Before getting a glimpse into everyone else's lives was as simple as logging into your social-media platform of choice, a game arrived that let its players do something similar with computerised characters. A spinoff from SimCity and its city-building follow-ups, The Sims allows whoever is mashing buttons to create and control virtual people, then step through their existence. First hitting in February 2000, it has spawned three sequels, plus a whole heap of expansion and compilation packs for each — and online, console and mobile versions as well. A quarter of a century since its debut, The Sims still keeps dropping new releases. To mark its 25th birthday, there's now The Sims: Birthday Bundle. That's one way to celebrate the game's latest anniversary. Here's another: stepping inside a three-day Australian pop-up dedicated to the beloved life simulator, which is heading to Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image from Friday, February 21–Sunday, February 23, 2025. Despite The Sims' more-recent titles, thinking about the game usually means thinking about the 2000s. So, this pop-up is taking that truth to heart by celebrating the Y2K era, too. Going along involves entering inside a 2000s-era pre-teen bedroom that's been decked out by Josh & Matt Design with all of the appropriate touches. Yes, it'll be nostalgic. Yes, there'll be CD towers and blow-up couches, just to name a few decor choices. The pop-up will also feature free stations where you can play The Sims: Birthday Bundle, if the best way for you to commeroate the occasion is by diving into the franchise virtually. In addition, there'll also be a free panel about the game on the Saturday, with speakers including Josh & Matt Design's Josh Jessup and Matt Moss — who are big The Sims fans — and EA/Firemonkeys' Simulation Division General Manager Mavis Chan. "As Australia's home of videogames, ACMI is so chuffed to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Sims! For 25 years, The Sims has provided a platform for so many kinds of imaginative play for multiple generations, allowing them to achieve great feats of digital architecture, guide their Sims to dizzying success — or cruelly remove their pool ladders. With each new expansion and sequel, The Sims has expanded its complex social world, reflecting changes to real-life society, and facilitating even more forms of self-expression in its passionate player base," said ACMI Curator Jini Maxwell, announcing the pop-up. "As a long-term Sims player myself, I'm so thrilled to celebrate the game's cultural legacy and personal significance in this event and free talk hosted by ACMI." EA Presents The Sims 25 is popping up from Friday, February 21–Sunday, February 23 at ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne — head to the venue's website for more details.
After initially revealing parts of its 2025 lineup in late 2024, Sydney Opera House's annual All About Women festival has unveiled the full program of events that'll focus on gender, equality and justice in March. Across two days, more than 50 speakers, including artists, thinkers and storytellers from both Australia and overseas, will participate in sessions that span women in sport and the influence of the Matildas, racism and sexism in the music industry, the impacts of skincare routines, and plenty more. For 13 years, marking International Women's Day with talks, panels, workshops and performances has been as easy as attending this highlight of the cultural calendar — a must-attend event not only in Sydney, but also nationally in recent years, thanks to the streaming of sessions online (which continues in 2025). For this year, Kate Berlant and Gina Chick joined the All About Women bill first, as did the return of the Feminist Roast. Kara Swisher, Rachel House, Jaguar Jonze and Grace Tame are now among the folks joining them come Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9. As revealed last year, Berlant is making her first trip Down Under, with the comedian and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Don't Worry Darling and A League of Their Own actor set to debut a new stand-up show. Alone Australia's first-season winner Chick is on the bill fresh from releasing her memoir We Are the Stars in October, and will chat about following your own path, grief and resourcefulness. Among the latest additions on a lineup overseen by the Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team — as led by Chip Rolley, alongside 10 News First's Narelda Jacobs and actor and writer Michelle Law — journalist and Burn Book: A Tech Love Story author Swisher will dig into the social-media platform formerly known as Twitter, while Heartbreak High star and The Mountain director House will chat through the importance of community and her Māori culture in her career. Jonze is on the panel discussing the present state of the music industry, as is Barkaa. And Tame is part of the Feminist Roast alongside Michelle Brasier, Nakkiah Lui, Lucinda 'Froomes' Price and Steph Tisdell. The Tillies join the roster via former Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, plus Football Australia, the Matildas and the ParaMatildas Media Manager Ann Odong, with their session exploring the current situation for women in sport. Elsewhere, Dr Michelle Wong, Jessica DeFino and Yumi Stynes — plus Price again — will examine the impacts of beauty standards, especially upon younger generations. All About Women's 2025 program also spans sessions on the women who gave testimony at the Ghislaine Maxwell trial, the rise of domestic violence-related deaths in Australia, systems that are meant to protect First Nations children, perimenopause and how women's health is being commercialised, tradwives, grief, motherhood, the nation's declining birth rate, bodily autonomy and abortion, and being friends for life. "There is so much power in women and non-binary folks coming together to talk about the issues we are facing, whether that's in our workplaces and homes, throughout our country or the world," said Jacobs back in 2024, when the lineup's first details were announced. "The events I've co-curated are inspired by hot topics that dominate conversations with the women in my life — from the transformations women undergo at pivotal points in their lives, to the ways modern culture rejigs and repeats old stereotypes. We'll be having some cracker discussions that I'm sure will continue beyond the steps of the Opera House!" added Law. All About Women 2025 takes place on Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9 at the Sydney Opera House, and streams online, with pre-sale tickets for the full program available from 9am on Tuesday, January 14 and general sales from 9am on Thursday, January 16. Head to the event's website for more details. All About Women images: Jaimi Joy, Jacquie Manning and Prudence Upton.
Aunty Donna have been busy over the past few years. Since 2020, they've brought both Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun and Aunty Donna's Coffee Cafe to the small screen. They've played corpses in Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves, and also dropped a $30 bottle of wine that's literally called $30 Bottle of Wine, too. The Australian comedy troupe embarked upon a world tour in 2023 as well, selling 90,000-plus tickets. If you're keen to see Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane live, your next chance arrives in 2025. Aunty Donna have announced that they're hitting the stage again, not only in Australia and New Zealand, but also in the UK, Ireland, the USA and Canada. So far, only dates for the first four parts of the world have been locked in, kicking off in August in Hobart, then hopping to Brisbane, Sydney, Wellington, Christchurch, Auckland and Dublin before September is out. October brings gigs in the United Kingdom, while Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne get their turn in December. Audiences will enjoy the Drem experience, with Aunty Donna unveiling their brand-new live sketch show. Will everything be a drum again? Will morning brown get a tribute? How much room should you leave for Christmas pud? If you're instantly thinking about these questions, you're clearly already a fan. In the trailer for the tour, Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane are promising big things in their comedic usual way. "In 2025, Aunty Donna will be touring the greatest live comedy show ever seen by human beings," the trailer advises. "You have asked 'is it funny?'," it continues. "Leading experts in the field have made it perfectly clear that it is the best comedy show ever made." [caption id="attachment_866548" align="alignnone" width="1920"] ABC[/caption] In a statement announcing the tour, Kelly builds upon that sentiment. "We're very excited to show Drem to the world. Performing live is what we do best and we can't wait to bring this show out to everyone," he says. "It's the best thing we've ever made and it's the best thing that anyone in the world will see. It's better than anything anyone else has ever done or seen." Check out the trailer for Aunty Donna's Drem tour below — and the full Down Under tour dates, too: Aunty Donna's Drem Tour 2025 Dates Friday, August 22–Saturday, August 23 — Odeon Theatre, Hobart Monday, August 25–Thursday, August 28 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Monday, September 1–Thursday, September 4 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Tuesday, September 9 — Opera House, Wellington Thursday, September 11 — James Hay Theatre, Christchurch Saturday, September 13 — Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland Monday, December 1–Tuesday, December 2 — Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide Thursday, December 4–Friday, December 5 — Regal Theatre, Perth Friday, December 12–Sunday, December 14 and Wednesday, December 17–Thursday, December 18 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_791048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Netflix[/caption] Aunty Donna's Drem tour kicks off Down Under in August 2025. For further information and tickets, head to the Aunty Donna website.
When it comes to forming habits, three weeks is often bandied about as the right amount of time to cement a new part of your routine. With annual massive music, technology, screen and gaming festivals, perhaps three years is a better fit. After initially making its debut in 2023, then returning in 2024, SXSW Sydney will be back again in 2025. Mark your calendar accordingly. You can now call the huge event a fixture of not just the Harbour City's cultural calendar, but also Australia's. The dates for its third iteration: Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19. Although there's no lineup details as yet, attendees can expect big things again after 2024's fest built upon 2023's successes. The second-ever SXSW Down Under featured 1400 conference sessions, 95 screenings, 315 performances and 150 games. It also hosted more than 92,000 unique visitors, with folks attending from 56 countries. In terms of total visits, the seven-day festival notched up 300,000 — including 190,000-plus people heading along to the 163 events as part of the free programming in Tumbalong Park. Darling Harbour, Chippendale and Broadway will be among the places playing host to SXSW Sydney in 2025, but more details there are still also yet to be revealed. "SXSW Sydney 2024 was a great success on all fronts, and was bigger than its debut year in attendance numbers and sessions throughout the week," said SXSW Sydney Chair Geoff Jones, announcing the 2025 dates. "We look forward to paving the way for more innovators across the tech and innovation, music, screen, games and creative industries by providing these creators with an opportunity on a global stage." Whatever graces the bill in 2025, it'll follow on from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker, Chance The Rapper, Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman in 2023, plus The Kid LAROI, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, author Johann Hari, The New Boy filmmaker Warwick Thornton, The Babadook composer Jed Kurzel, Grace Tame and Tim Minchin in 2024 — and heaps more. SXSW Sydney 2025 will run from Monday, October 13–Sunday, October 19 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Paul McMillan, Jess Gleeson, Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW and Nina Franova/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
For 13 years, marking International Women's Day with talks, panels, workshops and performances about gender, equality and justice has been as easy as attending All About Women. The annual festival arrives each March with a packed lineup — and it's the kind of event where riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill can be on the same bill as child actor-turned-I'm Glad My Mom Died author Jennette McCurdy, as happened in 2023; and where Yellowface author Rebecca F Kuang and Roman Empire scholar Mary Beard can also headline the program, as 2024 delivered. In 2025, Kate Berlant and Gina Chick are two of All About Women's big names — and two of the festival's first-announced talents. The full lineup won't release until January, but the event has dropped a few details in advance. Also included now: the fact that the Feminist Roast will return when the fest runs across Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9. Berlant is making her first trip Down Under, with the comedian and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Don't Worry Darling and A League of Their Own actor set to debut a new stand-up show. Alone Australia's first-season winner Chick is on the bill fresh from releasing her memoir We Are the Stars in October, and will chat about following your own path, grief and resourcefulness. Overseeing the program this time: the Sydney Opera House Talks & Ideas team, as led by Chip Rolley, alongside 10 News First's Narelda Jacobs and actor and writer Michelle Law. Their festival will open with the Feminist Roast, complete with past All About Women co-curator Nakkiah Lui, All I Ever Wanted Was to Be Hot debut author Lucinda 'Froomes' Price, comedian Steph Tisdell and Aunty Donna collaborator Michelle Brasier taking part. More international and Australian artists, thinkers and storytellers will join the lineup when the full details are unveiled — and there'll be room for plenty given that Sydney Opera House's key feminist festival is back to a two-day run, after expanding to the same length in 2022 and then to three in 2023, before returning to a one-day stint in 2024. "Everyone is in for a treat with never-before-seen comedy from Kate Berlant, an opportunity to plant our bare feet firmly on the ground and find peace of mind with Gina Chick, and the return of crowd favourite Feminist Roast — where much-loved comedians and writers celebrate, and take the piss out of, the movement we love. There's plenty more to come in the new year too, including enriching and challenging events spearheaded by our formidable co-curators," said Rolley. "There is so much power in women and non-binary folks coming together to talk about the issues we are facing, whether that's in our workplaces and homes, throughout our country or the world," added Jacobs. "The events I've co-curated are inspired by hot topics that dominate conversations with the women in my life — from the transformations women undergo at pivotal points in their lives, to the ways modern culture rejigs and repeats old stereotypes. We'll be having some cracker discussions that I'm sure will continue beyond the steps of the Opera House!" noted Law. All About Women 2025 will take place on Saturday, March 8–Sunday, March 9 at the Sydney Opera House. The full program will release in January 2025 — check back here then for further details. Tickets for the just-announced first sessions go on sale at 9am on Thursday, November 28, with pre sales from 9am on Tuesday, November 26, 2024. Head to the event's website for more details. All About Women images: Jaimi Joy, Jacquie Manning and Prudence Upton.
Our Flag Means Death might be no more, after the pirate rom-com was cancelled after two seasons, but getting giggling at Rhys Darby is still on the agenda. The New Zealand comedian has hardly been away from the screen for more than 15 years, ever since Flight of the Conchords became one of HBO's best-ever sitcoms, so he's been inspiring laughs for years. For the first time in nearly a decade, however, he's returning to the stand-up stage — and he's just locked in an Australian tour. At the beginning of each year, Aussies enjoy a chuckle when comedy festival season sweeps the nation's east coast. Darby is on the Brisbane Comedy Festival and Sydney Comedy Festival lineups, and will also play Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, Canberra, Hobart and Newcastle. In fact, he's making nine stops around the country throughout April 2025. [caption id="attachment_915747" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Our Flag Means Death, Nicola Dove[/caption] "I'm so excited to return to the stage, a bit older, a bit wiser but mostly a bit sillier than ever before!" said Darby, announcing the tour, which kicks off from Tuesday, April 8–Sunday, April 13 at Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre and ends on Wednesday, April 30 at the Princess Theatre in Brisbane. Fans can expect gags about AI, robots, dads wearing tight jeans and more — and the mix of absurdity and insights that have always marked Darby's brand of comedy. [caption id="attachment_980410" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gage Skidmore via Flickr[/caption] Between calling band meetings on Flight of the Conchords and finding love while swashbuckling on Our Flag Means Death, his career has spanned everything from The X-Files, A Series of Unfortunate Events and Wellington Paranormal to Sweet Tooth, SpongeBob SquarePants and Monsters at Work on the small screen. On the big screen, Darby has also been a frequent presence, thanks to The Boat That Rocked, What We Do in the Shadows, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Jumanji: The Next Level, Uproar, Next Goal Wins and plenty more. Rhys Darby The Legend Returns 2025 Tour Dates Tuesday, April 8–Sunday, April 13 — Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne Tuesday, April 15 — Norwood Concert Hall, Adelaide Thursday, April 17 — Odeon Theatre, Hobart Saturday, April 19 — Canberra Theatre, Canberra Tuesday, April 22 — Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Wednesday, April 23 — Anita's Theatre, Thirroul Thursday, April 24 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Sunday, April 27 — Regal Theatre, Perth Wednesday, April 30 — Princess Theatre, Brisbane Rhys Darby is touring Australia in April 2025, with pre-sale tickets from 10am on Wednesday, November 20, 2024 and general tickets on sale from 10am on Friday, November 22, 2024. Head to the tour website for more details.
