Sydney Festival 2024: The Teskey Brothers, Courtney Barnett, Anoushka Shankar + More

October 26, 2023

By W. Mackellar

Sydney Festival has unveiled its full program for 2024, packed with a wide variety of music, theatre, performance art, dance, visual art, and more. There’s a heap of music threaded throughout the whole festival – which runs from Friday, 5th January to Sunday, 28th January – but the centrepiece in 2024 will be the Summerground festival in Tumbalong Park in Darling Habour.

Summerground will take place from Friday, 5th January to Sunday, 7th January, and feature artists like Electric Fields, Dem Mob, The Teskey Brothers, Danté Knows, Full Flower Moon Band, The Brand New Heavies and more.

The Teskey Brothers: ‘Rain’

The biggest international name on the lineup is sitar virtuoso Anoushka Shankar, who’ll perform three sets over the course of the festival: at the Sydney Opera House, at Parramatta Park alongside renowned didgeridoo player William Barton, and in the small Brett Whiteley studio in Surry Hills as part of the Brett Whiteley Studio Sessions.

Courtney Barnett will appear at the City Recital Hall with longtime collaborator and Warpaint drummer Stella Mozgawa – it’s a two-part gig, with the first half dedicated to recent soundtrack End of the Day, and the second being tracks from Barnett’s back catalogue.

Elsewhere on the lineup is the tribute to the iconic Warumpi Band, who’ll be honoured in the ILBIJERRI Theatre Company show called Big Name, No Blankets, and Kate Miller-Heidke and partner/collaborator Keir Nuttall, who’ll present their acclaimed musical comedy Bananaland.

Another feature of Sydney Festival 2024 will be the Thirsty Mile, a takeover of the Walsh Bay docklands area. The Moonshine Bar will host late-night parties and experiences, and event promoters Astral People, Wavyland, and Finely Tuned will host parties at spots throughout the precinct.

There’s also a heap of theatre, symphonic and dance works, and more taking place throughout the month. Find the full program here.