A music festival designed for everyone to experience the magic of live music. A not-for-profit event, with all ticket revenue going directly to the Dylan Alcott Foundation to help empower young people with disability to achieve their ambitions.

Celebrating our fifth edition, Ability Fest is opening up to ages 16+ to welcome more people than ever before!

Our festival oasis is located at Naarm/Melbourne’s Alexandra Gardens/Birrarung Marr, an urban space embracing community with sweeping city skyline views and lush greenery. You can expect all your usual festival amenities like delicious food & drink options, shaded retreats, unique experiences and unforgettable music performances across two stages. Accessibility remains at the forefront of Ability Fest. We’ve worked with our partners, Get Skilled Access, to implement the following features to ensure an inclusive and enjoyable environment for all music lovers: 

• Auslan Interpreters

• Accessible Parking

• Accessible Drop Off & Pick Up Zones

• Accessible Bathrooms & Changing Places

• Elevated Viewing Platforms

• Bindi Maps - Navigation App

• Companion Card Accepted

• Friendly Volunteers to Assist

• Pathways & Flooring

• Assistance Dog Area

• Designated Chill Spaces & Sensory Zones

• Tactile Sensory Silent Disco

• Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Initiative

• Free Wifi

• Live Captioning

• Access Liasion

• Earplugs

Ability Fest was developed by Dylan Alcott, a four-time Paralympic gold medalist, 15-time Grand Slam champion, and the 2022 Australian of the Year, in collaboration with music festival masterminds Untitled Group, the creators of renowned music festivals including Beyond The Valley, and Wildlands.   Ability Fest uses the power of music to bring people together and  help normalise disability whilst setting a standard for accessibility, inclusion and diversity at all events.

Driven by a deep passion for music and a commitment to making a difference, Alcott has leveraged  his foundation to positively impact the lives of young Australians with a disability. To date, Ability Fest has raised over $1M for the Dylan Alcott Foundation empowering young Australians with a disability to fulfil their potential through scholarships, mentoring and grants. The initiatives have provided a range of support including:

• Customised equipment for Paralympic athletes

• Funding for young adults to complete tertiary education at leading universities across Australia 

• Establishing start up businesses so people with disability can pave their own future 

• Plus so much more!

Join us for a beautiful day of live music and community, all while knowing that your ticket purchase has made a significant impact on the lives of our community living with disability.

Ability Fest will be held on the north bank of the Yarra River home to Naarm/Melbourne’s Alexandra Gardens/Birrarung Marr, an urban space embracing civic life and community involvement with sweeping city skyline views and lush greenery. 

Holding cultural and social significance, this lucious inner-city park provides unique landscapes including large lush terraces with expansive city views and level areas, ramps and canopied areas with overhanging trees offering shelter. 

The site will be transformed into completely accessible areas with the inclusion of elevated platforms, pathways, a dedicated sensory area, quiet zones, companion ticketing, ramps, friendly volunteers and accessible toilets.

This event takes place on stolen land. We would like to acknowledge the Wurundjeri people as the traditional custodians of this land and pay our respects to their elders past and present.
Ability Fest Melbourne is celebrated on the lands of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Peoples of the Kulin Nation, who have been the custodians of Biarrung Maar parklands and its surrounding landscapes for over 60,000 years. We pay our deepest respect to elders past, present, and emerging, and offer our greatest appreciation for their continual care of the land. As we unite through music, may we be guided by the ancient harmonies, diverse stories and ancestor spirits that travel through this landscape. In our effort to create a space infused with inclusion, acceptance and joy, we join through a shared responsibility, of respecting country by caring for it, as it has always cared for us. Recognising that the land on which we gather always was and always will be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land—sovereignty was never ceded.