In 2017, Australia scored a brand-new arts festival: Asia TOPA, aka the Asia-Pacific Triennial of Performing Arts, which fills Melbourne venues with a banquet of Asian arts and culture. Then came the early days of the pandemic, putting the event on hiatus since 2020. Thankfully, that gap is ending in 2025 — and bringing a lineup featuring 33 performances, 18 of which will make their world premiere, to locations across the Victorian capital. Asia TOPA is announcing its roster for Thursday, February 20–Monday, March 10, 2025 in stages, with its performance strand its headline program, as well as the first to unveil its details. One big highlight, which was revealed in October: KAGAMI, a mixed-reality concert experience that lets audiences watch a virtual avatar of the late, great Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto at the piano. Making its southern-hemisphere premiere at the festival, the production sees attendees don headsets, enjoy ten original Sakamoto compositions and pay tribute to the music icon. KAGAMI heads Down Under after seasons in New York and UK, and also Singapore prior to Asia TOPA. [caption id="attachment_979460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tin Drum[/caption] Another of the fest's standouts was also unveiled before the full performance lineup drop — and it's another event with an interactive element. Home Bound by Daniel Kok and Luke George is asking a variety of Melbourne communities to come together to make a woven installation that'll transform Arts Centre Melbourne's forecourt. Whether you take part or not, the results will be a sight to see. Just announced in Asia TOPA's opening-night slot: Milestone from William Yang. As he'll also do at 2025's Sydney Festival, the now 80-year-old artist will reflect upon his life at the one-night-only event, with his photos and stories paired with a new score by Elena Kats-Chernin performed live on stage. In Melbourne, Milestone is headed to Hamer Hall — and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra will also be part of the show. [caption id="attachment_979461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] George Gittoes[/caption] Dance company Chunky Move joins the lineup with U>N>I>T>E>D, which will take to the Sidney Myer Music Bowl stage, feature techno beats inspired by Javanese trance and gamelan, and feature six dancers wearing exoskeleton costumes. At Arts Centre Melbourne's Playhouse, Yolŋu, Paiwan and Amis artists hailing from North East Arnhem Land and Taiwan will join forces for cross-cultural collaboration Gapu Ŋgupan (Chasing the Rainbow). And Chinese mourning rituals provide the spark for Mindy Meng Wang and Monica Lim's Opera for the Dead (祭歌) at Space 28 at the University of Melbourne. Patrons can also look forward to Ane Ta Abia, a choral concert featuring singers and musicians from Papua New Guinea and Australia; the tunes, lasers and projections of Oblation by Tamil Australian electronic composer Vijay Thillaimuthu; queer Indigenous arts collective FAFSWAG's dance piece SAUNIGA; and an ode to cute animals via theatremaker Ran Chen's Tiny, Fluffy, Sweet. Or, there's also the return of A Nightime Travesty after its YIRRAMBOI Festival 2023 sellout run, Yumi Umiumare's ButohBAR 番狂わせ OUT of ORDER II turning Abbotsford Convent into a nightclub and family-friendly puppet show Goldfish. [caption id="attachment_979462" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Cam Matheson[/caption] With the NGV about to go dotty for Yayoi Kusama — starting to already, in fact — for it summer blockbuster exhibition, Melanie Lane's Pulau (Island) is another of Asia TOPA's must-sees. Specifically commissioned for the festival, it's a site-specific response that'll be performed beneath Kusama's Dots Obsession installation, and it's only on the program for two days. "I hope this edition of Asia TOPA resounds with the resilience, joy and creativity of the artists from our region. We want the triennial to be a way for people to build new connections and imagine new futures," said Asia TOPA Creative Director Jeff Khan, announcing the performance strand program. "I hope you join us for this celebration of the inspiring artistry, ideas and possibilities that are so unique to Asia-Pacific art and culture." [caption id="attachment_979463" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gianna Rizzo[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979464" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Chen Chou Chang[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979465" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Michael Pham[/caption] [caption id="attachment_979466" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dewie Bukit[/caption] Asia TOPA 2025 runs from Thursday, February 20–Monday, March 10, 2025 at venues across Melbourne. Head to the festival's website for more details and tickets. Top image: Samuel James.
It's true every time that the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras announces its annual program: whether you're keen on the parade action, browsing stalls, partying in pools, hitting the dance floor, catching drag performances or plenty more, there's no shortage of options at the Harbour City's celebration of LGBTQIA+ pride and culture. For 2025, the just-revealed lineup spans the return of Fair Day, the festival's usual beloved splash-filled soirees, Honey Dijon and Romy from The xx headlining the Mardi Gras Party, plus Trixie Mattel — and that's just the beginning. In total, more than 80 LBGTQIA+ events will take over the Harbour City between Friday, February 14–Sunday, March 2, 2025. One highlight was first a Sydney WorldPride hit in 2023: the Blak & Deadly First Nations gala concert at City Recital Hall. The overarching theme in Mardi Gras' 47th year: "free to be", which nods to the fight for equality, while also championing individuality and the strength of community. "Each year, Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras brings people from all corners of the globe together for a celebration of community, visibility and progress. The 2025 festival embodies this spirit, reflecting the resilience, creativity and unity of our LGBTQIA+ communities," explains the event's CEO Gil Beckwith. "We are thrilled to welcome everyone to this year's festivities and look forward to continuing to champion the values of inclusivity and equality." Fair Day's comeback follows its cancellation in 2024 due to asbestos being found in Victoria Park's mulch. In 2025, it'll be at the same site with 200-plus stalls. The pool action comes courtesy of the Kaftana Pool Party and Paradiso Pool Party, which are just two more of Mardi Gras' signature events that are on the 2025 bill. Also in the same category: the parade and the Mardi Gras Party, of course, alongside the Sissy Ball and Laneway shindig. 2024's Ultra Violet is also back, again celebrating LGBTQIA+ women — as is trans and gender-diverse celebration Hot Trans Summer, which'll take over a floating venue, as well as opening ceremony First Nations First Light: A Festival Welcome at Bondi Beach. Among the new additions for 2025, Mardi Gras is teaming up with Qtopia Sydney on a suite of shows and exhibitions, such as the drag king-focused They Will Be Kings and the millennial pop culture-loving I Want It That Gay. Over at Sydney Opera House, Samuel Barnett's one-man show Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen is another highlight. From there, The Kaye Hole, family-friendly Disco on the Green, Kate Bush tribute An Evening Without Kate Bush and a Pride in Sport Festival featuring everything from self-defence workshops to volleyball tournaments are fellow standouts. Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras 2025 will run from Friday, February 14–Sunday, March 2, 2025. For more information, or for tickets, head to the event's website. Images: Jordan Munns, Joseph Mayers, Ann-Marie Calilhanna, Vic Lentaigne, Ken Leanfore, Lexi Laphor, Jess Gleeson.
Call it wild, weird and wonderful. Call it surreal and sublime, too. Whichever terms you want to sling Dark Mofo's way, there's no other event quite like it on Tasmania's cultural calendar — or Australia's. 2024 felt the winter arts festival's absence, after it sat out the year to regroup for the future ahead. Get excited about 2025, however, because Dark Mofo has confirmed that it'll be returning in June. "Dark Mofo is back. For our 11th chapter, once more we'll bathe the city in red and deliver two weeks of inspiring art, music and ritual," said Dark Mofo Artistic Director Chris Twite, announcing the event's 2025 dates, and advising that limited pre-release tickets for Night Mass, which fills downtown Hobart with art and music, will be on offer from 10am on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. "Night Mass is a beast, and this year it will evolve once more — worming its way through the city with new spaces, performances and experiences to dance, explore or crawl your way through," Twite continued. Not only Night Mass is returning, but so is the full Dark Mofo setup, largely taking place across Thursday, June 5–Sunday, June 15, 2025. The one exception: the Nude Solstice Swim, one of the festival events that still went ahead in 2024. Next year, it'll get everyone taking a dip on Saturday, June 21. Winter Feast, which also took place in 2024, will be back in 2025 as well — as will the Ogoh-Ogoh, plus a yet-to-be-announced (but sure to be jam-packed) art and music program that'll be revealed next year. If you spent a few days in 2023 attending a Twin Peaks-inspired ball and seeing a giant teddy bear with laser eyes — watching a stunning new take on Dante's classic examination of hell, purgatory and paradise, too — then you went to Dark Mofo's most-recent full run. Organised by Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, the winter arts festival fills Hobart with all manner of surprises every year, other than its gap year in 2024. When the break was announced, it was done to ensure that event could "move forward in a viable manner", said Twite at the time. "The fallow year will enable us to secure the future of Dark Mofo and its return at full force in 2025" was the promise, and it's being lived up to. The year off came after a hit 2023 run that saw Dark Mofo smash it with attendances and at the box office — notching up record figures, in fact. Despite the event's success, the crew behind it have been working towards "a more sustainable model for a full return in 2025, and set the foundation for the next ten years", taking rising costs and other changing elements into consideration. Dark Mofo returns from Thursday, June 5–Sunday, June 15, 2025 and for the Nude Solstice Swim on Saturday, June 21. Head to the festival's website for further details. Winter feast images: Jesse Hunniford, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023. Nude Solstice Swim images: Rémi Chauvin, 2023, courtesy of Dark Mofo 2023.
It's true of every great arts festival lineup: pick three highlights from the program at random and a clear snapshot of the event's diverse array of experiences emerges. For a trio of picks from Sydney Festival's just-announced 2025 bill that does exactly that, turning the Harbour City's Town Hall into the wild west, exploring a true-crime case in an IRL courthouse, then getting Avatar, Titanic, The Terminator and Aliens filmmaker James Cameron chatting about shipwrecks all paint a clear picture. As it has done for 49 years now, this fest adores having something for everyone on offer. Just two years after Sydney Town Hall became an indoor beach complete with 26 tonnes of sand for the festival, the venue will transform into a pioneer settlement for Dark Noon, which builds its setting in real time as the audience watches on. A hit at Edinburgh Fringe, playing Australia exclusive to Sydney Festival and heading Down Under after a run in New York, the production from Danish director Tue Biering explores the power dynamics, race relations and colonial impacts inherent in its chosen chapter of history, all by subverting the wild west tropes established by cinema over the years — and with a South African cast. [caption id="attachment_977489" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Teddy Wolff[/caption] Also a standout on the full program, which'll pack Sydney with more than 130 shows and events from Saturday, January 4–Sunday, January 26, 2025: A Model Murder at the Darlinghurst Courthouse. Playwright Melanie Tait (The Appleton Ladies' Potato Race) and director Sheridan Harbridge (44 Sex Acts in One Week) aren't just recreating model Shirley Beiger's trial for shooting her cheating boyfriend — they're staging it at the same spot where it took place seven decades ago. For something completely different, one of the biggest names in blockbuster cinema is also on the Sydney Festival lineup, with James Cameron's experience in the water — including diving to earth's deepest point — the topic of conversation on the talks section of the bill. Or, still thinking about the sea, a giant whale is popping up in Bondi, courtesy of Spare Parts Puppet Theatre. The fest's 23-day run has a date with 43 different locations around town, ensuring that every corner of Sydney gets in on the action. One such location: Walsh Bay Arts Precinct, where The Thirsty Mile is returning as a hub featuring much to see by day and night. Think: free live music across 12 evenings, yoga classes, a heap of productions, public art and, for a beverage, the Moonshine Bar, where artist Telly Tuita is decking out the joint — as he's also doing with the SS John Oxley and via ten-room 'Tongpop' installation Colour Maze. Blak Out joins the favourites making a comeback, this time with Sydney Festival's Creative Artist in Residence Jake Nash curating the program. With Barangaroo Reserve as its base, this pivotal part of the fest includes Belvoir Theatre's Jacky, album launches for DOBBY and Radical Son, a woven canopy that'll host conversations, a celebration of Redfern's 70s-era National Black Theatre and more. [caption id="attachment_977492" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tashi Hall[/caption] From there, the world premiere of Siegfried & Roy: The Unauthorised Opera, Sophocles' Antigone reimagined on the edge of the Amazon rainforest in Brazil and a twist on Shakespeare via Cliff Cardinal's As You Like It or The Land Acknowledgement should get your eyes glued to the stage. Also in the same category: Back to Back Theatre's Multiple Bad Things at Sydney Opera House, Opera Australia taking on Cendrillon (Cinderella), Christie Whelan Browne exploring her childhood. First Nations drag performer Miss Ellaneous honouring a simply-the-best icon with Tina — A Tropical Love Story and Greek mythology-inspired dance piece AFTERWORLD. Elsewhere on the bill, Rufus Wainwright is heading to town, William Yang's Milestone marks his 80th birthday, Katie Noonan is paying tribute to Jeff Buckley's Grace for its 30th anniversary, Wendy Whiteley's Secret Garden is hosting five gigs, the Future Frequencies bill is all about music up and comers such as Yaya Bey and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, Sydney Symphony Under the Stars is back and audiences can take part in interactive dance piece Cowboy. [caption id="attachment_977485" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dahlia Katz[/caption] "Sydney Festival has long held summer's cultural pulse and this year is quite the heartbeat. Stories of Oceania, destiny and what we leave behind through to bold explorations of utopia and dystopia, Sydney Festival 2025 promises an exhilarating and thought-provoking journey through the arts with exceptional talent at the reins," said Festival Director Olivia Ansell, announcing her fourth — and final — program. "This January, immerse yourself in a summer of unforgettable performances, groundbreaking new works, and exclusive experiences that reimagine the world around us." There's clearly a wealth of reasons to head along, whether you're a Sydneysider making the most of your own town or you're planning an interstate trip to kick off 2025 — and the fact that the fest is also doing $49 early-bird tickets across the entire program until early December is yet another. [caption id="attachment_977488" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Lindberg[/caption] [caption id="attachment_977486" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jeff Busby[/caption] [caption id="attachment_977487" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bill Cooper / Royal Opera House / ArenaPAL[/caption] Sydney Festival 2025 runs from Saturday, January 4–Sunday, January 26 at venues across the city. For further details and to buy tickets from 9am AEDT on Wednesday, October 30, visit the Sydney Festival website.
There's no one right way to experience SXSW, whether you're attending the Austin or Sydney version, but one of the event's huge highlights is its high-profile list of folks who get talking. This is the kind of event where you could be listening to Chance The Rapper one moment, then Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker the next, as everyone learned in the Harbour City in 2023. In 2024, it's also the type of festival where Lucy Lawless, Grace Tame and Tim Minchin will be chatting — plus Nick Kyrgios, Noémie Fox, Suzie Miller and Stephen Page as well. Another week, another lineup drop for 2024's SXSW Sydney as it moves closer and closer to its Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 dates. The event began revealing its program back in May, which was just the beginning. Another announcement arrived in June, then not one, not two, but three more in July — and also another, focusing on the free hub at Tumbalong Park, at the beginning of August. Then came more music acts and speakers, still in August, and now arrives even more talents that'll be part of SXSW Sydney's conference. [caption id="attachment_971189" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul McMillan[/caption] From just the people mentioned above, SXSW Sydney 2024 has warrior princesses, activists, comedians, sports stars, playwrights and the former Bangarra Dance Theatre Artistic Director on its bill. Among the highlights, Lawless has moved behind the camera for the first time on documentary Never Look Away about CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth, and will chat about her directorial debut — while Stephen Page and actor Hunter Page-Lochard (Critical Incident), his son, will explore whether there's a global market for First Nations content and artists. With fellow guests such as Ogilvy Global CEO Devika Bulchandani, Google Analytics and Google Voice founder Wesley Chan, Intel Corporation's first futurist Brian David Johnson, and MIT Technology Review CEO and publisher Elizabeth Bramson-Boudreau, everything from artificial intelligence in marketing and entrepreneurs keen to make the leap to America through to thinking about the future and new tech innovations will be covered as well. Also among the new additions: Fox joining Clare Stephens for But Are You Happy? live, Welcome to the Future! with Charles Firth and Dom Knight similarly taking to the stage, and sessions digging into neurotechnology and how to change habits. [caption id="attachment_971190" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] SXSW Sydney's latest 2024 wave expands a program that already features Australian filmmaker Warwick Thornton (The New Boy), Aussie composer Jed Kurzel (Monkey Man), Barbie executive producer Josey McNamara, Brave co-director Mark Andrews, Mortal Kombat helmer Simon McQuoid, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, author Johann Hari, Australian race car driver Molly Taylor, pianist Chad Lawson, Aussie astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok marketing head Sofia Hernandez and Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire composer AR Rahman — among a hefty list of others. More lineup details will keep being revealed over the coming month and a half, with the full event set to span more than 1000 speakers, 60-plus tech exhibitors, over 200 artists, 120-plus games and more than 75 screenings. [caption id="attachment_971191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_971192" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul McMillan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_967878" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953724" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_923286" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details.
