The Sydney Opera House has today announced ‘Liminal,’ a new contemporary music film series that will highlight eight Australian artists with free, cinematic weekly performances to be presented across November.
The artists will be given free reign to transform The Joan Sutherland Theatre stage into a set that articulates their individual artistry. The stage will become a 360-degree blank canvas, with each performance filmed from various angles with dramatic lighting, under the directorial eye of Sydney-based studio Subversus.
“As we move into a post-lockdown world, we do so with a mix of trepidation and excitement, hovering in a state between before and after,”Sydney Opera House Head of Digital Programming, Stuart Buchanan, said. “Whilst this ‘liminal’ space can feel unsettling, it nonetheless highlights new approaches to old endeavours. Liminal talks directly to this state.”
The free, multi-genre music series will be premiering on Stream, the Opera House’s online streaming platform for world-class performing and digital arts, and across
the Opera House’s Facebook and YouTube channels.
‘Liminal’ will feature performances from a breadth of Australian artists, including:
Budjerah
A 19-year-old Bundjalung singer-songwriter, who melds elements of gospel and soul with contemporary pop and R&B. Budjerah recently scored five nominations at the 2021 ARIA Awards for his self-titled debut EP, released earlier this year. He will perform a special, one-off acoustic set featuring songs that inspired his creative process, and cuts from the EP, such as the just released track “Talk”, a collaboration with Sydney’s MAY-A.
Streaming Friday 12 November, 8pm
BLESSED
Guitar-toting rapper, singer, and producer BLESSED and his band will bring their singular fusion of hip-hop and punk to Sydney Opera House. It’s been a fruitful 12-months for the Ghanaian-born, Western Sydney-raised musician, who released his critically lauded debut mixtape, MUSIC IS THE MEDICINE, late last year, only to follow it up with Lockdown Tapes Vol. 1 last month.
Streaming Saturday 13 November, 8pm
Liz Martin Band
Liz Martin and her five-piece band will return to the Opera House for an intimate performance in-the-round. It’s been a decade since her last performance at The Opera House; ‘Walking on Air’, which saw her collaborate with an Aerializa troupe.
Streaming Thursday 18 November, 8pm
Ninajirachi
Sydney producer, songwriter, and DJ Ninajirachi will make her Opera House debut, performing a slew of collaborative tracks she’s made with the likes of Kota Banks and Oh Boy, and well as cuts from her EP’s Blumierei and Watergun.
Streaming Friday 19 November, 8pm
EGOISM
Oh sooooo dreamy! Sydney duo EGOISM will bring their shoegaze-inflected indie-pop to the Liminal stage. The band will perform cuts from their acclaimed 2020 EP On Our Minds and their latest single ‘Lonely But Not Alone.’ It’s destined to be a total swoonfest.
Streaming Saturday 20 November, 8pm
Chris Abrahams
The ARIA-award-winning jazz pianist has cut his teeth as a member of The Necks, and Springtime (with Gareth Liddiard and Jim White). Now he’s set to make his solo Opera House debut with a performance drawn from pieces from his latest solo album, Appearance, alongside unreleased new works.
Streaming Thursday 25 November 8pm
Maina Doe
Maina-Doe will bring her confluence of R&B, nu-soul and hip-hop to life with a brand new band comprised of some of Sydney’s finest musicians. Marina has three excellent singles under her belt, ‘Unwritten Laws’ alongside Genesis Owusu, ‘See Me’ with Jay Cooper, and ‘Delusion.’
Streaming Friday 26 November 8pm
Young Franco
Young Franco has been carving up stages across Australia for years, he’s collaborated with the likes of Denzel Curry, Pell, and Winston Surfshirt. And racked up over 50 million streams on Spotify.
