CARRIAGEWORKS UNVEILS VIVID SYDNEY 2024 PROGRAM, FEATURING INTERNATIONAL MUSIC ACTS AND IMMERSIVE DINING EXPERIENCES
Sydney, Australia: Carriageworks, one of Australia’s most significant contemporary multi-arts precincts, has revealed the first announcements from its curated program of live music and food for Vivid Sydney 2024, Australia’s largest festival and major showcase of our creative industries.
The ambitious multi-venue lineup, spanning across 16 nights, from 31 May – 15 June, during Vivid Sydney, will feature acclaimed international and local music acts and immersive dining experiences. This year’s program also marks a return to Carriageworks’ 5000-person venue, Bay 22-24, for the first time since 2019, in an exciting move to bring more major music events to Sydney.
Brisbane-born dance music duo X CLUB. is set to up the tempo with a frenetic set where techno collides with drum & bass, while Australia’s Eurovision 2024 representatives, South Australian electronic dance duo Electric Fields, will treat audiences to their high-octane dancefloor sound grounded in ancient melodies and sung in Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and English. Aboriginal Australian singer-songwriter, Emma Donovan, joins the program’s lineup of local talent to bring her hypnotising blend of reggae, gospel, soul and country to Carriageworks hot off the release of her fifth studio album, “Til My Song Is Done.”
One of the most influential figures in hip hop culture, musician, actor and activist Yasiin Bey (Mos Def) joins Vivid Sydney at Carriageworks for a two-night exploration of his back catalogue and artistic influences. On night one, he’ll pay tribute to the legendary MC MF DOOM, who tragically passed in 2020, and on night two he’ll celebrate the anniversary of his critically acclaimed seminal album “The Ecstatic” in a rare exploration into one of the most complex and singular voices in contemporary culture.
British singer-songwriter Tirzah will take to the stage with her enchanting, boundary-pushing music for an intimate night of sonically rich sounds, while experimental American musician and alt-rock star, Yves Tumor, will make their Australian debut, performing an explosive, genre-bending set. After taking the world by storm with viral hits like “Talk 2 Me”, American singer-songwriter Montell Fish will bring his unique blend of new age gospel and soul with electronic-infused soundscapes to Carriageworks. As the biggest orchestrated dance party in Australia, SYNTHONY’s fifty-piece orchestra will collide the most iconic dance anthems spun by world-class DJs with spine-tingling vocalists – all accompanied by breathtaking lighting and visuals.
Additional acts will be announced later this month, as Carriageworks’ Vivid Music lineup forms part of the precinct’s new Carriageworks Sounds program which will present an expanded array of live music throughout 2024.
For the first time, Carriageworks has partnered with social enterprise Plate It Forward to bring an exciting new food offering to the precinct. During Vivid Sydney, as part of the Vivid Food program, Coyoacán Social will take up residence at Carriageworks, serving up authentic Mexican street food with a purpose. For every taco bought, a meal will be donated via local community kitchens for people in need, meaning with every delicious meal grabbed before a show, visitors will make a meaningful contribution to Plate It Forward’s mission of creating dignity and unity through food.
2023 Vivid Food program highlight The Warakirri Dining Experience will also return to Carriageworks over two nights, inviting Vivid Sydney audiences to join Ngemba Weilwan woman and chef Sharon Winsor for an intimate First Nations dining experience that fuses modern techniques with traditional methods, alongside storytelling, dance and music.
Carriageworks CEO, Fergus Linehan, said: “We’re thrilled to present a music and food program at Carriageworks as part of Vivid Sydney that brings together diverse artists and creatives from around the country and the world to connect with audiences from across Australia. Carriageworks has a long history of presenting radical and inclusive programs, and as we embrace this year’s festival theme of humanity, we’re proud to play host to a vibrant set of intergenerational music acts and profound First Nations experiences. All the while, creating meaningful, local social impact through our partnership with Plate It Forward.”
Vivid Sydney Festival Director, Gill Minervini, said: “Vivid Sydney celebrates creativity, technology and innovation and we’ve enjoyed a longstanding partnership with Carriageworks. Since Carriageworks’ inaugural Vivid Sydney program in 2012, the precinct has been an unmissable part of the festival, and it’s fantastic to see the popular venue present a program in 2024 overflowing with unique cultural experiences.”
Plate It Forward CEO and Founder, Shaun Christie-David, said: “At Plate It Forward, our mission is to break the cycle of inequality by harnessing the universal love of food. It’s with great excitement that we’re partnering with Carriageworks to see Coyoacán Social in residence at the precinct throughout Vivid Sydney, creating an easy (and delicious) way for Vivid Sydney patrons to contribute to providing a nourishing meal for someone in need.”