When Vivid Sydney took place in 2016, wearing pyjamas was acceptable. As Max Richter performed Sleep at the Sydney Opera House, the composer did so while attendees slumbered, which is what the eight-hour performance is specifically designed for. Did anyone taking a kip to the music dream up a future idea for a Vivid event? Audiences might find out when the festival returns in 2025 for its 15th year across Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14. It's save-the-date time, with Vivid locking in its next winter return, aka when it'll next take over the Harbour City with its showcase of tunes, luminous sights, culinary events and conversation. Also revealed: 2025's theme, which is where dreaming comes in again. "Dreaming is something we all do. It's as old as time and as universal as life itself. Dreams don't discriminate — they are borderless, ageless and endless. They can be personal or public. When shared, our dreams can become a movement. They can inspire, motivate, spark excitement and connection," explains Vivid Sydney Festival Director Gill Minervini about the event's next focus. "The whole world dreams, it is something we have in common, something that unites us. Our human story is embedded in dreams, they help explain our existence and our past," Minervini continued, also opening the call for expressions of interest to take part in 2025's Vivid. "We want the very best in homegrown talent to be part of our vibrant Vivid Sydney event program, with a unique opportunity to foster community connection, spark imagination and showcase the multitude of ways creativity can enrich our lives." "Each year, Vivid Sydney aims to deliver unparalleled artistic brilliance, and we look forward to welcoming the inspirations within our community that will help shape Vivid Sydney 2025 into a show-stopping cultural phenomenon." Vivid's lineup won't be announced until 2025, but you can lock in one venue: Taronga Zoo. Whatever pops up at the iconic spot can link into light, music, ideas and food, the four pillars that Vivid has at its core. If you're excited about which events will follow in past years' footsteps — 2024's lineup included Amy Poehler, Air, Budjerah, Yasiin Bey, Tekno Train by Paul Mac, a fan of light from Sydney Tower, artwork by Archibald Prize winner Julia Gutman on the Sydney Opera House's sails and plenty more, all ruminating on the theme 'humanity' — then mark your diaries accordingly. If you have a dream-inspired idea that you'd love to see come to life at Vivid 2025, no matter whether you're an artist, musician, chef, speaker or something else, then head to the fest's website to go through the expression of interest process. Vivid Sydney will run from Friday, May 23–Saturday, June 14, 2025 at various locations around Sydney. We'll update you when the program is announced next year — head to the festival website for further details in the interim. Images: Destination NSW.
It was true in 2023 and it's set to prove the case again in 2024: if you can't find something on the SXSW Sydney lineup for you, you aren't looking hard enough. Want to enjoy the massive tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival, but saving your pennies? That's where its free Tumbalong Park hub comes in — and it too is returning for another year. When SXSW Sydney runs its second fest across Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20, it'll also host its second public program at Darling Harbour. Here, it doesn't matter if you're also heading to the music festival or the screen festival, trying to catch as much of the entire event as possible or aren't paying for any SXSW tickets at all. Whichever fits, you can check out more than 60 hours of free entertainment, including tunes, talks and movies. [caption id="attachment_953722" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] Just-announced highlights include Silverchair's Ben Gillies teaming up with songwriter Tushar Apte and futurist Johannes Saam, which ticks both the music and tech boxes; a 60th-anniversary screening of iconic surfing film The Endless Summer, hailing from the screen portion of the program and including an after party; and a day-long showcase of Indian creativity to wrap up the fest, with +91 Calling! featuring an array of different music genres. Attendees can also catch Bush Shorts, a selection of short films by Australia's First Nations and Indigenous talents; conference talents getting chatting at Meet the Speaker sessions; an innovation showcase that's all about rockets, robotics and more; and a Fortnite competition for high schools. On top of all of this, there will also be food trucks, plus pop-up activations from a range of brands — and yes, the Suntory -196 Extreme Vending Machine will be back. [caption id="attachment_953715" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ian Laidlaw[/caption] SXSW Sydney's lineup drops are in full swing, after a first batch came in May, then a second round in June. In July, the fest revealed not one, not two, but three rounds of additions to its 2024 program. Also on the bill across the rest of the fest beyond the free Tumbalong Park hub: Australian The New Boy filmmaker Warwick Thornton, The Babadook composer Jed Kurzel, the UK's Jorja Smith on the 'Be Honest' musician's Australian tour, human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, author Johann Hari, Australian race car driver Molly Taylor, pianist Chad Lawson, Westworld's Luke Hemsworth hosting a session about the Tasmanian tiger and Aussie astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg. Or, get excited about Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon, cricketer David Warner, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid, TikTok marketing head Sofia Hernandez and documentary Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts, about the new uses of former Pizza Hut buildings across America. There's still more where they came from, plus more to come. [caption id="attachment_953724" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jaimi Joy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953717" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul McMillan[/caption] [caption id="attachment_923290" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues, including Tumbalong Park, 11 Harbour Street, Sydney. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Top image: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
The cure to decades of SXSW FOMO arrived in Australia in 2023. Sydney played host to the first-ever iteration of the festival Down Under — the first outside of the US, in fact — and put on a massive party. It was a hit. Cue SXSW Sydney 2024, then, to ideally repeat the feat. There's still almost three months to go, but the second Aussie SXSW just keeps getting bigger. So far, organisers of the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival — which will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 this year — have dropped three past rounds of lineup details, starting in May, adding to it in June, then expanding it some more at the beginning of July. Now comes the next batch, growing the music bill, throwing in parties and naming a few extra speakers. More than 40 talents have joined the onstage roster, starting with the UK's Jorja Smith on the 'Be Honest' musician's Australian tour. Also from overseas, Canada's Aysanabee, Thailand's PYRA, New Zealand's Brandn Shiraz and XUZZ, and the UK's Submerse feature. Among the homegrown names, Aussies Brazen Barbie, Jamahl Yami, Kitschen Boy and Special Feelings have scored a spot, plus a heap of other locals. When SXSW Sydney's 25 stages turn on their microphones, then, it's going to be mighty busy. For those keen on networking and shindigs, the lineup there now features parties and mixers hosted by ADA, APRA-AMCOS, Blak Label, Canada House, Concord Music Group, Future Classic, Inertia & [PIAS], Meta, Rolling Stone, The Orchard, UNIFIED Music Group, Virgin Music and Warner Music. Among the events, there's an Indies Please session, one dedicated to Women in Music and a meetup that's all about agents versus promoters. Plus, get ready to dive into international music tours and the streaming landscape, the first talk with WME UK's Global Head of Touring Lucy Dickins and Frontier Touring's Susan Heymann, and the second with Will Page. The latest additions extend a 2024 program that already boasts human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson, author Johann Hari, Australian race car driver Molly Taylor, pianist Chad Lawson, Westworld's Luke Hemsworth hosting a session about the Tasmanian tiger, Aussie astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok marketing head Sofia Hernandez, Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon, cricketer David Warner, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid and documentary Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts, about the new uses of former Pizza Hut buildings across America — and that's barely scratching the surface of the lineup specifics announced so far. If you missed it, 2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney welcomed everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman to its stages. In the process, and via not just its talks but also its concerts, films, TV shows and games as, it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Jess Gleeson, Ian Laidlaw, Jami Joy, Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
Peering at ancient pyramids isn't normally an Australian pastime, but it will be come spring without needing to leave the country. In 2024, the nation's fascination with Egypt thousands of years ago has already been fuelled by Sydney exhibition Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs, which wrapped up in May — and also by Pharaoh in Melbourne, which is on display until October. Next up is Horizon of Khufu, a virtual-reality experience rather than a showcase of treasures and trinkets. You won't get up close to historical items here, but you will become immersed in the past like it's all around you. Patrons will see the Great Pyramids of Giza, including flying over the Giza Necropolis. You'll climb to the top of the Pyramid of Khufu, in fact, and gaze out over Egypt with a 360-degree view. Getting a glimpse of burial chambers and embalming ceremonies, finding the queen's chamber, sailing down the Nile, attending Khufu's funeral: that's all also on the agenda, as is checking out the Great Sphinx of Giza and witnessing these ancient wonders by night. That's where your eyes will be heading, at least, via a VR headset that'll take you into a shared play space. Your peepers will also be checking out recreations of sights dating back 4500 years, to the time of Khufu, the second pharaoh of Egypt's fourth dynasty. He's the figure that's believed to have commissioned the largest of the pyramids, which was also his tomb. Your body will need to be in Sydney at the Harbour City's Fever Pavilion, where Horizon of Khufu is making its Australian debut from Thursday, September 5, 2024. There's no word yet whether the experience will then head to other Aussie cities, as some past events from entertainment platform Fever have, including its Banksy and NBA exhibitions recently. Once they've popped on their headsets, attendees will be led through Horizon of Khufu by a virtual guide, all while benefiting from design by Egyptologist and Harvard University professor Peter Der Manuelian. If you're with your date or mates, or family, the 45-minute experience also lets you visuals others in the VR space, so you won't all just be off on your own wander through bygone years. Australia joins France — where Horizon of Khufu debuted in 2022 — as well as the US, Canada and the UK in being able to enjoy this blast from the past. Unsurprisingly, it has proven popular around the globe, notching up more than one million visitors so far. If you've seen plenty of other Egypt obsessives at Ramses & the Gold of the Pharaohs and Pharaoh, you'll know that Aussies will help boost those numbers. Horizon of Khufu will open at Fever Pavilion, Olympic Boulevard, Sydney Olympic Park, Sydney from Thursday, September 5, 2024 — with the waitlist open now and tickets on sale from Tuesday, July 23, 2024. Head to the exhibition website for more details.
Don't sweat it. Just don't. That's a great sentiment, but putting it into action isn't always so easy. Humanity has long wanted to care less about all of the things that really don't matter, including since before self-help was a book genre — and since before there were books. Nothing else has quite summed up that concept quite like The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck, though, even just in its title. It sits among a seemingly endless array of texts about living your best life and forgetting pointless strife, but Mark Manson's 2016 hit perfectly captured the idea that we should all devote less attention to matters that simply aren't worth it. First came the book. Then came the film version of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck. Since Manson's famous tome hit shelves, he's also popped up to chat about it and offer his brutally honest self-help advice — and he's returning Down Under in November 2024 to do exactly that again. Consider heading along to this The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck live tour as the next step in pursuing the ultimate goal: giving less fucks. More than 20-million copies of the book have been sold, so you're probably familiar with Manson's take on living more contented and grounded lives already, but there's something to be said about hearing about it in person. Couldn't be arsed reading the text? Then this is another way to soak in its contents. Of course, Manson's spin isn't about never giving a fuck. Rather, he knows that it's wise to choose where to direct our fucks, what to give a crap about and what genuinely bloody matters. The book's chapter titles are as telling as its overall moniker, boasting names such as 'Don't Try', 'Happiness is a problem', 'You are not special', 'You are wrong about everything (But so am I)', 'The importance of saying no' and 'And then you die'. Also the author of Everything Is F*cked: A Book About Hope, Manson will be onstage exploring this train of thought on a seven-stop trip around Australia and New Zealand, including in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra, Adelaide, Perth and Auckland. Attendees can expect a deeper dive into the principles stepped through in his book, plus practical tips and stories from real life. This is an event to give a fuck about, clearly. Here's the trailer for the film, too, if you haven't yet seen it: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Live with Mark Manson Dates: Monday, November 4 — Sydney Opera House Concert Hall, Sydney Wednesday, November 6 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne, Melbourne Thursday, November 7 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Saturday, November 9 — Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Sunday, November 10 — Festival Theatre, Adelaide Monday, November 11 — Perth Concert Hall, Perth Friday, November 15 — Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland Mark Manson's The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck Live tour hits Australia and New Zealand in November 2024, with ticket presales from 10am local time on Wednesday, July 17 — except in Melbourne, where ticket sales start at 11am local time on Monday, July 22. Head to the tour website for more details.
SXSW Sydney's 2024 program continues to roll out, in excellent news for fans of the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival in general — and also of hearing interesting discussions echo through the event. In the third batch of lineup details for this year, following a first batch in May and a second round in June, the initial two keynote speakers have been announced. Human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson and author Johann Hari will each take to the stage, one fresh from defending Julian Assange and the other with book Magic Pill: The Extraordinary Benefits and Disturbing Risks of the New Weight Loss Drugs newly on shelves. "Our first two keynote speakers reflect our commitment to fostering challenging conversations. Discussing human rights and our wellbeing intersecting with the rapidly evolving landscape of technology is more critical than ever," said SXSW Sydney Managing Director Colin Daniels, announcing Robinson and Hari's spots on the 2024 program. "Our keynote speakers will ignite discussions that are not only timely but necessary, as we navigate the complexities of our modern world." Alongside being a London barrister with international law and media law also among her specialities — and already named on SXSW Sydney's 2024 lineup earlier in the year — Robinson published How Many More Women? in 2023, digging into the response to the #MeToo movement from a legal sense. Hari's 2022 text Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention earned acclaim around the world, and his TED Talks Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong and This Could Be Why You Are Depressed or Anxious have notched up 93-million-plus views. Also now on the bill are fellow speakers Min-Liang Tan, the CEO of Razer; Getting Along: How to Work with Anyone (Even Difficult People) author Amy Gallo; Rolling Stone India Senior Editor Peony Hirwani; and Australian race car driver Molly Taylor. Pianist, podcaster and Chad Lawson will also get chatting, as will entertainment and music rights expert Priyanka Khimani, Beatdapp Founder Andrew Batey and The Attention Economy, How Media Works author Karen Nelson-Field. The festival will welcome Luke Hemsworth, too, with the Westworld and Bosch & Rockit star hosting the session Better Than a Hollywood Movie: The Highs, Lows, Epic Moments and Colossal Steps Forward in Bringing Back the Tasmanian Tiger, with Colossal Biosciences CEO Ben Lamm and University of Melbourne's Head of the Thylacine Integrated Genomic Restoration Research (TIGRR) Laboratory Dr Andrew Pask diving into the topic. Talks on How to Seize Control of Your Workday and Redefining Success: Beyond the 1% will also expanded the roster of sessions, and demonstrate that variety is firmly at the heart of the festival. SXSW Sydney's new additions for 2024, the event's second year Down Under, join the likes of Australian astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok marketing head Sofia Hernandez, Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon, cricketer David Warner, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid and documentary Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts, about the new uses of former Pizza Hut buildings across America — and that's barely scratching the surface of the lineup specifics announced so far. If you missed it, 2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney welcomed everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman to its stages. In the process, and via not just its talks but also its concerts, films, TV shows and games as, it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Jami Joy, Ian Laidlaw, Jess Gleeson, Katje Ford and Paul McMillan.
