Music

One of the world's biggest EDM festivals is heading Down Under—here's what we know. 

The Book of Mormon is back at Sydney’s doorstep to bring award-winning music and hysterical laughter in two-and-a-half-hour doses. 

Kiwi pop icon Lorde has finally dropped dates for the Australian and New Zealand leg of her tour. 

Sydney is no longer a snow-less city this winter, with Greenwood Hotel hosting 10 days of winter wonderland fun from Friday 27 June until Sunday 6 July.

For those who have been eagerly holding their breath for a Kendrick Lamar tour in Australia, you can finally exhale.

Whether you're into soul-shaking jazz, gritty punk, dreamy indie, or dancefloor-ready beats, these are the Vivid gigs that you won't want to miss. 

From musical theatre to monologues, comedy, and riveting drama, here are our top picks for the best theatre shows happening in Sydney in September.

From Midnights to Fearless, and every era in between, we've got a list of Eras Tour outfit ideas worthy of even Taylor herself. 

Big news, Sydney. The heroes of house music at Ministry of Sound are back to host an outrageous party next month to celebrate the EDM outfit’s three-decade stretch of good vibes and great tunes.

Live jazz is the perfect soundtrack for a French feast, and a mariachi band adds Mexican flare to your margarita. These awesome Sydney restaurants feature regular live music, which is music to our ears. 

The countdown to SXSW Sydney has already begun. Here, we chat with SXSW co-president and chief programming officer Hugh Forrest on why Sydney and what to expect when SXSW hits our shores in October. 

Featuring over 100 artists and activations across two jam-packed days and 13 stages, Katoomba’s epic Winter Magic Revival Festival is back. 

The award-winning musical has captivated Australian audiences but now the production will be drawing the curtains closed on Sunday, 27 February 2022—which means there's still plenty of time to nab your tickets. 

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On the bill is Winston Surfshirt, San Cisco, The Church, Josh Pyke, and more, as well as the James Morrison Big Band for some jazz in the jungle vibes, and Darryl Braithwaite. 

Splendour in the Grass—the mud, the noise, the music, and the flight to Ballina or the 12-hour road trip—is a rite of passage for us Sydney kids. With COVID still in play here in Australia, the legends behind the iconic east coast festival have come up with a few ideas to keep the vibes alive.

Amazing news: The Festival Of The Stone is back in Byron Bay on 5 June 2021 and heads up, tickets will sell out real quick.

Right now, Sydney is entering a new era of nightlife. The red tape and restrictions that once earned us accolades like “10th worst city in the world” are being replaced with late-night licenses, city-wide festivals, and new venues keen to tap into the government’s grand scheme for a 24-hour city.

Daft Punk’s December 2007 Sydney show is the stuff of legend. Called Neverland, the mini-festival worked through a roll call of all the major local electronic music talent of the time (Cut Copy, The Presets, Van She, and Muscles), before Paris’ ultra-cool Ed Banger crew took to the stage (Busy P, SebastiAn, and Kavinsky). Then, Daft Punk’s neon pyramid lit up Sydney Showgrounds for the first and last time.

Editor's note: The 24 Hour Party event has been postponed due to COVID restrictions currently in place. Sign up here to learn about the new date. 

 Oh how long we’ve waited.

With Peking Duk, Allday, Sneaky Sound System, Kwame and a whole lot more.

Welcome to Culture Curve—your go-to guide to what’s on the rise and slide in culture in December 2020.

The multi award-winning musical, created by Lin-Manuel Miranda, was initially due to head to our shores in March 2021. But with a little thing called COVID getting in the way, that's on the back burner for now. Fortunately, there's still a chance to see the ground-breaking hip hop musical, and you don’t even need to max out your credit card for it. Hype up, because Hamilton the movie is coming direct to your lounge.

Sydney, you may not be able to get out and about as much you’d like to soak up our city’s glorious music scene but fear not, we’re here with a silver lining.

The new program, called “From our House to yours”, is essentially a free on-demand library, with new content being dropped at 6pm Wednesday through Sunday every week. 

Get set to hit the dance floor (in your bedroom).

Huge news Sydney, a mammoth one-night climate change concert is descending on the Hordern Pavilion this month and it’s very casually sporting one hell of a line-up.

Forget about cherry-picking your gigs this month, because Melbourne’s hottest new festival—Can’t Do Tomorrow—is serving up fiery musical acts left and right. Not only is Can’t Do Tomorrow going all out in the street art scene, but the music lineup is not something to be scoffed at. With the likes of Melbourne legends TEYMORI and MzRizk, Triple j favourite Cool Out Sun, Australian dance music powerhouse DJ JNETT and more, Can’t To Tomorrow is about to become your ultimate February gig haven. And because we’ve always got your back, if you use the promo code URBANCDT when you book, you get $10 off your ticket cost.

Since playing at some of Sydney’s most iconic live music venues Mesmeriser has continued to churn out all the bangers so we decided to sit down with frontman Fischer to talk local artists they’re digging, the best pubs for a cold one and Sydney’s best-kept secrets.

For the second year running, we’re unpacking Chinese New Year with the next-gen living in Sydney—a new band of creatives whose heritage filters through their work as they work to carve out a new identity. 

Fisher has teamed up with Sets on The Beach and Triple J and will be hitting North Beach in Wollongong on Saturday 4 April

Featuring Golden Gaytime and Double Choc Chip Espresso Martinis.

 Think Queen, Amy Shark, Peking Duk and Daryl Braithwaite.

With more than 21 events, including impromptu raves, boat parties, film screenings, immersive experiences and a record collecting fair, this year’s Electronic Music Conference will celebrate Australia's electronic music scene at large. 

A mammoth carpark blowout is descending on Sydney, so start pencilling this one in because it might just be the party of the year.

If your summer goal is to lap it up under laser beams, prisms of light and some of the best dance music Australia has to offer, look no further than the latest blowout to hit Down Under.

With record stalls, whisky tastings and a basketball comp too!

Created by the legends that brought Rolling Loud to Australia, No Limit Fest is here is to hero next-generation Aussie hip hop and RnB, and you can expect a full line-up of up-and-coming Australian artists to get stuck into.

Young Henrys Rock ‘N’ Roll Circus is on the return this Halloween featuring a solid line-up with 12 Aussie artists and plenty of tricks up its sleeve. And it's absolutely free. 

This September, the Fringe Festival will transform Sydney into an epicentre of art and culture and you won’t want to miss it. 

Full of laser projectors, Asian club music and kick drums.

Plus Hilltop Hoods, Arcadia, Cub Sport and Mallrat.

If you’re still mourning the series finale of Game of Thrones (guilty), dry your eyes because you’ll soon have the chance to relive all the heart-breaking and blood-thirsty action in person. After touring around Europe and America for the past two years, The Game of Thrones Live Concert Experience is finally headed to our shores and trust us when we say this is one hardcore fans won’t want to miss.

With the approval of an extended licensing being granted to the venue – enabling The Lansdowne to stay open till 5am—Sydney’s nightlife is on a steady rise.

He’s back.

Hosted at the Marrickville Bowlo, Hiccup Sustainable Art Party will feature climate change-inspired installations from 11 artists and a whole lot of live music. 

The mammoth line-up has finally dropped so mark your calendars.

And keep an eye out for the hidden disco.

Meet Gabreal Marial, the entirely self-funded co-founder of WavyLand. He's one of a few legeneds working very hard to bring the spark back to Sydney's music scene. 

Hans Zimmer, musical genius and composer of almost every epic movie score in existence, will be touring the East Coast of Australia this spring.