Ten Must-See Vivid Gigs You Should Buy Tickets To Right Now

Anohni (formerly known as Antony Hegarty) is coming to Vivid for the Sydney-only, Australian premiere of her ambitious new project, Hopelessness. A collection of electronic anthems, created in collaboration with super producer Hudson Mohawke and Warp’s Oneohtrix Point Never, the album tackles climate change, drone bombing and mass surveillance, without holding back (but with insanely beautiful vocals).

Prepare for disturbingly direct lyrics, soaring melody lines, synth surges, brass bursts and powerful percussion. At the Opera House, Anohni’s work will be presented as an all-immersive, wall-shaking show, complete with visuals.

“I haven’t spent a lot of time expressing anger in my life, so this record is a new chapter,” Anohni said at a press conference in April. “Anger is energising: it’s quite an empowering feeling.”

We hate to break it to you, but if you haven’t yet spent an evening with Donny Benet, you haven’t lived. Donny’s undeniable sex appeal is the stuff of Sydney legend. Don’t let his reputation fool you, though. His shows ride on more than his moustache and irresistible charisma.

He’s also a cracking singer and bassist and, in the Vivid Lounge, will be spending the evening with his equally genetically-advantaged brothers Dan (saxophone, cowbell) and James (drums), as well as friends Harry Sutherland (keyboards) and Ben Hauptmann (guitar).

Donny has smashed out performances at Mona Foma, Sydney Festival, Adelaide Festival and Secret Garden and, in 2013, won FBi Radio’s SMAC Award for Best Live Act. His fourth album is on its way.

Take a trip back to ’80s punk-rock heaven with this mega triple bill starring Models, Machinations and Dave Mason (of The Reels). These three acts were at the forefront of an Aussie music revolution, when they charged onto stages, armed with synths and fearless, original sounds, bringing a whole new edge to old-school rock.

In 1985, Melbourne’s Models’ single ‘Out of Mind, Out of Sight’ reached #1, while Machinations’ album Big Music made the Kent Music Report chart’s Top 20. Meanwhile, Dubbo’s The Reels, fronted by Dave Mason, smashed out a succession of hits through the late ’70s and early ’80s, including ‘Love Will Find a Way’, ‘Prefab Heart’, ‘After The News’ and ‘Shout and Deliver’. Wear your dancing/jumping around shoes.

When Brooklyn’s Oneohtrix Point Never jumps on stage, there ain’t no messing around. Inspired by the likes of Squarepusher, Amon Tobin, Chris Cunningham and Nine Inch Nails this Warp Records-signed ninja takes electronica to its illogical extremes.

Just lately, he’s been working with Anohni (formerly known as Antony Hegarty) and composing Sofia Coppola’s The Bling Ring. So, strap in and prepare for a rock-driven sonic feast during Vivid this year. We’re talking shredding bass lines, messed-up malfunctioning machines and cutting synths.

At the Sydney Opera House, Oneohtrix will taking matters next level, thanks to the live accompaniment of guitarist Nate Boyce, and an extravagant visual adventure. Want to see him twice? He’ll be performing with Anohni too.

Over the past five years, Melbourne’s Hiatus Kaiyote has scored two Grammy nominations, recorded two full-length albums and toured the world — from Tokyo’s Blue Note to London’s o2 Forum. Along the way, they’ve attracted the approval of Erykah Badu, Questlove and Prince. Now, they’re bringing their self-described “multi-dimensional polyrhythmic gangster” to the Opera House for the first time. For the first time. How has this taken so long?

Joining on the night will be Timeboy, who’ll be sorting out visuals, and one of our favourites, Sydney by way of Zambia MC, poet and singer-songwriter Sampa the Great, who recently supported Kendrick Lamar, after collaborating with Urthboy and Okenyo on ‘Second Heartbeat’ and with Remi on ‘For Good’. We physically can’t stop playing Sampa’s The Great Mixtape, help.

Kiwi singer-songwriter Hollie Fullbrook (aka Tiny Ruins) has brought her haunting voice and evocative lyrics to audiences all over the world. Along the way, she’s casually worked with David Lynch, and toured with Neil Finn, Sharon van Etten and Calexico.

These days, she’s signed to no fewer than three labels: Bella Union in the UK, Flying Nun in New Zealand and Spunk in Australia. Hitting the Opera House for Vivid, Fullbrook will appear with her band, made up of Cass Basil (bass), Alex Freer (drums) and Tom Healy (electric guitar), to give us a sneak preview of her third album.

Polica‘s ethereal melodies, dark lyrics, escapist dancing and double drummers inspired Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon to describe them as “the best band in the world”. Having won buckets of Sydney love on their first visit, this Minneapolis-based group is returning to play the Opera House for Vivid, with third album United Crushers in hand.

Expect more of their unique blend of drum and bass, hip hop and synth-pop, plus a bigger emphasis on Channy Leaneagh’s extraordinary voice. After Vivid, Polica will be heading to Europe to play a stack of festivals, including Germany’s Hurricane and Southside, Ireland’s Castlepalooza and London’s Hyde Park.

Mulatu Astatke was born in Jimma, Ethiopia, and, after studying music in London, New York City and Boston, created a new music style by blending traditional Ethiopian rhythms with Latin and jazz. Soon after, he came to be known as the ‘father of Ethio-Jazz’. Stardom in Africa followed, but it wasn’t until Astatke appeared on the soundtrack for Jim Jarmusch’s Broken Flowers that he became a big name in the West.

At The Basement, he’ll be joining forces with nine-piece funk band The Black Jesus Experience, who he met in Addis Ababa in 2009. Their collaborative album, Cradle Of Humanity, is due out in June.

In his 82 years on the planet, jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter has made good use of his time. He’s been crucial to some of the most important bands of the past century, including Miles Davis’s many ensembles, Weather Report and Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. He’s played on ten of Joni Mitchell’s albums and he’s won ten Grammys.

Now, he’s returning to Sydney for the first time in six years to close Vivid LIVE with an epic concert, featuring pianist Danilo Perez, bassist John Patitucci, and Brian Blade on drums. Expect to hear decades of jazz influences — from old-school standards to ’60s avant garde to fusion.

Urthboy thundered his way into 2016 with his brand new album, The Past Beats Inside Me Like A Second Heartbeat, inspiring one four-star review after another and making feature album on triple j. So, if you couldn’t get your mitts on a ticket to one of the preview gigs, here’s your chance.

Get there in time to check out the supports. First up will be Sydney’s Okenyo, whose voice you’ll know from Urthboy’s ‘Second Heartbeat’ and in the second slot is L-FRESH The LION, Western Sydney’s beloved outspoken hip hop artist who recently signed to Elefant Traks — you might have heard his single ‘1 in 100,000’.