It was already apparent from afar, which is where Australians watched all things SXSW from before 2023. Now that the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival has expanded Down Under, it's even more evident: this is one enormous event. How big? The inaugural SXSW Sydney spanned more than 700 speakers and talents, covered in excess of 300 sessions and hosted over 300 gigs across 25 venues. 2024's follow-up might just top those numbers, announcing another 500-plus additions to a lineup that even now hasn't revealed a third of the full program yet. This is the second round of speakers and sessions named for SXSW Sydney 2024 so far, after this year's first lineup details were revealed back in May (and after it was announced in late 2023 that the event would return for a second year, too). Like the initial program drop ahead of the fest's seven-day run between Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20, this one features a bit of everything. On the list: folks who'll be getting talking, additions to the music roster, flicks that'll be hitting the big screen and studios that'll be showcasing their games, for starters. That aforementioned 500-plus figure includes speakers, screenings, artists, workshops, games and experiences, meaning that there's already a reason on the program for everyone to head along. At the SXSW Sydney Conference, benefiting from the response to the fest's Session Selects — where the public both submits and then votes on what they'd to see at SXSW — additions among the topics range from advances in medicine, how biotech will change our lives, and the threat of deepfakes and fake news through to odd spots in the cosmos, the power of dressing, trend analysis and companion robots. If you're interested in learning more about how tech can make a social impact, milk, AI and intimacy, neurotechnology, smart cities and constantly being watched, that's all on the bill as well. So is a session on brand trust with Bunnings Managing Director Mike Schneider (but there's no word yet if there'll be a sausage sizzle involved). For those keen on hitting as many gigs as possible, the SXSW Sydney Music Festival has added 60-plus artists. Accordingly, when you're not catching Voice of Baceprot, the first Indonesian band to take to the stage at Glastonbury, you can check out artists from Australia, Colombia, India, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan and the UK — such as Phoebe Rings, I'mdifficult, Clara Benin, The Grogans, JESHI, The Buoys, Mincy, RINSE, Mulga Bore Hard Rock, ixaras and Death of Heather. Screen obsessives who also love tunes, or vice versa, can look forward to the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival playing a heap of music-related films. Documentary The Most Australian Band Ever! about the Hard-Ons sits on the lineup alongside S/He Is Still Her/e: The Official Genesis P-Orridge, which is executive produced by Against Me!'s Laura Jane Grace — and also Alien Weaponry: Kua Tupu Te Ara, about thrash metal in the Māori language. The fest will also show music videos, such as 'U Should Not Be Doing That' from Amyl and The Sniffers, 'See You Tomorrow' from BAD // DREEMS and 'Settle Petal' from The Buoys. Or, if you're eager to get nostalgic and maybe crave a slice or several with your SXSW movie date, there's Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts. The latest documentary from Barbecue and We Don't Deserve Dogs' Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker, who are no strangers to SXSW in Austin, it sees the Australian-born, Brooklyn-based duo explore the US today through former Pizza Hut buildings. At the SXSW Sydney Games Festival, studios from 16 different countries are now on the program — and, beginning with HORSES, Wild Bastards and Fishbowl, so is half of the Games Festival Showcase. Also, the Games Investment Forum will include Raw Fury, Null Games, Team17, Whitethorn Games, Playside Publishing, Critical Reflex, Astra Logical Games, Landfall Games, PQube, Headup Games, UltraPlayers, Fellow Traveller and WINGS Interactive among its publishers and funding bodies. Given that the 2024 program already boasts Australian astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok marketing head Sofia Hernandez, Heartbreak High star Ayesha Madon, human rights lawyer and barrister Jennifer Robinson, cricketer David Warner, Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid, Def Jam-signed Australian talent SAHXL, a game about turning fruit into your own menu and a short film about a housewife trying to get a free pizza, plus plenty more, it's worth saying it again: SXSW is massive, including in Sydney. If you missed it, 2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney welcomed everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman to its stages. In the process, and via not just its talks but also its concerts, films, TV shows and games as, it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Jami Joy, Ian Laidlaw, Jess Gleeson, Katje Ford and Paul McMillan.
When you've already announced Bad Feminist author Roxane Gay as one of your keynote speakers, what comes next? At the 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas, the conversation will flow from being a serial dissenter to the smartphone backlash, propaganda and censorship, giving kids the right to vote and taking on the one percent, then also cover tackling inequality, the myths surrounding women's health and humanity's need to find meaning through god-like figures. The just-dropped program for the Sydney fest, which will take over Carriageworks for two days from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25, is filled with exactly what an event dedicated to crucial and complex topics demands: a wide-ranging lineup of boundary-pushing talks where hopping from one session from the next means jumping between a vast array of subject matter. [caption id="attachment_962706" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Reginald Cunningham[/caption] Under Festival Director Danielle Harvey, FODI has curated its 2024 roster around the theme of 'sanctuary'. For Harvey, this also means giving attendees a place to dig into sometimes-weighty, sometimes-provocative matters. "At a time when we are surrounded by bad ideas and bad faith, where information is cheap and shallow, we need a place people can come and be curious together and be inspired. A space safe from hype. Safe to listen and ask questions. A space with real experts from all disciplines," Harvey said, announcing the event's 2024 program. "Festival of Dangerous Ideas is here to be that space. The lineup won't please everybody (it never does!) and nor does it aim to. But it will be good for everyone. What FODI offers is a precious moment in real time with 87 thought leaders and creatives who will bring you next-level discussion, likely some disagreement and definitely some hope. Learning more about the world we are making and unmaking is a thrill, and I can't wait for you to discover new ideas and thinkers over one massive weekend of danger." [caption id="attachment_963054" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Damon Winter/ The New York Times[/caption] Joining Gay among the 16 international guests presenting keynotes are US psychologist Jean Twenge, which is where diving into the impact of handheld devices comes in; journalist and writer Masha Gessen, who'll explore the ways that narratives about conflicts are controlled; and David Runciman to give the Christopher Hitchens Oration on the topic "votes for six-year-olds". Plus, Megan Phelps-Roper of Unfollow fame will team up with Andy Mills from The New York Times' The Daily and Rabbit Hole to dig into the impact of their podcast The Witch Trials of JK Rowling — and Jen Gunter has her sights set on the poor medical care women can be subjected to. Elsewhere, academic Saree Makdis will examine the west's response to the conflict in the Middle East, economists John N Friedman and Richard Holden will chat through ideas for increasing upward social mobility, The Next Frontier academic Todd Fernando will hone in on Indigenous excellence and The End of Race Politics' Coleman Hughes will be a guest on Josh Szeps' Uncomfortable Conversations. Attendees can also hear sustainability professor Jem Bendell step through how civilisation is already collapsing, philosopher David Benatar dive into the ethics of having children and comedian David Baddiel deliver the first John Caldon Provocation on how the need for god to give life substance disproves the deity's existence. [caption id="attachment_963055" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sandy Huffaker for The New York Times[/caption] The lineup goes on, whether you're keen for a session featuring Jordan van den Berg, aka renter advocate Purple Pingers, on why the one percent should be afraid — or chats about the new breed of world leaders, the price of democracy, public forgiveness, artificial and transplanted wombs, positive masculinity, peer pressure making us sick or individualism. If you can't attend or won't be in Sydney, some sessions will be livestreamed. For those heading along in person, perhaps you'd like to hear from Talk to Me's Danny Philippou about his favourite horror film and why we're all fascinated with fear, then crawl through a tape installation by Austrian and Croatian artists and designers Numen / For Use, then watch a jailbreak experiment by performance collective re:group, too? Yes, across what promises to be a busy weekend, they're all also on the program as well. The 2024 Festival of Dangerous Ideas runs from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 at Carriageworks, 245 Wilson Street, Eveleigh, with select sessions livestreamed. To peruse the full program, and to buy in-person festival tickets from 7am on Wednesday, June 26 — with livestream tickets available in August — visit the festival website. Festival of Dangerous Ideas images: Jodie Barker, Ken Leanfore and Yaya Stempler.
When Roxane Gay released Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business in 2023, the American author and academic gave readers a tome that stepped through ten years of her non-fiction efforts. With that milestone in mind, it feels apt that Gay's 2024 trip to Australia will also mark a decade since 2014's Bad Feminist first had everyone reading the commentator's books. Expect both texts to earn more than a small mention in Sydney and Melbourne come August. Gay will make just two stops Down Under this winter, both at festivals: at Sydney's Festival of Dangerous Ideas and Melbourne's Now or Never. The Harbour City will welcome Gay first — she's the first speaker announced for FODI 2024, in fact, ahead of the event's full program being released on Tuesday, June 25 — before the Victorian capital beckons. "Roxane Gay is one of the world's most-brilliant social commentators. Ten years on since her book Bad Feminist caught the world's attention, she is still unafraid to call out privilege, hypocrisy, and entrenched social injustice. But today, speaking up can come at a huge cost. I can't think of anyone else more credentialed than Roxane to talk to FODI audiences about the importance of rocking the boat and facing criticism head on," said FODI Director Danielle Harvey, announcing the news. Gay will appear as a keynote speaker, discussing the topic of being a dissenter in the age of tribal warfare, at the 12th Festival of Dangerous Ideas. The event was established in 2009 to discuss difficult issues, push boundaries and inspire debate, putting both its initial guest and her topic right in its usual remit. 2024's FODI runs from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 at Carriageworks, focusing on the theme 'sanctuary'. As well as getting Gay chatting about her work live and in person, the fest will enlist the New York Times-bestselling author on panels, too. In Melbourne, the writer that's also behind Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body and Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture — and also Ayiti, An Untamed State, Difficult Women and The Banks in fiction — will get talking about having complicated views in complicated times with Jan Fran at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday, August 27, in a session also presented by The Wheeler Centre. "The Wheeler Centre is thrilled to present Roxane Gay in Melbourne and celebrate this incredible compilation of her work. Roxane communicates complex ideas with honesty and power, and this is a rare opportunity to hear her in conversation," said The Wheeler Centre CEO Erin Vincent. Roxane Gay will appear at Carriageworks in Sydney as part of the Festival of Dangerous Ideas from Saturday, August 24–Sunday, August 25 — and at Melbourne Town Hall on Tuesday, August 27 presented by The Wheeler Centre and Now or Never. Presale tickets for the Festival of Dangerous Ideas go on sale on Tuesday, June 25, with general sales from Wednesday, June 26. Tickets for The Wheeler Centre are on sale now. Top image: Reginald Cunningham.
Winter in Melbourne in 2024 began with a festival, with RISING getting June started with everything from music-fuelled block parties to 24-hour movie marathons. Winter in Melbourne in 2024 will also end with a fest when Now or Never makes its big return in mid-to-late August. After proving a hit with its mix of tunes, performances, installations, talks and more in 2023, its inaugural year, this City of Melbourne-presented celebration will again fill the Victorian capital with creativity. Clear your calendar now — you've got more than 100 different events to attend. Now or Never already locked in its dates and theme earlier in the year. Whether you're a Melburnian or an interstater looking for an excuse for a getaway, you'll have plenty to do across Thursday, August 22–Saturday, August 31. And, with help from 250-plus local and international talents, you'll be getting revelling with the concept 'look through the image' — so, honing in on imagination, emotions and contemplation — firmly in mind. A recurring idea among 2024's Now or Never events is peering beyond the surface, as reflected in a lineup that's jam-packed full of deep cuts. While 2023's fest saw Melbourne's historic Royal Exhibition Building host its first large-scale live music performances in over 20 years, 2024's will return to the venue for four nights of tunes and audiovisual projections that aim to leave a big impression. Eartheater, Sandwell District, Erika De Casier, Ben Frost, Naretha Williams, Clark and DJ Donato Dozzy are all on the bill, as is the Australian debut of COUCOU CHLOE. Still on Aussie premieres, DESASTRES from Marco Fusinato falls into that category, heading Down Under after first appearing at the Venice Biennale 2022 across a 200-day run. For just two days in Melbourne, audiences will be peering at the world's largest LED volume screen for virtual production at NantStudios in Docklands cinema studios for this experimental noise performance project, which synchronises its guitar sounds with imagery. It's both a solo performance and an installation. Across Thursday–Sunday nights during the festival, Joanie Lemercier will unveil Constellations above the Yarra River. This free AV installation projects lights to form shapes in the air, focusing on the cosmos, as accompanied by a soundscape by producer Paul Jebansam. Similarly at the right price for everyone's wallets, the also-free Silent Symphony and Present Shock II hail from London's United Visual Artists. The first features Frost's compositions as part of celestial patterns given a sonic interpretation, in a piece that will never repeat. The second boasts a score by Massive Attack's Robert Del Naj with Robert Thomas, and is all about confronting a realm where alternative facts and post-truths now dwell. At ACMI — and also presented by the Melbourne International Film Festival — the free world-premiere kajoo yannaga (come on let's walk together) will take participants on an interactive virtual and gamified walk on Country that puts First Nations knowledge at the fore, all thanks to Wiradjuri Scottish artist April Phillips. Or, hovering above Melbourne Museum Plaza, get ready to experience Peder Bjurman's augmented-reality experience Slow Walker, which turns a microscopic organism into a floating giant. Plagiary is another certain highlight, with dance technologist and choreographer Alisdair Macindoe joining forces with media artist Sam Mcgilp to create a new dance performance each night. Ten dancers will improvise, but it's a computer presence that'll tell them what to respond to. Elsewhere on the lineup, Roxane Gay's latest trip to Australia is tied to discussing 2023 book Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People's Business; Melbourne's HTRK and Britain's Actress are teaming up for a single evening; and Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta and Nari Nari man Kutcha Edwards is in the spotlight at Wuigada — Gagada (To Sing — Loud), which makes its Victorian premiere. There's also MOUNTAIN, a dance performance with costumes by Akira Isogawa, plus mycologist Merlin Sheldrake chatting about fungi, if you needed more examples of how wide-ranging the 2024 program is. Now or Never 2024 runs from Thursday, August 22–Saturday, August 31 around Melbourne — head to the festival website for further details.
