Daniel Johns, Sufjan Stevens among Vivid Live’s performers

Destination NSW Chief Executive Officer Sandra Chipchase said, “As the centrepiece of Vivid Sydney’s amazing light program, the iconic sails of the Sydney Opera House will be reimagined as a living mural and we can’t wait to share Universal Everything’s awe-inspiring projections. This year’s Vivid LIVE line-up is set to delight audiences and for the first time will move outdoors for a celebration of Sydney label Future Classic, in what’s sure to be a highlight of Vivid Sydney’s music program.”

Ben Marshall, curator of Vivid LIVE and the Opera House’s Head of Contemporary Music, says he is honoured to present his first festival and to play a part in expanding the reach, range and vitality of great music in his home city.

“This year is a celebration of unique individuals’ voices: from Morrissey and Daniel Johns, to Sufjan Stevens and Bill Callahan, Flume and Squarepusher. These voices represent idiosyncratic and personalised views of life, often solitary, poetic and unexpected, but capable of providing an entire way of seeing the world and drawing their devoted audiences together, as do searing bands like TV on the Radio and The Drones.

“As part of a suite of firsts this year, we will present 10 nights of Sydney-only performances, a large-scale outdoor celebration of Sydney’s label of the moment, Future Classic, internal projections, talks with Vivid LIVE artists in conjunction with Vivid Ideas, and an afternoon with Sydney’s only music and arts festival for children and adults, Dress Up Attack!”

In another first, the Vivid Light Walk will this year extend inside the Opera House itself, via a free Vivid LIVE exhibition featuring works selected by Universal Everything from 11 years of collaborations with bands, brands and record labels. Vivid LIVE will also feature its first bespoke indoor harbour-view bar, situated in the Concert Hall Northern Foyer, helmed by a local favourite.

This year American indie music favourite Sufjan Stevens makes his second Vivid LIVE appearance and third at the Opera House, opening the program with a four-night residency in the Concert Hall in his only Australian performances. Former Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns, the winner of 21 ARIA Awards, is another Vivid LIVE exclusive and will also appear in the Concert Hall to premiere his highly anticipated solo album. Daniel said, “I’ve spent years working on this new album so what better way to send it out into the world than by playing all those songs live for the first time at the Sydney Opera House. I’m both really looking forward to it and totally scared to death."

The Opera House's Northern Peninsula on Sydney Harbour will be transformed into a concert space for the first time this year by acclaimed Australian label Future Classic, celebrating its 10th anniversary. Four-time ARIA Award-winner Flume, in his only Australian performances for 2015, and Flight Facilities will be joined by Seekae, Hayden James, Touch Sensitive, Wave Racer, George Maple and Charles Murdoch over two big nights.

New York art-rock royalty TV on the Radio return revitalised with their monumental catalogue from Staring at the Sun to last year’s Seeds. Bill Callahan, the masterful observer of truth, humanity and absurdity, is joined by his Dream River band for two rare evenings and, in a Vivid LIVE tradition of electronic forerunners premiering new works, bass maximalist and tech overlord Squarepusher stages his first headlining Sydney performance in 14 years, debuting Damogen Furies.

Sydney group The Preatures, garage legends Royal Headache and Melbourne Ska Orchestra also feature in this year’s program, alongside The Drones, who are celebrating 10 years since their Australian Music Prize winning Wait Long By The River…

Nurturing the future of electronic music whilst reinventing the past, Red Bull Music Academy returns to the Opera House for a five-day Studio takeover featuring some of Sydney's finest.

Labelled a “hot pint-sized festival” by Rolling Stone, the hugely successful Dress Up Attack! For Children and Grown Ups is programmed for children aged 2-8, together with their parents and carers (dressing up on the day is encouraged).

Throughout Vivid LIVE the Opera House precinct will be home to Vivid-inspired menus and live music at Opera Bar, Opera Kitchen and The House Eatery. Special guided tours will go behind the scenes of Vivid LIVE, taking you on stage, inside the artists’ dressing rooms and past the state-of-the-art recording studios, finishing with dinner and a drink.

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