SYDNEY FESTIVAL 2013: THIS IS OUR CITY IN SUMMER.

The lineup for next year’s Sydney Festival was announced at midday today and we are friggin’ excited. Here’s a quick rundown of what we’ve been buzzing about in the FBi offices…

DAY ONE: DAPTONE SUPER SOUL REVUE

The Domain, January 5, 8-11pm

First Night is sadly missing from the 2013 program, but the festival’s opening party still looks amazing as always. Head to the Domain for an outdoor dance party in the park with the Daptone Super Soul Revue: a 3-hour nonstop show starring artists from the infamous Brooklyn all-things-funky label Daptone Records. The lineup features Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Menahan Street Band, The Budos Band and Sugarman 3, with the super cool Binky Griptite from the Dap-Kings as MC for the evening. GOT SOUL!! More info here.

DIRTY FREAKIN’ PROJECTORS

Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, January 21

Dirty Projectors are coming. Need we say more? Expect tunes from their amazing new album Swing Lo Magellan, plus favourites from their whopping seven studio albums to date. “Ecstatic convolutions of Rock, Afro-pop and avant-garde orchestration” … get ready for it. More info here.

DAPPLED CITIES: THE FUTURE IS BAROQUE

Paradiso at Town Hall, January 22

Baroque music is bizarre, let’s not run around that fact. We like bizarre, though, and so do Dappled Cities… who are re-imagining their 10-year catalogue of music in a baroque context. The band will be enlisting the expertise of members of the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra and The Brandenburg Boys Choir for this unique show. SydFest say: “Imagine Brian Eno and David Bowie meeting Bach in the Cantina Bar of Star Wars. Think harpsichord duelling with synth. Think lute in a love-in with electric guitar. Now imagine that The Future Is Baroque…”

The Future Is Baroque is Dappled Cities’ first major headline performance at Sydney Festival and will act as the launch event for their “Decade Of Dappled Cities‟ celebrations to take place throughout the year. Eeeep! More info here.

STANLEY KUBRICK VS. SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA

The Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, January 24 and 25

Sydney Festival celebrates Stanley Kubrick with a live soundtrack accompanying the screening of celebrated film 2001: A Space Odyssey performed by The Sydney Symphony and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. There are two performances: the first takes place in the beautiful Sydney Opera House Concert Hall. The second is part of the FREE event ‘Symphony In The Domain’, with music from Kubrick’s other films including A Clockwork Orange and Eyes Wide Shut. More info here.

GIRL CRUSH CENTRAL…

One of the early announcements for the festival was David Byrne & St. Vincent, coming to Sydney on the back of their highly acclaimed collaborative release Love This Giant. Last time the exquisite Annie Clarke (St. V) was here in Sydney, she jumped off stage and trawled through the crowd, and she, like, touched me. On the shoulder. We had a moment. Don’t tell me you don’t want a moment with her too… more info here.

PLUS, Brooklyn’s magnificent Sharon Van Etten will be playing at the Honda Festival Garden’s Famous Spiegeltent. We featured her latest release, Tramp, as album of the week earlier this year… and she’s featured on the covers of our diaries with hearts around her name for a lot longer. Excuse us while we squeal excitedly in the corner. More info here.

GIGS IN THE GARDEN

Honda Festival Garden & The Famous Spiegeltent – January 5- 27 – More info here

This is our pick of where to park yourself during Sydney Festival – always a beautiful setting for an after-work (or I-really-should-be-at-work) beer and some excellent tunes. On the line-up for the Honda Festival Garden is the beautifully understated Perfume Genius, finding the perfect intimate venue for his beautiful piano-led tunes and soul-tingling vocals. If a soul can be tingled…

Slipped into the mix is a special performance from Nite Jewel and Peanut Butter Wolf (Stones Throw), taking on Kraftwerk‟s 1981 LP Computer World. One word… epic.

And at night The Famous Spiegeltent becomes the SpiegelCLUB, with free access to DJ Tom Loud’s mind-blowing Hot Dub Time Machine every Saturday: a time travelling dance party which plays the best songs and video from 1954 til the present day. There’s also a night with Nicolas Jaar’s side project DARKSIDE, presenting a moody blend of electronic music and guitar-based sounds. There’s also an evening with Nicolas Jaar’s side project DARKSIDE, presenting a moody blend of electronic music and guitar-based sounds. Which brings us to…

FBI NIGHT: NICHOLAS JAAR

Paradiso at Town Hall – January 23 at 8pm

We are incredibly psyched to be presenting the twisted, moody and damn enticing sounds New York-via-Santiago producer Nicolas Jaar. The 22-year-old creates genre-defying, downtempo electronic music and his debut solo album Space Is Only Noise was widely hailed as one of 2011’s best records. Jaar dabbles in experimental techno with acoustic elements like Arabic strings, echoing vocals and discordant sax, slowed to the  pace of a skipping heartbeat. “Jaar translates his recorded sound to the live stage with aplomb, enthralling audiences and selling out shows across the globe.” Join us, it’s going to be a thrill! More info here.

NOTES FOR WALKING

Sydney Harbour National Park, Middle Head and Mosman Art Gallery

Dates: 5 January – 27 January (daylight hours only)

Sydney Festival is taking a stroll through the north shore with the Notes For Walking exhibition/artwork/SUPER-FUN ACTIVITY by Megan Heywood. It is a site-specific work that uses a smartphone app and GPS technologies to reveal an intriguing environment where things are ne  never quite what they seem. “A narrative written on landscape”, Notes for Walking will lead audiences around the abandoned naval fort overlooking Sydney Harbour at Middle Head National Park, Mosman, on a journey that is part treasure hunt and part mystery tour. For the little kid in all of us! More info here.

There’s a tonne more to start saving your pennies for – head to the Sydney Festival website to check out the full lineup and ticketing information.