From the 8th of January, the city of Sydney will once again be transformed by the annual month long extravaganza known simply as Sydney Festival. The event will take over spaces around the city – some, such as the Famous Spiegeltent, are only here for the festival. But with hundreds upon hundreds of performances, it’s hard to know where to begin when it comes to choosing what to attend. We thought we’d lend our advice and are excited to bring you ten performances we reckon you shouldn’t miss…
Seu Jorge
“Seu Jorge represents the sheer vibrancy and unbridled enthusiasm which permeates through musical styles founded in Brazil. A brilliant live performer, Jorge brings his inimitable live show through to the Sydney Festival next year and, with hip-hop artist Karol Conka and NYC producer Béco Dranoff both involved in the live set up, Australian fans are in for a real treat. Jorge has received acclaim from all corners of the international acclaim, can count David Bowie as a fan and has only continued to develop for himself a passionate and charismatic presence when he is in his element on stage. Do not miss your chance to see Jorge make his Australian debut at The Star.” – Sosefina Fuamoli
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/seu-jorge
Performance Dates: 11 January
Christine Salem
“Christine Salem is a live performer whose hypnotic talent can only truly be appreciated when you’re being swept up in the atmosphere her shows conjure. Her shows are percussion soaked, the heat from the drums coupled with Salem’s textured and soulful deliveries of songs drenched in cultural history and meaning elevates the quality of her live shows to a whole other level. Bringing the musical tradition of ‘maloya’ to more crowds around the world in recent years, Salem has cut herself a strong figure on the world music tour circuit and there’s little surprise as to why. It’s impossible not to be taken away in her call-response sections of the show, regardless of whether you are familiar with this type of music or not. It’s a fantastic experience the Sydney Festival offers attendees in 2015.” – Sosefina Fuamoli
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/christine-salem
Performance Dates: 8 January
Tiny Ruins
“The Aurora will host New Zealand’s Tiny Ruins as part of the Sydney Festival next year. With singer songwriter Hollie Fullbrook at the helm, the trio are simply divine to listen to, their soulful and melodic nature makes for a great live show atmosphere. Affecting and rather devastatingly gorgeous in places, Tiny Ruins’ music has been able to reach all corners of the music market in recent times, especially off the back of their recent release ‘Brightly Painted One’.” – Sosefina Fuamoli
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/tiny-ruins
Performance Dates: 16 January
Dan Deacon
From my recent review of Deacon in action in Hong Kong: “There ain’t no party like a Dan Deacon party. When it comes to a live Dan Deacon experience, few even come close. An easy pick for best set of the festival – though it’s not so much to do with his music (which though excellent in its own right, without the interactive experience wouldn’t have quite the same effect), as it is to do with his ability to get the crowd to participate in ways that no one else has the balls to attempt.” – Larry Heath
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/dan-deacon
Performance Dates: 22 January
So Frenchy So Chic
“I’m so excited this event is returning to Sydney Festival. Kicking things off from about 1pm with a French picnic, this couldn’t be a more enjoyable day, even without the music. But it just so happens that they’ve got their best ever lineup this year. La Femme, Frànçois & the Atlas Mountains, Emilie Simon and The Dø will light up the stage. Not to be missed!” – Larry Heath
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/so-frenchy-so-chic
Performance Dates: 17 January
Limbo
“Vaudeville smash LIMBO is making it’s return to Sydney Festival next year following a sell-out season at the beginning of the year. It’s a highly engaging, consistently entertaining affair with everything from fire breathing and mind-boggling tap dancing performances to unreal aerial acrobatics and wide-eyed contortion displays. All this set in a pop venue in Hyde Park. Why wouldn’t you head along to this? Look for these performances to follow in the same fashion as the 2014 season, so you should get to snapping up those tickets now before they are all gone.” – Chris Singh
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/limbo
Performance Dates: 8–25 January; No performance on Mondays
The Artist Live in Concert
“The Sydney Symphony Orchestra will provide a live soundtrack to the instant classic 2011 black-and-white, silent film The Artist. The film sits at a comfortable 98% on film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and is an easily accessible romance-comedy that not only serves as a peek back into the glamour of Old Holywood, but is a piece of golden age cinema that is thoroughly enjoyable to watch. Head along to this to watch our city’s treasured orchestra bring the five-time Academy award winning film to life.” – Chris Singh
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/the-artist-live-in-concert
Performance Dates: 23 & 24 January
The Experiment
“This audiovisual horror story is a performance that will be making it’s world premiere at Sydney Festival. It asks the terribly difficult questions ‘would you kill a child if it meant you would save countless other lives?’ The production is inspired by the writings of ethicist Peter Singer and created by British playwright Mark Ravenhill in collaboration with composer David Chisholm.” – Chris Singh
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/the-experiment
Performance Dates: 15, 16 & 17 January
Spongebob Squaretimes
“The Sydney Festival is the world premiere of installation ‘Spongebob Squaretimes’; a 45 minute video which was accidentally shot when Australian photographer Greg Barrett kept his camera rolling in New York’s Times Square. It is people watching at its unedited best. There is a sense of loneliness and isolation in the footage, which will be accompanied by the soundtrack of Simeon ten Holt’s composition ‘Canto Ostinato’. Spongebob Squaretimes challenges the audience by evoking the emotions of sadness and alienation, whilst beautifully depicting the inherent human desire to connect with others.” – Liz Whaley
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/spongebob-squaretimes
Performance Dates: 8–17 January
Beat The Drum
Some of Australia’s best musical talent will converge on the Domain at The Sydney Festival to celebrate the 40th birthday of Triple J. The line up boasts bands and artists who have repeatedly proven themselves to be great live acts: Hilltop Hoods, The Presets, The Cat Empire, You Am I, Vance Joy, Ball Park Music, The Preatures, Tkay Maidza, Nina Las Vegas, KLP (DJ SET), Adalita, Courtney Barnett, Remi, Owl Eyes and Alister Wright & Heidi Lenffer of Cloud Control. Not to mention the slew of just announced artists. Why wouldn’t you be interested?” – Liz Whaley
Link: http://www.sydneyfestival.org.au/2015/beat-the-drum-celebrating-40-years-of-triple-j
Performance Dates: 16 January
