to breathe life into the studio’s memorable stories and characters. To grab your tickets, head to the Queensland Museum website.

Check out this spellbinding solo showcase from Chiharu Shiota: Currently on display at QAGOMA, The Soul Trembles is the largest solo exhibition of thread-weaving artist Chiharu Shiota’s work to date – and it’s an art-filled ‘gram-worthy adventure, to say the least. Best known for her mammoth installations featuring millions of black, white and red threads, Chiharu creates works that express the intangible experiences of life – memories, dreams, anxiety and silence. The exhibition will highlight Chiharu’s practice across large-scale installations, sculptures, video performance, photography and drawing. In other words, this is one immersive exhibition that must be seen to be believed. To purchase a timed ticket, head to the QAGOMA website.

Discover jewellery designer Margot McKinney’s World of Wonder: Currently on at Museum of Brisbane, World of Wonder: Margot McKinney is a mesmerising celebration of the brand that is Margot McKinney, as well as the inspirations behind Margot’s designs – from Queensland’s coral reefs to the rich colours found on safari in Tanzania. You’ll be able to set your eyes upon a treasure chest of jewels – from magnificent opals and eye-catching pearls to rare, exotic gems like blue tanzanite, lilac amethyst and pink tourmalines. To learn more about this eye-catching exhibition, pop over to the Museum of Brisbane website. If you really want to level up your experience, pull up a chair at the World of Wonder High Tea and Tour. In this exclusive experience, you will be taken on a guided tour of the sparkling exhibition, World of Wonder: Margot McKinney, before returning to MoB’s jewel-toned Dome Lounge for a luxe high-tea experience.

Try out this pop-up immersive experience: Brisbane’s most ‘grammable experience – Imaginaria – has extended its run! This stunning immersive play experience combines audio-visual art, inflatable architecture, light installations and futuristic gamification suitable for all ages. Visitors are invited to step inside, slip off their shoes and engage with AI projections, sensor-triggered LED waves, giant silk parachute canopies, cosmic gardens, an anti-gravity sunset, an electronic hall of mirrors and a digital wishing well that whispers your greatest desires. Ready to step into a world of mind-blowing visual excess? You can grab your tickets to Imaginaria now through Ticketmaster.

Shop up a storm at these weekend markets: If you’re eager to stroll through some stalls and stock up on some fresh fruit and veg, be sure check out these markets happening – Saturday Fresh Market, Riverside Markets, Kelvin Grove Village Market, Jan Powers Farmers Markets, Davies Park Market, Carseldine Markets and the Redcliffe Markets. For delicious dinnertime eats, Eat Street Northshore is on for your snacking pleasure on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights.