Red Bull Music Academy Weekender

Overview

Sydney will join the likes of Tokyo, Warsaw and Vienna, when the globally acclaimed Red Bull Music Academy Weekender hits the harbour city in September. Making its first ever stop in Australia, the four-day travelling festival will welcome a collection of internationally recognised artists for a series of live shows, club nights, lectures, parties and art exhibitions at some of Sydney's best-loved venues. Sounds pretty bloody terrific to us.

Set for September 8-11, the Weekender lineup is headed by the seriously sold-out Flight Facilities concert with Sydney Symphony Orchestra in The Domain. There'll be a conversation and performance by house music legend Larry Heard (aka Mr Fingers) on Sydney's newest permanent floating venue Seadeck. Ta-ku will make his directorial debut for his music doco (m)edian. There'll be an ambient set from Gigi Masin on Sydney Harbour with Young Marco and Jonny Nash as Gaussian Curve. Seminal LA label Stones Throw will take over Manning Bar to celebrate two decades of beats, with Beat Junkies founder and legendary turntablist J Rocc, alongside Mndsgn, Katalyst and Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter Wolf.

There's a massive club night taking over Oxford Art Factory with Night Slugs' Bok Bok, Kilo Kish, Sydney's Marcus Whale,Cliques, Low Ton, Kllo, Kučka and Lewis Cancut. The whole festival will wrap up on Sunday with the Great Antipodean Reggae Soundsystem Carnival, which is one of the best names for an event we've seen in an age, and includes sets from Earthshaker Soundsystem, Heartical Hi Powa with Stryka D & Macky Banton World MC, K.B.I Soundsystem, Inner West Reggae Disco Machine and Gappy Ranks.

The Weekender is one of many events to have spun-off from the Red Bull Music Academy, which boasts an 18-year history fostering musical talent and collaboration around the world. In Australia they've hosted club nights featuring the likes of Onra, Romare and Taylor McFerrin, and presented stages at Laneway and Splendour in the Grass.

RED BULL MUSIC ACADEMY WEEKENDER FULL LINEUP

András (live)
Bok Bok
Cliques
Dan White
Dopplereffekt
Earthshaker
Flight Facilities
Frank Booker
Gappy Ranks
Gaussian Curve
Gigi Masin
Heartical Hi-fi (Melbourne)
Inner West Reggae Disco Machine
J-Rocc
Kano
Katalyst
Kbi
Kilo Kish
Kllo
Kloke
Kucka
Larry Heard
Lewis Cancut
Lorna Clarkson
Low Ton
Lucy Cliché
Macky Banton World MC
Marcus Whale
Mndsgn
Noise in my Head
Peanut Butter Wolf
Phile
Simon Caldwell
Stryka D
Sydney Symphony Orchestra
Tako & Kamie Tiller
Ta-ku
Xosar

By Imogen Baker and Tom Clift.