Vivid LIVE announces epic line-up
One time, Team Somethingyousaid was collectively so hungover at a UK music festival (we smashed so much whiskey the night before that one of us passed out and then vomited into their own lap), that when Morrissey played There is a Light That Never Goes Out, our heightened emotions got the better of us and we all sobbed uncontrollably for the remainder of his set. Hashtag embarrassing.
We’re going to try not to make a similar scene when the great man comes to Vivid LIVE (part of Vivid Sydney, the Southern Hemisphere’s largest festival of light, music and ideas), which today announced a typically epic line-up of gigs and events. Here’s what else you can expect between 22 May and 8 June, alongside the great Mozzertron himself.
Vivid LIVE programming will run for the duration of Vivid Sydney, which includes more than 30 international and Australian artists across every stage of the Opera House. The centrepiece, Lighting the Sails, will this year be created by British multi-disciplinary design collective, Universal Everything, known for their boldly-coloured anthropomorphic designs for Radiohead’s PolyFauna and work with Warp Records and the 2012 London Olympics.
In another first, the Vivid Light Walk will this year extend inside the Opera House itself, via a free Vivid LIVE exhibition featuring works selected by Universal Everything from 11 years of collaborations with bands, brands and record labels. Vivid LIVE will also feature its first bespoke indoor harbour-view bar, situated in the Concert Hall Northern Foyer, helmed by a local favourite.
This year, Sufjan Stevens will open the program with a four-night residency in the Concert Hall. Former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns is another Vivid LIVE exclusive and will also appear in the Concert Hall to premiere his highly anticipated solo album.
The Opera House’s Northern Peninsula on Sydney Harbour will be transformed into a concert space for the first time this year by acclaimed Australian label Future Classic, celebrating its 10th anniversary. Four-time ARIA Award-winner Flume, in his only Australian performances for 2015, and Flight Facilities will be joined by Seekae, Hayden James, Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer, George Maple and Charles Murdoch over two big nights.
New York art-rock royalty TV on the Radio return revitalised with their monumental catalogue from Staring at the Sun to last year’s Seeds. Bill Callahan, the masterful observer of truth, humanity and absurdity, is joined by his Dream River band for two rare evenings and, in a Vivid LIVE tradition of electronic forerunners premiering new works, bass maximalist and tech overlord Squarepusher stages his first headlining Sydney performance in 14 years, debuting Damogen Furies.
Friends of SYS, The Preatures, garage legends Royal Headache and Melbourne Ska Orchestra also feature in this year’s program, alongside The Drones, who are celebrating 10 years since their Australian Music Prize winning Wait Long By The River…
Nurturing the future of electronic music whilst reinventing the past, Red Bull Music Academy returns to the Opera House for a five-day Studio takeover featuring some of Sydney’s finest.
Labelled a “hot pint-sized festival” by Rolling Stone, the hugely successful Dress Up Attack! For Children and Grown Ups is programmed for children aged 2-8, together with their parents and carers (dressing up on the day is encouraged).
Throughout Vivid LIVE, the Opera House precinct will be home to Vivid-inspired menus and live music at Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and The House Eatery. Special guided tours will go behind the scenes of Vivid LIVE, taking you on stage, inside the artists’ dressing rooms and past the state-of-the-art recording studios, finishing with dinner and a drink.
Here’s the full list of awesomeness that you can expect to see at Vivid LIVE…
AN EVENING WITH MORRISSEY | SUFJAN STEVENS | DANIEL JOHNS |
FCX – 10 YEARS OF FUTURE CLASSIC FEAT. FLUME, FLIGHT FACILITIES, SEEKAE, HAYDEN JAMES, TOUCH SENSITIVE, GEORGE MAPLE & MORE |
TV ON THE RADIO | BILL CALLAHAN | SQUAREPUSHER |
THE DRONES – WAIT LONG BY THE RIVER… 10TH ANNIVERSARY + EXCLUSIVE ALBUM PREVIEW
THE PREATURES | REPRESSED RECORDS PRESENTS ROYAL HEADACHE & MORE |
MELBOURNE SKA ORCHESTRA | DRESS UP ATTACK! |
LIGHTING THE SAILS – UNIVERSAL EVERYTHING |
RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY STUDIO PARTIES: RBMA FREE OPENING NIGHT FEAT. ONRA (LIVE) / DREEMS (LIVE) / THE GOODS (LIVE) / SUI ET SUI (SUI ZHEN LIVE BAND) / PHYSIQUE l
MAD RACKET FEAT. MATTHEW HERBERT (LIVE) / ZOOTIE / JIMMI JAMES / KEN CLOUD / SIMON CALDWELL | GOODGOD MINCETERIA! FEAT. HOUSE OF LADOSHA / ZANZIBAR CHANEL / VICTORIA KIM /SLÉ FEAT. BHENJI RĀ| ASTRAL PEOPLE FEAT. ROBERT OWENS / AMIR ALEXANDER / BEN FESTER/ PREACHA & MORE | ELEFANT TRAKS FEAT. JOYRIDE (LIVE) / JAYTEEHAZARD / DJ MK-1 / ADIT / DGGZ & MORE
Full info can be found at the Vivid LIVE website and stay up to date on Facebook.
