Sydney Festival has just announced its massive lineup of acts for 2017, so we thought we’d do you all a great kindness by wrangling our top five, hand-picked faves for what to check out in January.
So without further ado, here are five concerts to get super psyched for at Sydney Festival 2017.
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
Friday, 20th & Saturday, 21st January, 7pm
ICC Sydney Theatre
Catching iconic Aussies Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds is a must, as they return to Sydney to showcase their 16th (Yep, 16th!) studio album Skeleton Tree, which reflects on grief and transformation through the lyrical lens of Cave with arrangements from Warren Ellis. It’s guaranteed to be a dark, experimental and genre-defying performance.
Watch: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – ‘Girl In Amber’
‘Jan 17 1967: Music In The Key Of Yes’
Tuesday, 17th January, 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
‘Music In The Key Of Yes’ celebrates the anniversary of the civil rights movement to remove a part of the Australian Constitution which discriminated against indigenous Australians. Over 90 per cent of people voted ‘Yes’ to its removal.
In recognition of the ongoing struggle for the rights of indigenous people in Australia, ‘Music In The Key Of Yes’ is to be performed in the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, on the land of the Gadigal people.
Some of the greatest songs of the civil rights movement will be reinterpreted by an all=star Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cast, including ARIA award winner Dan Sultan, award-winning artist Thelma Plum, five-time Helpmann nominee Ursula Yovich, soul and hip-hop vocalist and songwriter Radical Son, Darwin singer-songwriter Leah Flanagan, folk-country artist Stephen Pigram and Yirrmal Marika from Arnhem Land, as well as Adalita, formerly of Magic Dirt.
Archival film footage will also be projected during the show, which will be a musical celebration, a reflection of the past and looking towards hope for the future.
Yann Tiersen
Tuesday, 24th January, 8pm
Sydney Opera House, Concert Hall
Yann Tiersen is the man responsible for the stunning, timeless soundtrack to the classic French film Amélie. Tiersen is bidding farewell to the the orchestra for this one, as he performs on piano, toy piano and violin, integrating layered field recordings into the show, set in the grandiose Sydney Opera House Concert Hall.
Tiersen draws inspiration from the unlikely combination of post-punk, French folk music and chamber pop and his love of being genreless. From the man that composed one of the most evocative soundtracks of our time, this solo performance will be nothing but mesmerising.
Watch: Yann Tiersen – ‘Roc’h ar Vugale’ (Live at Abbey Road)
Regurgitator Perform The Velvet Underground & Nico
Tuesday, 17th January, 7:30pm
Meriton Festival Village, Hyde Park North
Brissy rock icons Regurgitator will be reinventing the classic genre-defining album The Velvet Underground & Nico. With a few guests joining them on stage, this performance will be a highly entertaining interpretation of the album as they reenact it as a series of love letters between eccentrics. This will be a cheeky, fun-loving performance from these artsy stunt-loving lads, originally created as a closer for an Andy Warhol exhibition at the Ntional Gallery Of Victoria.
Wafia
Friday, 27th January, 7pm
St Stephen’s Uniting Church
Australian R&B singer Wafia has been captivating audiences everywhere over the last couple of years. Her voice is distinctive, unique and haunting, and has led her to team up with the likes of Ta-ku, Japanese Wallpaper and Vancouver Sleep Clinic. As part of Sydney Festival, she will be performing an intimate solo set. Just piano and voice, she is stripping away all the electronica that has defined her sound thus far, giving her talents a platform on which to truly shine.
Watch: Wafia & Ta-ku ‘Love Somebody’
For tickets or more information on any of the above shows, head to the Sydney Festival website.
