Sydney Festival Unveils 2013 Program

Following on from the news that David Byrne and St. Vincent will be headlining the 2013 Sydney Festival, the full program has been released as of yesterday.

Featuring a plethora of performances in the way of theatre, visual arts, and dance as well as music, the festival will take over the harbour city from the 5 – 27 January.

Joining David Byrne and St. Vincent on the music schedule are fellow Brooklynites Dirty Projectors, along with performing Tasmania’s MONA FOMA festival and Melbourne’s Sugar Mountain Festival, these three shows are the only Australian dates announced for the 6-piece band.

Also joining in the way of international acts is Los Coronas, Richard Hawley, Navicula, Orchestra National de Jazz: Around Robert Wyatt, Rokia Traore, Perfume Genius, Lianne LA Havas, Sing The Truth with Angelique Kidjo, Dianne Reeves and Lizz Wright, Solistenensemble Kaliedoskop, The Waterboys and Nicolas Jaar (who is also a part of the staggeringly impressive Laneway Festival 2013 lineup).

The Australian scene is fronted by Archie Roach, Dappled Cities, Melbourne groovers Saskwatch, and many more including what is shaping up to be one of the festival’s most exciting events: the “Nuggets” evening at Paradiso at Town Hall, which will mark the 40th anniversary of Lenny Kaye’s seminal garage rock anthology.

The lineup is yet to be confirmed but considering such Aussie bands like POND, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, and The Murlocs feature on the covers compilation, it’s going to be one announcement to keep an eye on.

The expansive festival will feature 100 events across 30 venues in Sydney, including the Opera House, the Seymour Centre, and the Sydney Theatre. Two late-night “party hubs” – The Festival Garden in Hyde Park and Paradiso at Town Hall – will feature DJs and dancing well into the night.

Free events are aplenty, with Sydney Festival Day One hosting the Daptone Super Soul Revue at the opening night in The Domain on January 5 between 8-11pm. The lineup boasts Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Menahan Street Band, Budos Band, and Sugarman 3; while Binky Griptite of The Dap-Kings will MC the event.

Check out all the details on the acts, including ticketing information, on the just-launched Sydney Festival 2013 website.