Best entertainers in Sunset Strip
Sunset Strip is a grid of streets on Phillip Island's north coast, between Cowes and Ventnor, and a singer lives there. That's the good news, because the rest of the first screen is a lesson in reading a map: a singer at Bittern, a DJ at Hastings, a singer-songwriter and a jazz guitarist on the Mornington Peninsula, another singer-songwriter at Red Hill, a duo and a singer at Safety Beach, a fire performer at Mount Martha. All of them look close. All of them are across Western Port, and the drive around the top of the bay through Koo Wee Rup and down the Bass Highway takes well over an hour. The duo at Wonthaggi, the same distance on its card, is the only one who's actually on your side of the water.
Phillip Island's own trade is the summer one: holiday houses full of family for a January birthday, weddings on the north-coast beaches with the reception in a hired house or a marquee, and the long weekends when Cowes doubles in size. A singer with a battery rig fits nearly all of it, which is lucky, because a band means a Melbourne or peninsula act pricing the drive both ways. The pool behind the page is the Mornington Peninsula's, singers ahead of duos, cover bands and soloists, and it will come to the island, but the fee will say so.
Top picks in Sunset Strip
Top picks are the nearby performers with the most visible reviews, then rating, then the closest; further afield the closest come first, and premium listings break remaining ties. Distances are straight-line from Sunset Strip. Ask each act whether they travel to your venue and what that costs.
Questions people ask about entertainers in Sunset Strip
How much does a DJ cost for a party on Phillip Island?
Distance is the first line of the quote here, before hours or lights, because the nearest DJ on this page is at Hastings and the road to Sunset Strip from there loops the whole bay. A Melbourne DJ prices much the same run. Expect a January Saturday to sit at the top of what they charge, and read the from-price on the DJ card above as the starting point before travel.
Are there any bands based on Phillip Island?
Not on the first screen; the island's own listing is a singer, and the nearest duo is over at Wonthaggi. For a band you're looking at the Mornington Peninsula's cover and wedding bands or Melbourne's, and either way it's a long drive with a trailer and often a night's accommodation. Scroll the full list to the band cards and ask two or three for a Phillip Island price.
Can I book a fire performer for a beach party at Sunset Strip?
The fire act on this list is at Mount Martha, which is a long way round by road, so ask early and expect travel in the number. On the beach they'll want to know about the wind, and on a property they'll want a cleared area away from the tea-tree. A total fire ban day cancels a fire show outright, so have a wet-weather-style plan for that as well.
Booking tips
The card distance is across water
Everything from Bittern to Mount Martha on this list is a crossing away with no car ferry; the passenger boat from Stony Point to Cowes carries people, not a PA. Budget for the road trip around the bay, and ask each act whether that's in the quote.
Wonthaggi is the local bench
The Bass Coast acts, the duo at Wonthaggi among them, reach the island in half an hour along the highway with no water in the way. For a Saturday in summer they're the ones to ask first.
Say whether it's the Cowes side or the surf side
The island's north coast around Sunset Strip is sheltered; the south side at Cape Woolamai and out towards the Nobbies takes the wind. For a beach ceremony, tell the singer which side, because a small rig that carries at Ventnor gets lost at the surf beaches.