Music gigs in Melbourne can go well past midnight. It means many music fans need to leave early so they don’t miss the last train, tram or bus home. But now that public transport runs 24 hours, they can stay until the last guitar chord rings out and know there will be a safe and affordable way to get home. We needed to prove to the music community how reliable all-night public transport is, and that it can get you to and from music venues at any hour.

Melbourne’s Longest Ever Encore saw one of Australia’s biggest bands, the Pierce Brothers, play an epic 5-hour encore all over the city. And the only way they could get from venue to venue was with public transport. The band caught trains, trams and buses all over Melbourne to 10 different music venues in a single night. The crowd followed, and more people joined along the way. Everyone who participated in this live outdoor event experienced how reliable Melbourne’s 24-hour public transport service is and how it can get them from music venue to music venue at any time of night.

The night started with a sold-out show. To everyone at the venue, it seemed like a normal gig. But once the Pierce Brothers got to the encore, they surprised the audience by telling them that they were doing something a bit different. They were going to perform Melbourne’s Longest Ever Encore and were using public transport to get from venue to venue until 4am. The crowd followed, and more people joined along the way. For fans overseas or at home, they could follow along on Facebook Live. The band played at 10 different music venues and the whole night was documented – all the performances were edited into original music film clips and were released on social media the following week.