The Rocks Australia Day 2016

Overview

Show your love for the nation by being front and centre for top notch local live music this Australia Day. For nix. Between 12.30pm and 6.30pm, The Rocks will be taken over by a free, live music invasion. There'll be two outdoor stages, where ten local acts will deliver their original goods all afternoon long.

On the Warrane Stage at First Fleet Park, up-and-coming R&B vocalist Thandi Phoenix will get proceedings going with her brooding, soulful sounds, including tunes from her debut EP, Come Around, inspired by a recent trip to Africa. If you caught Phoenix at Splendour in the Grass last year, you'll know this is a set to catch. Also on the bill are Torres Straits rapper Mau Power, songwriter Katy Steele (better known as Little Birdy's fearless leader), and the impossible-not-to-dance-to Melbourne Ska Orchestra.

Meanwhile, on Tallawoladah Stage on Atherden Street, Robbie Miller, winner of triple j's 2013 National Indigenous Music Awards, will get the show rolling with his incredible falsetto and poetic lyrics. Hot on his heels will be nostalgic electronica duo Left., super-hyped folktronica artist Gordi, old-school soul and beats duo JONES Jnr. and hip hop headliner Tuka, whose third solo album Life Death Time Eternal scored a 2015 ARIA nomination.

Between sets, you can kick back on George Street, which will be turned into a bit of an activity space. There'll be a croquet green from Croquet NSW, a caravan playing the triple j Hottest 100, an instant photo booth, and more.