The Australian-premiere season of Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show. Trent Dalton's Love Stories making the world-debuting leap from the page to the stage. A serialised live blend of dance and theatre that asks you to binge-watch in person. The return of both Lightscape to make the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens shine and The Art Boat sailing down the Brisbane River. You'll find them all at one place and one place only in 2024: Brisbane Festival, which has just unveiled its full lineup for this year. As fans of the Boy Swallows Universe author will already know, Dalton's Love Stories was announced in advance of the complete program — and now it has excellent company. Securing the only Australian run of Jean Paul Gaultier's Fashion Freak Show, a fashion show-meets-musical revue stage production that features more than 200 original Gaultier couture pieces and celebrates the designer's 50-year career, is an incredible coup for Brisbane Festival Artistic Director Louise Bezzina in her fifth year at the helm. Also huge as part of the performance, which is headed to South Bank Piazza: a couture piece by Queensland Indigenous designer Grace Lillian Lee, as chosen by Gaultier, will feature in the Brisbane season. Lee will also unveil her first solo exhibition The Dream Weaver: Guardians of Grace at this year's fest. The overall Brisbane Festival dates for your diary: Friday, August 30–Saturday, September 21. For that three-week period, almost every corner of Brissie will play host to the fest, as 1000-plus performances — more than 320 of which will be free, and with 13 enjoying their world debuts — fill the city. Some aspects of the program will get you seated in theatres around town, of course, but Brisbane Festival has always adored taking its roster of performances, gigs, installations and parties well beyond the usual venues. Hailing from Ireland, Volcano might be among the shows popping up in expected digs — at Brisbane Powerhouse — but it's anything but standard. Watching this performance means making a date with four 45-minute episodes, complete with intermissions, in a piece that riffs on a TV sci-fi thriller. Lightscape and The Art Boat are no strangers to Brisbane, with both making a 2024 comeback to dazzle iconic areas of the city with light and colour. On the latter, DJ sets will provide the soundtrack, while Briefs Factory and a range of other artists will be in the hot seat with burlesque, drag and circus performances. Firmly new not just to the Queensland capital or Brisbane Festival but to the world is opera Straight from the Strait, which is about the seven kilometres of railway track put down in a single 1968 day by Torres Strait Islander workers — and yes, it's a true story. Also enjoying its global debut is Lighting the Dark by Dancenorth Australia, in collaboration with Chris Dyke. The latter, a performer and choreographer living with Down Syndrome, has weaved his love of Banksy, David Bowie and Freddie Mercury into what promises to be a heartfelt presentation. Kitchen Studio from artist Elizabeth Winning is yet another certain highlight, acting as an installation by day and hosting small guests for a sensory experience by evening. Still getting interactive, Adrift tasks its audience with playing a role in a participatory theatre work — following instructions received via headsets — that's a mix of a mystery and a game. The standouts keep coming, including Big Name, No Blankets, which celebrates Warumpi Band across two nights of concerts, as inspired by founding member Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher's stories; Skylore — The Rainbow Serpent, as featuring 400-plus drones to tell a First Nations story above the city; GRIMM, with Shake & Stir switching from 2023's stage iteration of Frankenstein to a show that weaves in Snow White, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood; and this year's round of Brisbane Serenades, complete with events in Moorooka, Northshore Brisbane, St Lucia, Kuraby and Victoria Park. Or, there's the Queensland premieres of Eucalyptus and Private View and — the first turning Murray Bail's Miles Franklin Award-winning novel into an opera, and the second exploring the intersection of disability and sexual desire across a four-room setup. Riverfire, Sweet Relief!'s return headlined by Kelis, the tradition that is the Common People Dance Eisteddfod, Cirque Bon Bon bring Le Retour back to Brisbane: they're all a part of the festival as well, as is plenty more — so whether you're a Brisbanite keen to hop around your home town or an interstater planning a visit, no one will be short on things to do across Brisbane Festival's 23 days. "Brisbane Festival believes in the transformative power of the arts to unite, inspire and empower and my fifth festival program is a creative celebration of this power on both a global and a local scale," said Bezzina about the 2024 lineup. "I am delighted this year to bring leading international artists as well as creatively significant, profoundly inspiring and wholly entertaining works from across the world to our city." "Brisbane Festival remains a celebration by and for Brisbane so when we bring these global works to our city, we create opportunities to spotlight the extraordinary talents of our local artists on the world stage." Brisbane Festival 2024 runs from Friday, August 30–Saturday, September 21 at various venues around Brisbane. Head to the festival's website for tickets and further details.
To hear the latest new tunes by Flume, you'll need to make a date with the Art Gallery of New South Wales' Volume music series when it returns for 2024. The Australian talent won't be performing at the event. There's no word of him popping up with Tkay Maidza, who is already on the festival's bill, following their 2023 single 'Silent Assassin'. But he has composed the soundtrack for a world-premiere installation in AGNSW's old Second World War oil tank that's been turned into a performance and art space. Featuring sound, projections, lighting and lasers, Every dull moment (EDM) hails from Flume and multidisciplinary artist Jonathan Zawada, and shows its inspiration right there in its name — EDM festivals, specifically. It has been designed for the unique site in Naala Badu, AGNSW's $344-million extension that opened in late 2022. Comprised of sequences spanning between ten and 90 seconds, the piece goes on continuously and randomly without repeating, paired with Flume's new compositions. It's also on the free portion of Volume's lineup. Not just Zimbabwean Australian singer-songwriter Maidza, but also André 3000's Australian-exclusive shows with his experimental jazz project André 3000 New Blue Sun LIVE, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Ghanaian Australian talent Genesis Owusu were previously announced as the event's headliners — all at ticketed gigs. Now comes the rundown of events that won't cost you a cent to enjoy between Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 21. Every dull moment (EDM) has company from a heap of excuses to see live tunes for free, featuring more than 30 local and international artists in total. Another huge highlight: Blak Country, a celebration of Aboriginal country music which will take place during 2024's NAIDOC Week. On the bill: Roger Knox, Kyla-Belle Roberts, Loren Ryan, Frank Yamma, Jarrod Hickling and Kathryn Kelly, as well as a playlist from musical talents from incarcerated First Nations communities as part of the Songbirds project. [caption id="attachment_957075" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matt Day[/caption] Volume is devoting another night, dubbed Extasis, to experimental sounds curated by Lawrence English, with Jim O'Rourke, Eiko Ishibashi and Hand to Earth among the artists featured. And, at Future Tilt, it'll spend an afternoon getting creative with salllvage, Lydian Dunbar, DeepFaith and more in experimental pop and electronic drone. Fennesz, amby downs, Jules Reidy, Seaworthy and Matt Rösner will be world-premiering new compositions across both AGNSW buildings — the new north building Naala Badu and the OG south building Naala Nura — in a program called Threshold, while Play on, play again, play forever will see musicians from Asylum Seeker Centre play tunes in response to the site's artworks each weekend. Volume initially premiered in 2023 with Solange and Sampa The Great taking to its stages. As the above lineup shows, the fest is using its 2024 program to build upon its first-year successes — and to give everyone plenty of motivation to experience the blending of music and art this winter. [caption id="attachment_957076" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Emma Luker[/caption] [caption id="attachment_957077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jim O'Rourke [/caption] [caption id="attachment_957078" align="alignnone" width="1920"] James Hadfield[/caption] Volume 2024 Lineup: Headliners: Friday, July 5–Saturday, July 6 — Genesis Owusu Saturday, July 13 — Tkay Maidza Thursday, July 18–Friday, July 19 — Kim Gordon Saturday, July 20–Sunday, July 21 — André 3000 New Blue Sun LIVE Free program: Saturday, July 6 — Future tilt Saturday, July 6—Sunday, July 21 — Threshold Sunday, July 7—Sunday, July 21 — Every dull moment (EDM) Wednesday, July 10 — Blak Country Wednesday, July 17 — Extasis Dates TBA — Play on, play again, play forever [caption id="attachment_954053" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dexter Navy[/caption] [caption id="attachment_954055" align="alignnone" width="1920"] @trippydana[/caption] [caption id="attachment_954056" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Bec Parsons[/caption] Volume 2024 runs from Friday, July 5–Sunday, July 21 at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, with general ticket sales from 11am on Wednesday, May 22 — head to the festival website for further details.
Each year, the team behind Vivid Sydney clearly asks itself a question: where else can we dazzle with lights next? Ranging from gardens and tunnels to buildings and bridges, the answers brighten up not only the festival's annual program, but the Harbour City. Letting a train lit up with an immersive glow and pumping techno tunes loose on the New South Wales capital's rails is a new answer for 2024, however. Meet Tekno Train. This isn't your ordinary, everyday, average commute — this is a 60-minute trip filled with lighting and music that changes to match the train's speed and the landscape outside. And the tunes? Like the event itself, they hail from Paul Mac. The result is a 23-night-only railway experience that's an Australian first, with its music newly composed specifically for what promises to be a helluva ride. Here's how it works: between Friday, May 24–Saturday, June 15, you'll hop onboard a K-set train at Central Station, either opting for a scenic route to North Sydney and then Lavender Bay via a secret spur line (the slower, more family-friendly trip), or hitting up City Circle and South Sydney (which'll be the livelier and faster-paced journey). Whether you pick The Scenic Route or Tech Express, as the two choices have been named, you'll see Tekno Train's custom lighting beam and hear its electronic dance music soundtrack pulse through all of the locomotive's carriages. "Trains have always fascinated me. Their mix of rhythmic clicks and clacks, the screech of metal on metal, and the sound and smell of brakes are all interesting sensory experiences that everyone can relate to," said Paul Mac about the new addition to the Vivid Sydney 2024 lineup, which has been announced just days ahead of the fest's kickoff. "Tekno Train will take things one step further. It will drive the music and lights, turning a commuter journey into a sensory rollercoaster." If you're wondering how it links in with this year's Vivid theme of 'humanity', Tekno Train puts the power of music to unite — even when people are doing something that they don't normally think twice about — in the spotlight. It also celebrates public transport, mass transit and community. And, of course, it'll get you seeing riding the rails in a whole new light, literally. In 2024, other responses to the Vivid challenge to put lights anywhere and everywhere include the Royal Botanic Garden Sydney, where Lightscape will again get radiant; the Sydney Opera House sails, the city's trusty large-scale canvas; facades including Customs House and the Museum of Contemporary Art; the Sydney Harbour Bridge; Barangaroo; and Sydney Tower, which will project a fan of 40-kilometre-long laser beams. And, for the second year running, Dark Spectrum will return to Wynyard's railway tunnels with a one-kilometre trail featuring eight chambers, 300 lasers and strobe lights, 500 lanterns, 250 search lights and 700 illuminated arrows. Tekno Train departs from Central Station, running for 23 nights during Vivid Sydney — which takes place from Friday, May 24–Saturday, June 15. Head to the festival website for further details and tickets. Images: Destination NSW.
So, you've seen Nanette, then Douglas, then Body of Work, Hannah Gadsby's three famous stand-up shows — all of which hit stages, then Netflix. Next on your list to catch is Woof!, and in-person for now. The new performance premiered in Australia this autumn, playing both Sydney and Melbourne. Next for audiences Down Under, it's Brisbane, Canberra and Adelaide's turns. If you're wondering if Woof! will also get the streaming treatment, it's too early to say, so getting giggling in the Queensland, Australian Capital Territory and South Australian capitals is your best bet if you're keen to check out Gadsby's new routine ASAP. The performance has dropped one-night dates in all three spots — all this winter. [caption id="attachment_871296" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben King[/caption] Those dates and venues: Thursday, July 25 at Canberra Theatre Centre, then Saturday, July 27 at QPAC Concert Hall in Brisbane and Friday, August 2 at Her Majesty's Theatre in Adelaide. The comedian is returning home for the three gigs after shows in America and Canada in June, and before hitting up the Edinburgh Fringe in August and London in November. Woof! comes after Nanette became an international smash, travelling not only throughout Australia but also the UK, and winning awards at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Edinburgh Fringe. Douglas then took comedy fans on a "tour from the dog park to the renaissance and back", including in Australia, NZ and Europe. And as for Body of Work, it embarked upon an extensive stint around Australia, as well as in Europe again. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Dr. Hannah Gadsby (@hannah_gadsby) Hannah Gadsby 'Woof!' Tour Dates: Thursday, July 25 — Canberra Theatre Centre, Canberra Saturday, July 27 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Friday, August 2 — Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide [caption id="attachment_896516" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Hannah Gadsby: Something Special. Jess Gleeson/Netflix © 2023[/caption] Hannah Gadsby's 'Woof!' tour will play Brisbane, Adelaida and Canberra in winter 2024. For further details — and to buy tickets from 10am on Friday, May 17 — head to the comedian's website.
Melbourne knows how to start off winter well. Its answer: RISING. It is almost an Australian tradition to fill the coldest part of the year with an arts festival — see also: Vivid Sydney, Illuminate Adelaide and Dark Mofo, including its events in its off year — and the Victorian capital takes the custom seriously. So, while RISING already announced its lineup for Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16 back in March (and also a few event details earlier, such as Counting and Cracking and Communitas), it isn't done packing its program yet. As the fest gets closer, it's adding everything from late-night DJs at Night Trade Stage Door — aka RISING's after-hours club — through to a third Dirty Three gig, two more Hear My Eyes sessions of Hellraiser, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra doing a secret pop-up show and a party in ACMI's Beings exhibition. Festival-within-the-festival Day Tripper, the block party that'll use Melbourne Town Hall as a hub and span to the Capitol Theatre and Max Watt's as well, has also unveiled its full lineup. [caption id="attachment_945439" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Damien Raggatt[/caption] The new additions boost RISING's 16-night lineup to 116 events and 651 artists, up from 105 events featuring 480 artists back in March. "With only a few weeks to go till opening, we're excited to reveal a whole new layer to the 2024 program" said RISING co-artistic directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek. "The full Day Tripper lineup is super dynamic and brings in some of our local idols and more international gems. The festival's social heart, Night Trade, now includes psychic readings, karaoke, art and dance classes, and a full club program ranging from classical to R&B and techno. The beginning of winter in Melbourne can feel like standing at the bottom of a grim mountain and RISING is here to shake that feeling right off." Night Trade Stage Door will feature Shannon Michael Cane: Someone Great — A Celebration as its opening-night shindig, complete with Hot Chip's Alexis Taylor, Gerard Frank Long (aka Sugar Plump Fairy), Andee Frost and Stereogamous (Paul Mac and Johnny Seymour) on the decks. Also on the venue's overall lineup: Grumble Boogie from Betty Grumble and DJ HipHopHoe, Evian Christ with jjjacob and DJ ALI, and Crown Ruler presenting club nights. Night Trade as RISING's social club will also get a sip-and-paint session, LA artist John Kilduff doing a version of TV show Let's Paint TV live, karaoke with Mummy's Plastic and exhibition In the Future Everybody Will Be Cancelled for 15 Minutes by Jeremy Deller. [caption id="attachment_954467" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Laura Pemberton[/caption] New highlights at Day Tripper include Surprise Chef, Alastair Galbraith, Richard Youngs, Sarah Mary Chadwick, The Tubs, WET KISS, Scott & Charlene's Wedding, POSSESHOT and Polito. And, for HTRK's 21st birthday, Astrid Sonne, Still House Plants, CS + Kreme, James Rushford, Pandora's Jukebox, YL Hooi and DJ Emelyne, too. RISING's latest additions join a program that already includes Yasiin Bey, who was formerly known as Mos Def, leading the Day Tripper bill with a tribute to MF Doom; The Blak Infinite, a showcase of First Peoples' art and politics, taking over Federation Square; 24 Hour Rock Show, which will play rock documentaries back to back for a whole day and night, and for free; and tunes from ONEFOUR, Fever Ray, Sky Ferreira, Tirzah, Blonde Redhead, Snoh Aalegra and Moktar and more. The list goes on, for what's set to be a glorious full start to June 2024. [caption id="attachment_950694" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Searcy 2010.[/caption] RISING 2024 runs from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16 across Melbourne. Head to the festival's website for further information and tickets. Night Trade images: A Caygill.
