SUPERGLOO is a new Melbourne live music initiative from Frontier Touring and Melbourne Park designed to remove barriers for younger audiences, give Australian artists access to arena-level production and create new connections between emerging talent and the wider music industry.
SUPERGLOO is being developed as more than a live music showcase. For general manager Bonnie Dalton, the new initiative represents an opportunity to connect Australian artists with audiences they might not otherwise reach, while giving the live music industry a practical way to explore how the next generation of concertgoers discovers music.
Created through a partnership between Frontier Touring and Melbourne Park, SUPERGLOO brings together two established organisations to create a platform for local artists in a setting that offers professional production, industry exposure and all-ages access. Its first events are scheduled for December 2026, with another programme planned for April 2027.
Bonnie Dalton, whose experience includes music industry development and work with Creative Victoria, sees SUPERGLOO addressing a gap between the extraordinary talent being produced in Australia and the difficulties that can prevent audiences from discovering it in person.
“Melbourne and Australia is definitely still producing some of the most incredible world-class artists that it ever did,” Bonnie told Noise11. “But sometimes it can be harder for people to find those.”
She describes the ambition as “discovery off the algorithm”, giving audiences a place to encounter artists beyond their established online listening habits.
The concept recognises that discovery can begin with an artist someone already follows, but it can also happen when a concertgoer attends a show without knowing every performer on the bill. The objective is to make live music a place where people can find their next favourite artist through the experience of seeing them perform.
Bonnie’s previous work at Creative Victoria helped identify the barriers confronting people who want to attend live events. SUPERGLOO is intended to address several of those barriers simultaneously, including ticket prices, age restrictions and the practical difficulties younger audiences face when trying to attend concerts.
For the music industry, the partnership offers artists access to infrastructure that can be difficult to assemble independently.
“Well, this is an arena,” Dalton said. “Initially we’ll be using it in its band room mode, so a little bit more intimate. But the capacity is there to grow it. And in the meantime, we’ve got an arena sort of size stage and production.”
That combination gives participating acts the opportunity to perform with production resources associated with a much larger venue, while retaining a more intimate performance environment.
All-ages access is another central consideration. Bonnie said artists on the line-ups had told the organisers they wanted opportunities to perform for younger fans who often struggle to attend live shows because of age restrictions.
The Melbourne Park venue also provides a familiar location with a connection to the local community. She believes the partnership creates an opportunity to use that public space for Australian artists at a level that does not happen every day.
The commercial challenge is to make concerts more accessible without undermining the economics of live music.
SUPERGLOO tickets have been kept below $50, with the December events priced at $49. Dalton acknowledged that research had identified a lower price point as an important consideration for younger audiences, but said affordability had to be balanced against the costs of delivering sustainable live entertainment.
“There’s no point in making tickets so cheap that the industry cannot maintain a viable offering”, she explained.
Bonnie recalled the difficulties created during the COVID period when subsidised shows offered exceptionally low ticket prices. While those events helped audiences attend concerts, they could also make it harder for other promoters to compete and establish sustainable pricing.
The intention, she said, is not to create an expectation that music should cost very little. SUPERGLOO must demonstrate that accessibility and a viable live music business can coexist.
Programming is designed to reflect the breadth of Australian talent rather than impose a single definition of what younger music fans want.
The December line-up features 2charm, Blusher, Robert Baxter, Abby and Tyrone. A separate programme is planned for April, with Larissa Lambert and Zipporah among the artists discussed in the interview. The organisers have deliberately announced two different line-ups together to establish that SUPERGLOO is not tied to one genre or a fixed formula.
Bonnie Dalton said the programming brief was straightforward: find great artists and build compelling shows. Diversity emerged through the selection of artists working across different styles and backgrounds, rather than through a requirement to fill predetermined categories.
The model is intended to accommodate more specialised line-ups, including the R&B-focused programming discussed for April, while building a broader identity that audiences can trust.
“If you see it, if it’s on SUPERGLOO, it’s going to be good,” Dalton said of the brand she hopes to establish.
That consistency could help audiences develop a relationship with the series, returning for different programmes and discovering artists they would not ordinarily seek out. Bonnie hopes SUPERGLOO will eventually build a community of regular concertgoers who attend several events a year and become more active participants in Melbourne’s live music scene.
For artists, the benefits extend beyond the performance itself. SUPERGLOO is intended to create new audiences, industry connections and potential future opportunities, although Bonnie was careful not to suggest that appearing on a showcase guarantees subsequent bookings.
Frontier Touring and Melbourne Park work with major international touring productions, bringing industry expertise and professional networks into the project. Bonnie Dalton said industry representatives would be watching the shows, creating opportunities for local artists to be seen by people involved in programming live entertainment.
The events will also give organisers a chance to understand audiences who are currently underrepresented in live music. That knowledge could help the industry develop better ways to reach younger concertgoers and people who have not yet established the habit of attending shows.
School and university holidays form part of the scheduling strategy. All the planned 2027 events will fall within school holiday periods, removing another practical obstacle for younger fans who might otherwise be unable to attend.
Bonnie Dalton said SUPERGLOO’s success would be assessed through ticket sales and audience growth, but also through less easily measured contributions to the wider music ecosystem. If the events introduce new people to live music, help artists reach new listeners or strengthen recognition of Australian talent, those outcomes will count alongside attendance figures.
She also sees the initiative as a response to a music industry experiencing contrasting fortunes. Major tours and large-scale productions continue to demonstrate the strength of demand for live entertainment, while smaller venues face closures and financial pressures.
“The health is pretty difficult to read,” she said, describing an industry that must continually innovate and adapt as audience behaviour changes.
SUPERGLOO’s initial focus remains Melbourne, reflecting the partnership with Melbourne Park. Dalton has not committed to a national expansion, but said the concept could grow if the first events demonstrate that the model works.
The name itself reinforces the project’s emphasis on connection. SUPERGLOO pays homage to Magic Dirt and their song of the same name, with organisers seeking permission from the band’s Adalita and Raúl Sánchez.
For Bonnie Dalton, the reference is a reminder that the project is built around Australian music, connecting generations of artists and listeners while creating opportunities for the next wave of performers.
The immediate task is to establish the series, listen to its audiences and refine the model. The longer-term ambition is to make SUPERGLOO a trusted platform where local artists can reach new fans and younger audiences can discover live music on their own terms.
SUPAGLOO AT MELBOURNE PARK
DECEMBER 2026 & APRIL 2027
Presented by Frontier Touring & Melbourne Park
PRESALE TICKETS:
via supagloo.live
Runs 48 hours from: Friday 16 October (10am local time)
or until presale allocation exhausted
ALL SHOWS LICENSED ALL AGES
2charm, Blusher, Robert Baxter, Abby & Tyrone
Thursday 10 December 2026
Band Room, MCA | Melbourne, VIC
Larissa Lambert, Zipporah, DJ Isa Bautista
Friday 02 April 2027
Band Room, MCA | Melbourne, VIC
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