A two-hour panel discussion hosted by Dougal Austin and Jeremy Samson. Also includes Jenny Thompson from Daylesford Primary School, child behaviour specialist Bobbi Cook and Joanne Rogers from Orbit Kids Therapy Ballarat.

Thursday, Show Us Your Arts Open Mic @ Palais Hepburn

The winter season of the multi-arts open mic.

Bring your words, music and instrumental sounds. Pre-register for a guaranteed spot, or just rock up on the night. Registration 6pm; acts 7-9pm. Every Thursday.

Saturday, Ten Story Tale @ Palais Hepburn

Original, from the heart alternative rock originating from Glenlyon and Franklinford. Featuring Jack Oskar Larm (vocals & bass), Dave Marshall (electric guitar) and Oli Patsch (drums).

Friday, Floyd Thursby @ Blue Bean Cafe

Saturday, Team Love @ Blue Bean Cafe

Sunday, Ellerby @ Blue Bean Cafe

Friday, The Audreys @ Bridge Hotel Castlemaine, 9pm

The Audreys are a triple ARIA Award-winning blues/roots band comprised principally of Taasha Coates and Tristan Goodall with a cast of never do wells who've played with them over the years.

Their most recent album, Til My Tears Roll Away, was released in March 2014.

Friday, Lydia Lunch @ Theatre Royal Castlemaine

American singer, poet, writer and actress Lydia Lunch returns for a performance of spoken word, visuals and soundscapes.

Following a 2018 tour where her band Retrovirus toured Australia, including blistering performances at Dark Mofo and GoMA, Lunch is back with her spoken word show Dust and Shadows - an impassioned word-based performance.

This latest show is a unique combination of otherworldly textures, images and sound set to themes which deal lyrically with loss, rage, revenge and survival.

Haunting images of the numerous ghost towns littered throughout the Spanish desert and the lost lovers whose mysterious spectre seem to forever stalk the abandoned ruins and empty rooms create a backdrop of atmospheric layers.

Created as a multimedia showcase featuring her text set to music, Dust and Shadows is enhanced by the video images of French visual artist Elise Passavant.

Known for her collaborations with the likes of Nick Cave, Thurston Moore, Kim Gordon, Rowland S. Howard, James Chance, The Birthday Party, Einsturzende Neubaten and Sonic Youth, Lunch is a unique act.

With only two shows, this Castlemaine gig is sure to be popular.