There aren't many events where the first female Australian astronaut, TikTok's marketing head, Australian screen personalities, a singer and actor who stars on Heartbreak High, a human rights lawyer and barrister, a cricketer, an Olympian, the director of Mortal Kombat, the first Australian artist to sign with Def Jam, a game about turning fruit into your own menu and a short film about a housewife trying to get a free pizza are on the same lineup. Actually, there's only one: SXSW Sydney 2024. After announcing in late 2023 that the event would return for a second year — because the inaugural SXSW Sydney was such a hit — and then getting everyone voting for its Session Selects conference events earlier in 2024, the only version of the tech, innovation, screen, music, games and culture festival outside of Austin, Texas has started unveiling its program for the year. Get ready for a busy seven days between Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20. SXSW announces its bill in multiple drops, so this really is just the beginning for 2024. Each of the conference, music fest, screen fest and games fest have revealed details — kicking off with a heap of featured speakers. Astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg, TikTok executive Sofia Hernandez, Courtney Act, Nakkiah Lui, filmmaker Simon McQuoid, legal figure Jennifer Robinson, futurist Ryan Patel and the return of Non-Obvious trend curator Rohit Bhargava all grace the lineup so far. They're joined by Australia's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, IBM's AI Platform Vice President of Product Armand Ruiz, Psychology of Your 20s host Jemma Sbeg and Esther Nguyen of POPS Worldwide, to name just a few more standouts. Plus, among the Session Selects panels, Hamish Blake will get chatting about social-media citizenship, David Warner and Tillie Kearns will talk athlete IP, and Australian Fashion Council CEO Jaana Quaintance-James and The Iconic CEO Jere Calmes will cover digital fashion. Other discussions will dig into designing with Country, taking film technology beyond the screen, the digital news transformation and the importance of nature. Stepping from Hartley High to SXSW Sydney Music Festival, Ayesha Madon is one of that strand's highlights. SAHXL, Nick Ward, BALTHVS, Total Tommy, brothers J-MILLA & Yung Milla, Joel Sunny, Ena Mori, Smol fish, HighSchool, Maina Doe, 404: you'll be able to see them as well. Film fans can look forward to short flicks such as the aforementioned Make Me a Pizza, plus Fish Tank, Meat Puppet and Vivie. And gamers can expect FRUITBUS, Blood Reaver, Curiosmos, Demon Spore, DICEOMANCER and Hyper Light Breaker, as well as Mystiques, No Case Should Remain Unsolved, Rose and Locket and Window Garden — some local; others from the UK, US, Belgium, China, Norway, South Korea and the Philippines; many with glorious names — at the Games Festival Showcase. "After the success of the inaugural SXSW Sydney in 2023, we are once again inspired by the overwhelming response from the creator communities to participate in the 2024 program. This is the first of many announcements as we roll out the extensive and diverse range of visionaries & creative thinkers from around the globe that make up the SXSW Sydney 2024 conference lineup," said SXSW Sydney Chair and TEG Group CEO Geoff Jones, announcing the initial 2024 program details. "SXSW Sydney is about discovery and an opportunity to be surrounded by the best and brightest minds from tech and innovation, games, music, screen and culture. This year's SXSW promises to be as inspiring as ever." 2023's inaugural SXSW Sydney welcomed everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman to its stages. In the process, it notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. The full lineup spanned a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions, and featuring more than 300 gigs across 25 venues. From talks and concerts to films, TV shows and games, there was no shortage of things to see. Get ready for another round this October. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details. Images: Jami Joy, Ian Laidlaw, Jess Gleeson, Katje Ford and Paul McMillan.
Sydney knows it thanks to Vivid. Melbourne's RISING makes the same point clear. No matter the place, there's nothing like a city lit up with glowing lights, outdoor art installations and projections in winter. Since debuting in 2021, Illuminate Adelaide has embraced the same idea each year in the City of Churches — and 2024's just-dropped full lineup includes more than 40 works that'll dazzle the city, plus everything from after-dark puppetry in the zoo and a digital garden to Max Cooper and Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon. And Fire Gardens. Back in April, Illuminate Adelaide revealed that the French art collective Compagnie Carabosse would headline the fest with its acclaimed piece, which will fill Adelaide Botanic Garden more than 7000 fire pots, sculptures and terracotta urns. While it'll be the event's scorching centrepiece from Thursday, July 4–Sunday, July 21, the highlights keep coming on the complete program. [caption id="attachment_953096" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Beveridge[/caption] Much of the brightness in the South Australian at Illuminate Adelaide comes via the City Lights program, which will span those 40-plus free site-specific works over 17 days. The class of 2024 features Renaissance artworks coming alive, interactive lights inspired by the moon's phases, the harp becoming a light-and-colour experience, illuminated street furniture, blue fireflies and more. The World Has Gone Pear Shaped — a large-scale, six-metre-tall inflatable sculpture that turns earth into a pear to muse on humanity's impact upon the planet — is sure to be standout. So is intangible #form by Japanese artist Shohei Fujimoto, which uses lasers, strobe lights, other moving lights and haze to create a multi-sensory piece across an array of rooms. You'll be swinging at Spectrum of Happiness, and as you do you'll create a rainbow. And Tjarutja Dance Theatre Collective Project's Ngarrindjeri Ruwi tells the Ngarrindjeri tale about Kondili, the whale that projects the spark of fire. [caption id="attachment_953092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Artec House[/caption] Puppets roaming outside have increasingly become a key component of arts festivals of late — Parrtjima in the Northern Territory just proved this true in April — so of course Illuminate Adelaide has incorporated the trend into its lineup. Cue Universal Kingdom: Prehistoric Nights, a brand-new blend of puppetry and animation from Erth Visual & Physical Inc and A Blanck Canvas that'll take over Adelaide Zoo. A glowing dinosaur skeleton with a giant skull and a ribcage that you can walk through, ancient critters wandering along, an eight-metre animated plesiosaur in the sky: they're just some of its elements. Similarly immersive and built for folks to mosey around is interactive digital garden EDEN, which splashes its nature paradise across 150 square metres of LED screens — and will be accompanied by The Light Room Bar for bites and beverages. [caption id="attachment_953094" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Erth[/caption] Bridging the gap between Illuminate Adelaide's art and music bills, Max Cooper's 3D AV gets an Australian-exclusive run. Hindley Street Music Hall will welcome in its audio-visual display, which adapts each performance to its venue so no show is the same as any other. Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon and Dutch pianist Joep Beving are also on the program, the former as part of experimental music fest Unsound Adelaide within the broader fest. Its lineup features The Caretaker doing his first Aussie show, plus Yirinda, 33EMYBW, Eiko Ishibash, ∈Y∋ with C.O.L.O. and more. [caption id="attachment_953098" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Danielle Neu[/caption] And if that's not enough to enjoy around Adelaide, Hayao Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, one of the Studio Ghibli great's very best films, is getting a free screening; Patch Theatre's family-friendly Superluminal uses lanterns that change colour in your hand, paired with nature sounds; and Fill the Earth combines physical performance and visual art, plus dance and video, on a 3.5-metre round stage. Pop-up bar and eatery hub Base Camp is back for its fourth year, too, complete with its own interactive light show, while Live @ The Lab will add more live tunes to the program. [caption id="attachment_953093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] florafaunavisions[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953100" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Kozobolis[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953099" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Oscar Lewis[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Frankie The Creative[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953101" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Saige Prime[/caption] [caption id="attachment_953102" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Samuel Graves[/caption] Illuminate Adelaide 2024 runs from Thursday, July 4–Sunday, July 21. Check out the festival's website for the full program and to grab tickets. Top image: Amigo and Amigo. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
When the first-ever SXSW Sydney took place in 2023, we were there as history was made. We didn't just check out the talks, gigs, films, TV shows and games on offer — Concrete Playground was part of the conference programming, which is called Session Select. When we took to the stage, we did so to dive into youth, information and the digital age. In 2024, we're keen to do it all over again. At the end of 2023, after the inaugural SXSW Sydney proved a success, the Australian event confirmed that it'd be back in 2024. This year's dates: Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20. Earlier in April, SXSW Sydney also revealed that Session Select candidates are currently vying for your love, because that's how this part of the program is chosen — and we'd like your help. SXSW's Down Under leg lets the community get behind the microphone at Session Select. More than that, it allows you to choose what makes it into this portion of the fest's lineup. All you need to do is vote, which is now open for 2024 until Monday, April 22. We've submitted two sessions for consideration in 2024 — here's what we're planning, both of which you can vote for via the SXSW website. [caption id="attachment_920349" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brittany Hallberg[/caption] Appetite for Distraction: Youth, Information and the Digital Age in 2024 Call it a comeback. Call it a sequel. Either way, we're not done with this topic yet. Backing up our 2023 SXSW Sydney session, we'll host a discussion on how young people are consuming news and information in online spaces. This panel will bring together industry-leading communicators to discuss where Gen Z and young millennials are getting their news from, what's grabbing their attention, the importance of online communities and where the future of journalism and information-based content is headed. Vote for the Appetite for Distraction: Youth, Information and the Digital Age in 2024 panel online. [caption id="attachment_920350" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brittany Hallberg[/caption] New Rituals: The State of Socialising and Hospitality How is going out changing? How are consumer expectations changing? How is the hospitality industry changing to meet those demands? What trends are we seeing and how are hospitality businesses, food and beverage businesses adapting to meet them? In this panel, we'll share five minutes of insights and consumer trends from ongoing annual research into socialising, events and going out, which will be conducted in August 2024 for the second year in a row. Then, a panel of experts will discuss some of the key themes and trends, talking about their experience within their businesses, and how they are changing their products and services to meet changing consumer expectations. Vote for the New Rituals: The State of Socialising and Hospitality panel online. If you're be interested in attending our panels, please visit the voting pages for New Rituals: The State of Socialising and Hospitality and Appetite for Distraction: Youth, Information and the Digital Age in 2024 to show your support. Voting closes on Monday, April 22, 2024. SXSW Sydney 2024 will take place from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20. Top image: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
Melbourne's annual arts festival RISING might not return until winter (running from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16), but tickets are already selling out to some of the most-popular events. If you've been thinking about heading to Victoria's capital to catch hidden laneway gigs, free exhibitions and international performances, then you best start making some serious plans. To help you get the most out of this year's festival, we've teamed up with the crew at RISING to bring you three exclusive travel packages that can be booked until Tuesday, April 30. [caption id="attachment_950619" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Damien Raggatt[/caption] First off, we've got our hands on a select number of Day Tripper tickets, which give punters access to a huge day party on Saturday, June 8. For just one arvo, the arcades and laneways surrounding Melbourne Town Hall will be taken over by post-punk, acid house, hip hop and disco tunes, as well as video works and contemporary dance performances. It will be huge. This package gets you access to the block party and afterparty, and includes a two-night stay at The Howey (with a full mini-bar worth $100), which is just a short walk from all the fun. The second RISING travel package will get you VIP access to see Dirty Three's performance at Hamer Hall, which has already sold out to the general public. We're the only ones still offering access if you want to see the trio perform live on Friday, June 14 or Saturday, June 15. This deal also includes a two-night stay at The Howey (again with a full mini-bar worth $100), a couple of drinks vouchers and priority entry to the festival club. Seats are highly limited for this one, so don't wait long to nab them. Lastly, we've secured a few tickets to Sydney drill legends ONEFOUR on Saturday, June 8. The lads' raw stories of crime, poverty and social dislocation have clocked over 500-million streams, with rap stars like A$AP Ferg and The Kid LAROI also fans. Book this RISING travel package for $549 and you'll receive two tickets to the show, plus a two-night stay at Causeway 353 (with $50 of mini-bar credit). Head to Concrete Playground Trips to book these exclusive RISING packages, which are only available up until Tuesday, April 30. Top image: Ian Laidlaw.
It's that time again for 2024: time for Australia's Red Centre to glow with other hues, including across ranges dating back 300 million years, thanks to giant puppets and on the ochre earth. Every April, Parrtjima — A Festival in Light returns to the Northern Territory with art, music, talks and an all-round celebration of First Nations culture. This year's event is on now, kicking off on Friday, April 12 and running till Sunday, April 21 — and if you're not there or on your way, this is what you're missing out on. When Arelhe Urrperle strolls along, people take notice. A six-metre-tall puppet that weighs 600 kilograms wandering around draws attention. Seeing it mosey through Alice Springs Desert Park, sharing Arrernte stories and language, is a main attraction at 2024's Parrtjima — A Festival in Light, in fact — and just one of the highlights of this Indigenous arts festival. Erth, which has also brought dinosaurs and sharks to life around the country in the past — and held prehistoric picnics featuring puppets — is behind Arelhe Urrperle. In New South Wales, Marri Dyin, which also reaches six metres in height, has taken a stroll at Vivid Sydney 2018 and 2019, plus at the Nights on Crown Festival in Wollongong in 2019. Arelhe Urrperle is specific to the Red Centre, however, with Erth's puppeteers training local Indigenous performers to operate the roving puppet for Parrtjima's 2024 run. Representing Arelhe matriarchs, Arelhe Urrperle is one of this year's signature installations — and a new addition to Parrtjima for 2024. Fancy feasting your eyes on illuminated cars that form a collage of work celebrating Eastern, Western and Central language groups? Walking through an immersive passageway that pays tribute to late Arrernte leader Dr MK Turner? Thanks to fellow installations Arrernte and Honouring, they're also on the festival's program right now. One of the Northern Territory's annual highlights — and one of its dazzling sights, alongside natural features Uluru, the Tjoritja gorges and Kings Canyon, plus nightly light show Wintjiri Wiru, as well as Bruce Munro's Field of Light and Light Towers — this arts, culture and storytelling event takes place against the MacDonnell Ranges. 2024 marks the ninth Parrtjima, with its lineup focusing on the importance of interconnectedness across First Nations culture for this year. That's partly happening through two things that are always on the bill: two of the festival's regular annual attractions, aka a huge artwork that transforms a 2.5-kilometre stretch of the majestic ranges, showering it with light each night of the festival; and Grounded, the installation projected over the red dirt at tourism and conservation facility Alice Springs Desert Park. The Ranges Light Show has taken over additional projection space in 2024, while Grounded has become more interactive. Over its opening weekend, the program also included a three-night marketplace for the first time in the fest's history. The Northern Territory Indigenous Business Network (NTIBN) Buy Blak Market featured both food and other products from local Aboriginal businesses. On the music roster across the entire event, Troy Cassar-Daley, Shellie Morris, Miiesha and Mulga Bore Hard Rock are taking to the stage. Cassar-Daley and Morris are also on the talks lineup, alongside Floyd Doyle and Dr Josie Douglas. Parrtjima – A Festival in Light runs from Friday, April 12–Sunday, April 21, 2024, at venues around Alice Springs in the Northern Territory. For more information, visit the festival website. Images: Parrtjima – A Festival in Light. Feeling inspired to book a getaway? You can now book your next dream holiday through Concrete Playground Trips with deals on flights, stays and experiences at destinations all around the world.
