Sydney Festival will return in 2022, with a vibrant live music and art program set to breathe life into the city throughout January.
Afte the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted the 2021 installment of the event, Sydney Festival has returned with a program of 133 events set to take place from January 6 to January 30 — including 33 world premieres and 52 new commissions.
At the nucleus of the festival is an elaborate takeover of the Domain’s Speaker’s Corner, where a 1000 seat, pop-up space will emerge in the heart of central Sydney.
Speaker’s Corner will see a slew of fabulous live music performances from the likes of Amyl and The Sniffers, Gordi, Jaguar Jonze, King Stingray, B Wise and Friends, Emma Pask Big Band, Cash Savage & The Last Drinks, Tropical Fuck Storm, WASHINGTON, The Beths, Hope D, Future Classic Warm Up, Barkaa, Sydney Yungins, Good Morning, Kelly Lee Owens, James Morrison & William Barton, Jade Macrae, Radiohead for Solo Piano by Josh Cohen; and many more.
Watch ‘Security’ by Amyl and The Sniffers
“I wanted to take our brightest singer-songwriters, rappers, comedians and artists and young people with something to say and empower their voices via a music club that pays homage to Speakers’ Corner,” said festival curator Olivia Ansell.
The Cat Empire will also descend on Parramatta Park for a 12,000 capacity swang song. It’s your last chance to bid farewell to the beloved Australian group in their original lineup.
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Multi-ARIA award-winning and Grammy-nominated act Teskey Brothers will take to the International Conventional Centre stage for a performance that will see the band reimagine their catalogue, with backing from Orchestra Victoria. Martha Marlow will grace the stage at City Recital Hall. And Five-time ARIA award-winning artist, Katie Noonan, will premiere The Sweetest Taboo for the first time ever at Parramatta’s Riverside Theatres.
“Sydney Festival is going to play a critical role in helping the sector recover,” says Olivia Ansell. “For some artists this will be the first time they have worked in six to 12 months. Our first priority was to get local artists working again.
“We have a world-class program with a majority of Australian artists, which is something to be proud of. With anything like a pandemic there comes a challenge but with that challenge comes opportunity.”
