Music is an art form that has real meaning for people, and it’s been an enormously important part of my life since I was a teenager. Of all the art forms, I found music sent me somewhere the furthest, the fastest. So I am genuinely honoured to be presenting my first Vivid LIVE – a contemporary music takeover of the Sydney Opera House. I’m proud of the lineup that’s been assembled and I hope it plays a part in expanding the reach, range and vitality of great music in my home city.
1.SUFJAN STEVENS
Concert Hall, Friday May 22 – Monday May 25
I can say now that these will go down as some of, if not the, concerts of the year. Sufjan’s raw, piercing, occasionally phantasmagorical 21st century explorations of modern folklore are one of the great musical finds of the last ten-plus years, but even with all that, his hauntingly personal new album Carrie & Lowell still knocks the breath out of you. It’s a genuine masterpiece. Grizzled festival bookers and cynical agents overseas are telling me they had tears pouring down their faces (as has Sufjan) during his current concerts. You will want to say you were there.
2.THE PREATURES
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Wednesday May 27
It’s always thrilling for Vivid LIVE to celebrate a Sydney band hitting their stride, and the last 12 months have been an absolutely banner year for The Preatures. Listening to them is like viewing rock’n’roll through a prism and hearing back a fresh, refracted take on it all. Izzi Manfredi is one of our most compelling lead singers and I could not be happier that the band agreed to this victorious homecoming performance at the Opera House to cap off their incredible world-lapping run.
3.BILL CALLAHAN
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Thursday May 28 and Friday May 29
I chose Bill Callahan because he, along with Will Oldham and Chan Marshall, brought a quieter, folk/Americana aesthetic into the realm of independent rock. Before them, indie rock was mainly the preserve of loud distorted guitar acts like Sonic Youth and now the genre heavily references folk and Americana – see Sufjan Stevens, Fleet Foxes, Bon Iver. Secondly, I chose him because almost uniquely amongst his peers, he seems to be hitting his creative peak nearly 25 years after he first broke through.
4.TV ON THE RADIO
Concert Hall, Monday June 8 and Tuesday June 9
I’ve wanted to work with TV On The Radio ever since the label head at the indie distributor I worked at in 2003 burst into a meeting declaring the Young Liars EP on Touch & Go was incredible. I remember thinking it sounded composed of individual sonic elements I was familiar with – electronic music, indie rock, gospel, doo-wop, post-punk – but smashed into tiny pieces then reassembled in a manner I’d never heard before. I was obsessed with that EP and have followed them closely since as they’ve been amassing their genuinely impressive body of work, right up to last year’s Seeds. They are proper art rock royalty, capable of searing, visceral live performances and the perfect way to close out this year’s Vivid LIVE.
5.REPRESSED RECORDS/ROYAL HEADACHE
Joan Sutherland Theatre, Saturday May 23
It’s important to me that the Opera House gives a platform to the outfits making Sydney a more interesting place to be a music-lover and music-maker. I’m thrilled Repressed Records have put together an evening of phenomenal Australian sounds. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome the magnificent Royal Headache to the Opera House – their debut album is a stone-cold classic and I cannot wait to hear their new material in here. Repressed have completely over-delivered on the lineup in the best possible way – Blank Realm, Exhaustion & Kris Wanders, Superstar, Snake & Friends plus Monica Brooks is an amazing collection of artists who all have something to say, and it’s going to be an incredible evening.
Vivd LIVEtakes place May 22 – June 8.For the full line-up and calendar head to Sydney Opera House’s Vivid LIVE website.