Much might be changing at the Museum of Old and New Art in 2024, including giving Dark Mofo a rest for the year and farewelling summer festival Mona Foma for good. But having a party in winter is still on the cards, as the Tasmanian venue confirmed a few months back. The lineup of events keeps growing, in fact, as part of what's now being dubbed a 'Dark Mofo presents' program. On offer from Thursday, June 13–Sunday, June 23: Winter Feast, the Nude Solstice Swim, both Genesis Owusu and Marlon Williams playing live, the Mona Gala, a new exhibition, a multi-storey nightclub and late-night tunes that begin the next morning. [caption id="attachment_950174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rosie Hastie, 2022. Courtesy of the artist and Dark Mofo 2022, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] "I know we said Dark Mofo would stay quiet, but winter wouldn't feel the same without the chance to feast and frolic during the long Tasmanian nights," said the fest's Artistic Director Chris Twite. "As the chill of winter creeps in, I know we are already longing to feast, dance and swim together. So we're really excited to be able to present these beloved pillars of the festival this June for Tasmanians and all our dedicated Dark Mofo pilgrims." [caption id="attachment_950181" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sam Stewart. Courtesy of Dark Mofo / DarkLab, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] If you're keen to eat your way around a huge midyear food festival on the Apple Isle, Winter Feast will be serving up plenty to tempt your tastebuds. Vaughan Mabee, the Executive Chef of New Zealand's Amisfield in Queenstown, is the the guest chef, teaming up with Mona's own Vince Trim. They'll hero unorthodox ingredients, such as Tasmanian deer and wallaby, wakame furikake, wattleseed and long-spined urchin, in an outdoor pavilion that'll be custom-built for the event. The meats will be fire-roasted onsite, then sliced to order. For dessert, deer also proves pivotal via deer milk ice cream, a signature dessert from Mabee. You won't forget it — it comes shaped like antlers, served in a real deer skull, then topped with 'deer blood' caramel. [caption id="attachment_950183" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of Vaughan Mabee and Dark Mofo / DarkLab, Nipaluna Hobart, Lutruwita Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] Also set to be at Winter Feast: 80 stallholders, spanning not only returning favourites, but also 25 new joints from around the state. Standout dishes to look out for include spit-roast pork buns, crispy-fried southern rock lobster sliders, neo-Nepalese goat curry, arancini filled with beef ragu and mozzarella, and mortadella cruller choux pastries, as well as milk and honey doughnuts, mulled wine and smoked beetroot vodka. Yula (mutton bird) will also be back on the menu, while a Tasmanian sparkling wine bar is new for the year. Another change for 2024: making Winter Feast entry free on Sundays. [caption id="attachment_950175" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo/Rémi Chauvin. Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] If you're most excited about taking a swim sans clothes to celebrate the winter solstice, the Nude Solstice Swim at Long Beach will have a larger capacity than in the past. Elsewhere, Owusu and Williams are each playing gigs at Odeon Theatre on successive nights; the Mona Gala will get everyone partying for the opening of exhibition Namedropping, which showcases 200-plus artistic works about status, perception and trying to look good for others; and Dark Mofo 2021's Night Shift is making a comeback so that you can hit the dance floor, get debauched and make the absolute most of the early hours. Slow Burn, a brand-new event for 2024, is also about staying up late, only opening at midnight at Odeon Theatre's Mezz Bar. At the In the Hanging Garden precinct, Winter in the Garden will get DJs spinning tunes earlier, and also host food and drink pop-ups. [caption id="attachment_950177" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy of the artist.[/caption] Dark Mofo will return in 2025 as the full usual shebang, but better than ever — not that there's anything usual about the event. "Dark Mofo has established itself as a beacon of artistic exploration and challenging ideas for a decade, immersing audiences in the depths of darkness and the heart of winter," said Twite earlier in 2024. "This year, by taking a fallow year, we are taking a crucial step in ensuring that Dark Mofo continues to be a catalyst for artistic innovation, cultural dialogue, and shared experiences for many years to come." [caption id="attachment_950178" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford. Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950182" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Courtesy Museum of Old and New Art (Mona), Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950176" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Dark Mofo/Jesse Hunniford, 2021. Courtesy Dark Mofo, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950180" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Rémi Chauvin. Courtesy of DarkLab, March 2023.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_950179" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hunniford. Courtesy of the artists and Mona, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] Dark Mofo Presents: Winter 2o24: Thursday, June 13–Sunday, June 16 — Winter Feast week one Thursday, June 13–Sunday, June 23 — Winter in the Garden Friday, June 14 — The Mona Gala Saturday, June 15 — Genesis Owusu Saturday, June 15–Sunday, June 16 — Slow Burn Saturday, June 15, 2024–Monday, April 21, 2025 — Namedropping exhibition Sunday, June 16 — Marlon Williams Thursday, June 20–Sunday, June 23 — Winter Feast week two Friday, June 21 — Nude Solstice Swim Friday, June 21–Saturday, June 22 — Night Shift The Dark Mofo Presents lineup takes place at Mona from Thursday, June 13–Sunday, June 23, 2024. Head to the festival's website for further details, and for tickets on Tuesday, April 16 — from 10am for subscribers and 12pm for everyone else. Top image: Rosie Hastie, 2022. Courtesy of Dark Mofo 2022.
In 2023, Melbourne welcomed a brand new reason to explore the city in the thick of winter, and to make the most of the Victorian capital's arts and culture scene whether you're a local or looking for an excuse to visit. Announced in November 2022, then taking place in August 2023, Now or Never was that event — a sprawling fest filled with music, performances, installations, talks and more. Mark your calendars for 2024, because it's coming back again this year. The dates for your diary: Thursday, August 22–Saturday, August 31. The fest returns after proving a success on its first run, which featured work from 300 artists and creatives. This year's theme: 'look through the image', which is set to hone in on imagination, emotions and contemplation. While the program won't start being released until the end of May — with the full lineup dropping at the end of June — Now or Never will have big shoes to fill based on 2023's debut. Its highlights included Melbourne's historic Royal Exhibition Building hosting its first large-scale live music performances in over 20 years; Never Permanent, a one-day Semi Permanent headlined by Roman Coppola; and a 1.2-kilometre art trail through Docklands. Also helping usher in the first-ever Now or Never in a big way: a 360-degree cinema dome in the Melbourne Museum forecourt; 70-plus music performances in two days in a heap of other notable Melbourne spots; sculptural illuminations and projections over the Shrine of Remembrance. And that's only a small section of 2023's program. "After making an incredible debut last year, the City of Melbourne's newest festival Now or Never is back in 2024. The inaugural festival attracted more than 150,000 people into the city — generating almost $14 million in economic impact and supporting hundreds of local jobs and businesses," said Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp, announcing the fest's return. "Now or Never will feature leading local and international artists and creatives across a program of groundbreaking music and audio-visual performances, immersive art installations, provocative talks, spectacular technology and much more." "We are focussed on bringing Melbourne to life in quieter periods like over the winter months. Major events are an enormous drawcard for tourists and visitors to Melbourne, providing a significant boost to the economy," added City Activation portfolio lead Councillor Roshena Campbell. Now or Never will pop up to cap off the coldest season of the year after RISING also fills the city with a feast of art, music and performances — a 2024 lineup that spans 105 events featuring 480-plus artists, in fact — to start off winter, running from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16. Now or Never 2024 runs from Thursday, August 22–Saturday, August 31 around Melbourne — head to the festival website for further details.
Everyone knows that SXSW is a haven for music, including unearthing new talent. The festival's screen side, showcasing your new favourite movies and TV shows, is just as famous. So is the fact that all manner of well-known names take to its stages to get chatting — plus the event's all-round focus on tunes, tech, innovation, films, television, games and culture, as Sydney first experienced in 2023. SXSW's Down Under leg also lets the community get behind the microphone, via a part of its conference programming called Session Select. More than that, it allows you to choose what makes it into this portion of the fest's lineup. All you need to do is vote, which is now open for 2024. [caption id="attachment_923287" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] It was in late 2023, after the inaugural SXSW Sydney proved a hit — and featured everyone from Black Mirror's Charlie Brooker and Chance The Rapper to Future Today Institute founder and CEO Amy Webb and Nicole Kidman onstage — that the Australian event confirmed that it'd be back in 2024. If you're wondering who'll be on the bill from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20, nothing else has been announced so far. But make your picks among the Session Select candidates and you can help shape the conference portion. You'll be choosing from proposed sessions from over 1000 organisations and folks, hailing from 35 countries. Whether you're interested in hearing more about and from Concrete Playground, TikTok, Reddit, Aussie airlines Qantas and Virgin Australia, Getty Images, or a bunch of Australian and international universities, you've got options. That's obviously just the start of a list that also spans Google, Meta, Leonardo.ai, Canva, Xero, Tourism Australia, the Australian Human Rights Commission and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_923316" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Paul McMillan[/caption] Whatever earns your vote, topics set to feature at the conference cover AI, the future of work, climate and sustainability, food, lifestyle and beauty, and the creator economy, for starters. In total, there's 23 tracks, all picked to reflect what's garnering conversation right now. The chosen sessions will start being announced from this month. Early-bird tickets to SXSW Sydney 2024 have also gone on sale, including platinum badges, which gets you into all SXSW Sydney events in the conference, and at the games, music and screen festivals; tech and innovation badges; and music, screen and game festival badges. There's also a new Under 25s option for the latter two — tech and innovation, plus music, screen and game — which offers a discount if you fit that age group. [caption id="attachment_923286" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney[/caption] 2023's SXSW Sydney notched up 287,014 attendances from 97,462 unique attendees. Those figures came from 34,975 total tickets, with folks from 41 countries heading along to 1178 sessions. Among its wealth of highlights, last year's SXSW Sydney featured Brooker chatting about his hit series and technology's future; Chance The Rapper talking about 50 years of hip hop; Coachella CEO Paul Tollett discussing his own fest; Kidman exploring her work as a producer on the likes of Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers, The Undoing and Love & Death; the Australian premiere of Kitty Green's The Royal Hotel; and the world premiere of The Wiggles documentary Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles. The full lineup spanned a 700-plus strong bill of talent, covering over 300 sessions, and featuring more than 300 gigs across 25 venues. From talks and concerts to films, TV shows and games, there was no shortage of things to see. That's all in store again in 2024. SXSW Sydney 2024 will run from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details, tickets and to vote for Session Select conference sessions. If you're be interested in attending Concrete Playground's panels, please visit the voting pages for New Rituals: The State of Socialising and Hospitality and Appetite for Distraction: Youth, Information and the Digital Age in 2024 to show your support. Voting closes on Monday, April 22, 2024. Images: Brendon Thorne/Getty Images for SXSW Sydney.
For 89 years, Luna Park Sydney has been in the business of whisking attendees off to another world. Amusement parks do that. They cast away the daily grind, getting visitors enjoying rides and games instead — and, from Saturday, April 13, getting lit in a rave room-style immersive installation that's about to become the Harbour City tourist spot's latest attraction. At the end of 2023, Luna Park Sydney welcomed Dream Circus, which has been filling the Milsons Point site's big top with rollercoasters, hot air balloons, underwater creatures, fantastical critters, futuristic lights, skulls, eyes, spiders and geometric architecture ever since. The $15-million experience that uses 360-degree projections, holograms, motion-activated LED screens, lighting, surround sound and spatial audio mapping is just one of the park's new additions, though. Sonic Neon is the next, this time taking over the venue's Crystal Palace. Lasers, mirrors, 26,000-plus lights: they all await at this six-room attraction, as hailing from Luna Park Sydney itself and Mandylights — which is also behind Dark Spectrum, the soon-to-return one-kilometre labyrinth in Wynyard's railway tunnels that's part of Vivid Sydney's program again in 2024 after debuting in 2023. When Sonic Neon arrives before May hits, it'll also bust out neon galore, obviously, alongside UV lights, interactive elements and a fitting soundtrack. Expect to take up to half an hour to wander through the all-ages fun's 150-metre-long expanse, which will operate daily. By filling Crystal Palace, Sonic Neon will make a space that dates back to 1935 — and was constructed for Luna Park Sydney's grand opening, in fact — its home. The site has also featured dodgems, the penny arcade and a BMX track over the years. "Immersive experiences continue to dominate the global market, and Luna Park Sydney is committed to delivering world-class experiences to Sydneysiders and visitors to our beautiful harbour," said Luna Park Sydney CEO John Hughes. "Luna Park Sydney celebrates the best of the old and the best of the new. Housing Sonic Neon in our 1935-built Crystal Palace will be a spectacular collision of heritage and modern technology." "This immersive experience will offer the public a new way to enjoy Sydney's original, ever-evolving playground." Find Sonic Neon at Luna Park Sydney, 1 Olympic Drive, Milsons Point, from Saturday, April 13, 2024, with tickets on sale from 6pm on Monday, April 8 — visit the park's website and the event's ticketing site for more information.
Australia's festival scene keeps delivering heartbreak, with Mona Foma the latest major event to announce that it's no longer going ahead. 2024's fest has already taken place, running back in February, but it will now go down in history as the last-ever Mona Foma. Tasmania's Museum of Old and New Art, aka Mona, has called time on its summer festival after a 16-year run of showcasing music and art — and giving Dark Mofo a sunny counterpart — during the Apple Isle's warmer months. Mona owner and founder David Walsh revealed the end of Mona Foma in a statement, bidding farewell to the event because "it's been magical, but the spell has worn off". [caption id="attachment_784488" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia[/caption] "At Mona Foma — Mofo — at the Peacock Theatre, we joined the Zen Circus, and Italian punk came to live, rent free, in my head," starts Walsh's missive, which begins by running through past festival highlights. "In 2023 Peaches turned us all on with her sexy songs, but the thing that turned me on the most was the sign language interpreter signing 'peg'," he continues. "Guy Ben-Ary in 2017, wiring living neurons to speakers and cajoling them to scream. Gotye playing the ondioline. Robin Fox's beacons. David Byrne and Philip Glass. Wire and Cale. The Saints and St Vincent. Dresden Dolls and Dan Deacon. Sun Ra and Neneh Cherry. Kate Miller-Heidke and Vieux Farka Touré." "And the finches playing guitar. From Here to Ear. That was the first one, in 2009. We bought that work, but we've never shown it again. It was too much the first time." [caption id="attachment_880158" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mona/Rémi Chauvin. Image Courtesy Mona, Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.[/caption] "Mona Foma took us around the world. But it ends here. Maybe the end started at COVID. Maybe it's because the last festival was a poorly attended artistic triumph. But those aren't the reasons I killed it," Walsh notes. "I know that we live for experience but, more and more, I seek permanence, a symbolic immortality. At Mona, I'm building this big thing, hopefully it'll be a good thing, but it's a costly thing. I'm addicted to building, and my addiction got out of hand. Some things have to go before I'm too far gone." "Mona Foma is one of those things. It's been magical, but the spell has worn off. Only these words, from Kurt Vonnegut's Cat's Cradle, remain: 'live by the Foma that makes you brave and kind and healthy and happy.'" [caption id="attachment_832077" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jesse Hunniford, Mona[/caption] Ending Mona Foma is the latest big change for Mona's festivals. As announced in 2023, Dark Mofo is taking a breather in 2024. A number of the latter's regular events, such as Winter Feast, the Nude Solstice Swim, Night Shift and the Mona Gala are still happening this year, however. With Dark Mofo, the plan is to press pause for 12 months to take stock and come back even better. "The fallow year will enable us to secure the future of Dark Mofo and its return at full force in 2025," said Dark Mofo Artistic Director Chris Twite in 2023. The Mona Foma news comes after both Splendour in the Grass and Groovin the Moo cancelled their 2024 festivals mere weeks after announcing their lineups. Falls Festival took summer 2023–24 off, Summergrounds Music Festival at Sydney Festival was cancelled and This That hasn't gone ahead for a couple of years now. [caption id="attachment_926552" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Amy Brown, image courtesy of Street Eats @ Franko Hobart and Mona Foma.[/caption] 2024's Mona Foma featured Queens of the Stone Age, Courtney Barnett, TISM, Paul Kelly, Mogwai, Shonen Knife, and Cash Savage and The Last Drinks, for starters — and Holy Fuck, Wednesday, Michael Rother and Friends (playing Neu! songs), and Lonnie Holley with Moor Mother and Irreversible Entanglements. The lineup goes on from there. "Gratitude to all of you that came. And to those who didn't, a silver lining: you'll no longer suffer from FOMO for FOMA. And anyway, repetition is regimentation. And regimentation is ridiculous," said Walsh in his announcement. "Greatest gratitude to those who helped put it together. I hope it was as good for you as it was for me." [caption id="attachment_830704" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Remi Chauvin, Mona.[/caption] Mona Foma's last festival took place in February 2024. Head to the MONA website for further details. Top image: Mona/Jesse Hunniford. Image courtesy of the artist and Mona Museum of Old and New Art, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Thanks to the success of Beef, the past year has been huge for Ali Wong. It was back in April 2023 that the hit series arrived, getting audiences obsessed and sparking plenty of accolades coming Wong's way. She won Best Actress Emmy, Golden Globe, Film Independent Spirt and Screen Actors Guild awards for playing Amy Lau, who has a carpark altercation with Danny Cho (Steven Yeun, Nope) that neither can let go of — and that changes both of their lives. The last 12 months have also been massive for the American actor and comedian onstage, all thanks to her Ali Wong: Live tour. Wong has been playing to full houses in the US, and also in Paris and London — and Down Under audiences are just as keen to see her. Before general tickets even go on sale for her Australian visit, she's added extra gigs. [caption id="attachment_946690" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Cooper/Netflix © 2023[/caption] Wong will head to Australia and New Zealand in July 2024. She initially announced four dates, kicking off in Auckland, then jumping over to Melbourne. From there, she'll work her way up the east coast, next hitting up Sydney before wrapping up in Brisbane. Now, both Melbourne and Sydney have scored extra gigs thanks to the huge demand during the ticket pre-sale period. Behind the microphone, Wong's comedy career dates back almost two decades, including three Netflix stand-up specials: 2016's Baby Cobra, 2018's Hard Knock Wife and 2022's Don Wong. And, as an author, Wong also has 2019's Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life to her name. On-screen, Wong doesn't let go of grudges easily, at least in Beef. In rom-com Always Be My Maybe, she's also been romanced by Keanu Reeves. Tuca & Bertie had her voice an anthropomorphic song thrush, while Big Mouth sent her back to middle school. Beef, on which Wong was also an executive producer, earned just as much love for the show overall — including the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series; Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television; Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series under 40 minutes; Film Independent Spirt Award for Best New Scripted Series; and PGA for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television. [caption id="attachment_722120" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ed Araquel / Netflix[/caption] Ali Wong: Live Tour Dates — Australia and New Zealand 2024: Monday, July 8 — The Civic, Auckland Thursday, July 11–Friday, July 12 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne Friday, July 19–Saturday, July 20 — ICC Theatre, Sydney Monday, July 22 — Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Ali Wong is touring Down Under in July 2024, with general sales from 9am local time on Friday, March 22 — head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Andrew Cooper/Netflix © 2023.
On-screen, Ali Wong doesn't let go of grudges easily, at least in Beef. In rom-com Always Be My Maybe, she's also been romanced by Keanu Reeves. Tuca & Bertie had her voice an anthropomorphic song thrush, while Big Mouth sent her back to middle school. The American actor and comedian's next project: her current stand-up comedy tour, which has just locked in Down Under dates. Wong is presently working her way across the US and Canada, has also hit up London and Paris, and will head to Australia and New Zealand in July 2024. She's announced four dates, kicking off in Auckland, then jumping over to Melbourne. From there, she'll work her way up the east coast, next hitting up Sydney before wrapping up in Brisbane. Bringing her Ali Wong: Live tour this way comes after a massive 12 months for Wong. It was back in early April 2023 that Beef arrived, getting audiences obsessed and sparking plenty of accolades coming Wong's way. She won Best Actress Emmy, Golden Globe, Film Independent Spirt and Screen Actors Guild awards for playing Amy Lau, who has a carpark altercation with Danny Cho (Steven Yeun, Nope) that neither can let go of — and that changes both of their lives. The series itself, on which Wong was also an executive producer, has earned just as much love — including the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series; Golden Globe for Best Television Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Motion Picture Made for Television; Gotham Award for Breakthrough Series under 40 minutes; Film Independent Spirt Award for Best New Scripted Series; and PGA for Outstanding Producer of Limited or Anthology Series Television. [caption id="attachment_893741" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Andrew Cooper/Netflix © 2023[/caption] Behind the microphone, Wong's comedy career dates back almost two decades, including three Netflix stand-up specials: 2016's Baby Cobra, 2018's Hard Knock Wife and 2022's Don Wong. And, as an author, Wong also has 2019's Dear Girls: Intimate Tales, Untold Secrets & Advice for Living Your Best Life to her name. [caption id="attachment_946689" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Always Be My Maybe[/caption] Ali Wong: Live Tour Dates — Australia and New Zealand 2024: Monday, July 8 — The Civic, Auckland Thursday, July 11 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne Friday, July 19 — ICC Theatre, Sydney Monday, July 22 — Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre, Brisbane Ali Wong is touring Down Under in July 2024, with presale tickets available from 9am on Wednesday, March 20 and general sales from 9am local time on Friday, March 22 — head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Andrew Cooper/Netflix © 2023.
In the year 2024, some of the most fun to be had with your fellow humans is via the medium of video games, where just about any experience can be found and shared with friends in worlds well beyond our imagination. With the current generation of gaming consoles, we've also got access to technical and creative wonders, many of which offer some truly memorable gameplay experiences to be found alone or with others. We're here to discuss the latter today, so let's talk about six of the most entertaining multiplayer games on the market today. Deep Rock Galactic What do you get when you combine Dwarves, a deep space mining company with heavy quotas, thousands of angry alien bugs and robots, and a deep lack of respect for workplace safety standards? You get Deep Rock Galactic. Created by Danish studio Ghost Ship Games, this first-person cooperative shooter puts you and up to three of your friends in the boots of Dwarven miners, fired deep into the caves of Hoxxes IV — the most valuable (and dangerous) planet in the galaxy. DRG follows an extremely replayable format: pick one of the four playable classes, pick a contract in one of the planet's seven procedurally-generated biomes and do your best to survive. The objectives range from simple ore mining to cleaning up plague-infested meteors and advanced industrial sabotage. The rewards? Money, gear upgrades, stylish clothing for your dwarves and most importantly, beer. Available on PC, Xbox One/Series S/X, PlayStation 4/5 Party Animals Sometimes in games we just really want something silly. That is exactly what Party Animals is: a silly game to be played with silly people. Released in 2023 by Chinese studio Recreate Games, Party Animals echoes the couch-coop beat-'em-up games of old but with a next-gen flair and fresh takes on the genre. In Party Animals, you and up to seven friends step into the shoes of adorable cartoon animals and play games in one of three modes: in Last Stand teams of two punch, kick and fight to be the last team standing; in Team Score two teams compete to achieve the highest score on the same challenge; finally Arcade combines a variety of unique maps and challenges to make things messy for everyone. Every map drops in weapons to help you disarm and knock out enemies. Once dead, you can fight on by periodically throwing in small objects that distract and knock out anyone they hit, friend or foe. Play online against other players or create a private lobby (online or local) for just your friends. The choices are endlessly silly and all yours. Available on PC, Xbox One/Series X/S Helldivers 2 If you've been paying attention to video games in 2024 in any way at all, there's a good chance you've heard of Helldivers 2. A sequel to the 2015 top-down shooter Helldivers, this third-person shooter comes from Arrowhead Game Studios and Sony Interactive Entertainment. You and up to three friends are Helldivers, elite soldiers of Super Earth who are tasked with spreading democracy to the planets of the insectoid Terminids and Terminator-esque Automatons. You'll do so via orbital insertion, heavy firepower and a whole lot of panicked screaming. Mission objectives range from destroying Terminid eggs to rescuing scientists and detonating nuclear weapons, all in the name of freedom. Every mission contributes to a shared community goal. Players work together to liberate planets — and enemies work to prevent them. Once you or your enemies win enough battles, the fight moves to a new planet for every single player. At the time of writing, the developers are working to increase server capacities. Be warned: you may encounter issues. Available on PC, PlayStation 5 Sea of Thieves Your first thought may be, hold on, Sea of Thieves... that came out a while ago, didn't it? It's true, Sea of Thieves was originally released in March 2018 by UK studio Rare, but it's been receiving a steady stream of updates ever since, and this writer, who's played since its release, can personally confirm the game has never been in a better state. Sea of Thieves is an online first-person adventure game, where you and up to three of your friends can crew a pirate ship in a vast playground of ocean dotted by over 70 handcrafted islands. You can sail one of three ships (built for crews of two, three and four) exploring the seas and completing voyages for several trading companies. Each offers different objectives (find buried treasure, track a missing merchant shipment, hunt a crew of undead pirates) and different cosmetic rewards. Since launch, the developers have added new islands, boss fights, voyage types, ship customisation options, weapons, enemies, narrative voyages (some original, some tying in with properties like Pirates of the Caribbean) and much more. Available on PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, releasing on PlayStation 5 on April 30. Moving Out 2 If only moving home was as entertaining as this 2023 game from Sydney developers SMG Studios and Swedish developers DevM Games. Moving Out 2 is the sequel to 2020's Moving Out, a hit coop game that puts players in the shoes of a moving business, entrusting you to carry, drag, pivot, throw and otherwise shift the furniture and belongings of its customers. In each level, you must move a certain number of objects from the home into the van under a time limit while being sure not to break too many things. Some objects, like a picture frame or cardboard box, can be carried alone, but larger items require two or more players to be successfully moved. Moving Out 2 improves on the original title in a few ways, adding singleplayer gameplay and online coop of up to four players (the first only supported local coop), and extra complexities to levels like one-way doors, teleporters and time-limited passages to hinder your efforts. Available on PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5, Nintendo Switch Dying Light 2: Stay Human Originally released in 2022 by Polish developer Techland, Dying Light 2: Stay Human is a sequel to 2014's Dying Light and picks up over 20 years after the events of the first game, with a deadly zombie virus having wiped out civilisation as we know it. The game can be played start to finish in singleplayer or online with up to three other players and is built around two core systems. Firstly, parkour. Dying Light 2: Stay Human is set in a city overrun by zombies and dangerous humans, and you'll need to use every surface and structure to your advantage as you run, jump, dive, roll under, flip over, swing, glide and stunt your way all over town. Secondly, a day-night cycle. The danger exists 24/7, but night sees deadly nocturnal zombie variants take to the streets, making some areas deadlier and others safer than they are during the day. The campaign is layered with choices that literally shape the world, so the city in your friends' games may look very different to your own. Dying Light 2: Stay Human has seen many updates since launch, with various technical improvements made alongside new systems and playable content added. Grab your three bravest friends for this one. Good night and good luck. Available on PC, Xbox One/Series X/S, PlayStation 4/5 If you're after more gaming recommendations, check out our most anticipated indie games due for release this year.
How many times have you walked through Federation Square, whether rushing to Flinders Street Station, hopping on or off a tram, checking out a sporting event on the site's big screen or hitting up a nearby venue? How well do you know the public space in your mind, then? It's up there with the MCG as one of the first places that anyone thinks of when they think about Melbourne, but both locals and visitors alike will see it as they've never seen it before when June hits and RISING 2024 arrives. The Victorian capital's annual winter arts festival — because Vivid Sydney doesn't have a monopoly on citywide cultural celebrations at this time of year — will run from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16. One of its centrepieces is a spot that everyone is bound to go to anyway, but turning Fed Square into a showcase of First Peoples' art and politics. The free exhibition and public program is called The Blak Infinite, and will boast Richard Bell's EMBASSY as its centrepiece. Inside the work, which is inspired by the original Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra in the 70s, talks will be held every Saturday, while films will screen daily. Make sure that you spend time looking up at Fed Square during RISING 2024, too; each evening, projections will take to the heavens, telling tales of Sky Country and the cosmos. On the site's big screen, Ellen Van Neerven's speculative fiction will feature. And keep an eye out for Kait James and Tony Albert's contributions, with one digging into and subverting souvenirs via collage, and the other going big and colourful with large-scale installations. The Blak Infinite leads the highlights on RISING's full program for this year, which has been unveiled after a couple of past announcements for the June fest. So, audiences should already be excited about Counting and Cracking and Communitas. The first brings the acclaimed Sri Lankan-Australian stage saga to Melbourne finally, and the second involves 'Love Tonight' talents SHOUSE throwing a music party that'll fill Melbourne's St Paul's Cathedral with hundreds of people making tunes as part of a choir. There's 105 events featuring 480-plus artists all up — including 23 newly commissioned works, plus six that are making their world premiere — with tunes also at the heart of the newly revealed Day Tripper, a festival within the broader festival over the King's Birthday long weekend. Melbourne Town Hall will be its hub, but the event will take over an entire block, including the Capitol Theatre and Max Watt's. And, you'll only need one ticket to hit it all up. Music-wise, Yasiin Bey, who was formerly known as Mos Def, leads the Day Tripper bill with a tribute to MF Doom. The rest of the lineup includes almost every genre that you can think of from hip hop and disco to post-punk and acid house. There'll be dance works, video pieces and brass bands as well — and Bar Italia, Asha Puthli, HTRK, Richard Youngs and more taking part. Love music films? Make a date with 24 Hour Rock Show, which British Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller first staged in Finland in 2015. It'll play rock documentaries back to back for a whole day and night, and for free. If you're up for it, catching the full 24 hours will be a wild cinema endurance test. Bey isn't only appearing at Day Tripper, but also at PICA to perform his 2009 album The Ecstatic. On the rest of RISING's music roster, ONEFOUR, Fever Ray, The Dirty Three playing their home town for the first time in 14 years, Sky Ferreira, Tirzah, Blonde Redhead, Snoh Aalegra and Moktar also pop up. For trance fans, UK producer Evian Christ has an exclusive show for the festival — and, for something complete different, Deller's Acid Brass is staging free public concerts. Once more linking tunes with the big screen, Hear My Eyes is back with a screening of Hellraiser. Hieroglyphic Being aka Jamal Moss is doing an all-new score for the horror classic, while visual artist Robin Fox will add a live laser performance. RISING attendees will also be able to enjoy The First Bad Man by Ireland's Pan Pan Theatre, which is based around Miranda July's novel and described as "a performative book club" — and ILBIJERRI Theatre Company's Big Name No Blankets, which dives into the Warumpi Band's history. Or, there's the first chapter of The Cadela Força Trilogy, examining sexual violence in art history; First Peoples' futuristic drag show ECLIPSE; inclusive club night CRIP RAVE THEORY; and eight hours of 8/8/8: REST, the second part in a triptych that began at RISING 2022 with 8/8/8: WORK. At a festival that's all about showing folks something that they won't see every day, SONG HISTOIRE(S) DU THÉ TRE IV certainly fits, too: as conjured up by Flemish artist Miet Warlop, it involves musicians playing just one song over and over, all while partaking in an obstacle course featuring trampolines, treadmills and balance beams. So does FOOD, which is set at an illusionist's dinner party, and has audiences sat around the stage-sized table to dive into the history of its namesake. Also on the program: the return of The Rivers Sing, the Melbourne Art Trams unveiling their latest First Peoples' works, Bell's Pay the Rent making a Melbourne comeback over a decade since debuting in the city, plus nightly social club Night Trade. [caption id="attachment_945445" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Brett Boardman[/caption] RISING 2024 runs from Saturday, June 1–Sunday, June 16 across Melbourne. Head to the festival's website for further information and tickets, with latter on sale from 12pm on Tuesday, March 12 for subscribers and 12pm on Thursday, March 14 otherwise. Top image: Damian Raggatt.