Italian violinist Luca Ciarla draws a new musical route in the Mediterranean with a loop pedal, his voice and a few toy instruments. He performs solo and strictly live playing the violin also like a guitar, a cello or a percussion. In this soundscape Luca sings, whistles, plays other instruments and adds new improvisations.
The program Mediterramìa features unusual arrangements of traditional Italian folk tunes, music from the Mediterranean area and original compositions.

Fabulous Contraption combine metal, jazz and fusion in unpredictable musical forms.

Godswounds deliver alt-prog pop, angular grunge and cinematic noise.

Basil’s Kite perform microtonal math-rock with sharp, precise shifts.

Shanghai blend film-rock and prog exotica with brassy, protean compositions.

I still have the Moon to write her is the debut release from Lewis Lockwood Mosley.

On the 26th of February, Lockwood Mosley will perform solo at a secret location, supported by Jancsi.

Life Forms is the latest album from trumpeter Niran Dasika and his Melbourne-based trio featuring legendary pianist Andrea Keller and virtuoso bassist Helen Svoboda.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Chris Abrahams (piano),
Tony Buck (drums), and
Lloyd Swanton (bass)

Cipher Productions and Inner City Uprising co-host an evening of heavy electronics:

Blunt Force Head Trauma (Qld)
Pubis Mons (Vic)
Chrysalis (Tas)
Defektro (NSW)
Regn (NSW)
Milat (NSW)

BENJAMIN BETELLI String Quartet no. 3

SAMUEL ADAMS String Quartet no. 3 Alma

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Lauren Tsamouras (piano) & Tom Avgenicos (trumpet, electronics) launch two albums released on ABC Jazz: 'For Judy' a tribute to legendary pianist/composed Judy Bailey OAM and 'Bye For Now' (releasing on the night 27 Feb) an EP of original compositions.

Jacques Emery - Solo Double Bass - will debut a new set of solo pieces called ‘Hymns’ interspersed with improvisations, inspired by his recent study of the physics of the bowed string.

12th edition of The Blue Hour: an ambient music night exploring texture, atmosphere, and soundscapes through experimental and ambient performances. Featuring performances by:
Alexandra Spence & Khaled Kurbeh
Climes
Luke M de Zilva
Glen.Rey & Bildungsroman

Muharrem Aslan is a Sydney-based musician and music therapist from Türkiye, blending the sounds of Anatolia with global influences.

Aslan performs with his dynamic band: Dimitri Vouros (bansuri, flute, clarinet) and Hugo Powell (bass guitar).

Rockdale Opera Company proudly presents the world premiere of a new Australian opera in a workshop performance of The Monk, a gothic chamber opera by Steven Stanke. Inspired by Matthew Gregory Lewis’s notorious 1796 novel.
Pre-performance talk by composer Steven Stanke at 7.15pm on the genesis of the opera.

AnSo, an interdisciplinary South Korean artist and performer residing and creating on Dharug land, blends their Korean culture with contemporary performance in their practice. For this performance at Phoenix Central Park, AnSo will be collaborating with harpist Isabella Rahme, as well as choreographers and movement artists Emmy Harkins, Risako Katsumata, Alana Searles, and Amara Shin. 

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Ustad Shujaat Khan — one of India’s finest sitar virtuosos.

Intimate Indian classical music concert.

Michael Vorfeld (Berlin) percussion and film in a night of collaborations:

with Philip Samartzis (presenting Air Pressure)

and in Quintet with
Jim Denley, woodwinds
Saskia Shearer, percussion
Uma Volkmer, trumpet
Clayton Thomas, double bass

Runa Cara is the partnership between Irish-Australian percussionist and indie-folk singer-songwriter Bonnie Stewart (aka Bonniesongs) and Danish-Australian contemporary cellist and nyckelharpist Freya Schack-Arnott.

Runa Cara will be joined for support sets by Ben Ward and Grace Barr (with Yolanda Frost).

Splinter Orchestra takes over 21 Shepherd and the surrounding streets in an immersive festival of sound.

[Session 1] 4-6pm An ongoing, unfolding long-form play with and within the venue.
[Dinner] 6-7pm We’ll have some food to share for dinner.
[Session 2] 7-9pm A nearby outdoor performance, a sound walk, a set of small groupings from within Splinter.

Ronan Apcar is a pianist, musician, and composer with a love for music across many styles – jazz to the avant-garde, contemporary art music to house music.

JOHANNES BRAHMS Fantasies, Op. 116 No. 4; Fantasies, Op. 116 No.5; Fantasies, Op. 116 No. 6; Fantasies, Op. 116 No. 7
LEO ORNSTEIN Suicide in an Airplane
GERARD BROPHY Abraço
FREDERIC RZEWSKI Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Missy Mazzoli - Orizzonte (vibraphone + electronics)
Caroline Shaw (arr. Abby Fisher) - in manus tuas (marimba solo) 
Kate Moore - Joyful Melodies (vibraphone solo) 
Gemma Peacocke - I Promise Not to Poison You xoxo: Hemlock, Crocus Sativus (marimba solo)
Anna Meredith (arr. Jessica Wells) - Bumps Per Minute: from 18 Studies for Dodgems; Joy Subdivision,  Norcanaoe, Tom Cruise Runs (vibraphone + electronics) 
Claire Edwardes/Paul Mac - Dual Attractor (drums + electronics) 

Claire Edwardes (percussion)

Chris Abrahams - piano; Sam Gill - alto, soprano & sopranino saxophones
join forces for their fourth duo meeting.

FATE MAPS: Clayton Thomas - double bass; Freya Schack-Arnott - cello; Phillippa Murphy-Haste - viola
Improvising string ensemble that combines string players from various backgrounds in improvised and classical music to produce unique real time music.

Lauren Tsamouras' Another Green World
Lauren Tsamouras - piano
Brendan Clark - bass
Ashley Stoneham - drums
Danica Hobden - guitar (GERMANY)

Tessie Overmyer

Ronan Apcar - Using the full range of the piano as well as synthesisers, effects pedals, drum machines, and various keyboard instruments, Ronan has been combining various disciplines and instruments into a solo improvisation-based practice and developing new works over the past year.

Jetsets Flight Crew
Ellen Kirkwood – trumpet
David Turner – guitar
+ tba

In Hand to Earth, Yolŋu song keepers Daniel and David Wilfred recontextualise their 40,000 year old song tradition in a resolutely contemporary setting with Korean-born vocalist Sunny Kim, trumpet and electronics maestro Peter Knight, and woodwind virtuoso Aviva Endean.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

A performance by Collective Disorder (previously Chronology Arts Collective).
With Elizabeth Jigalin, Gideon Payten-Griffiths, Nikki Heywood, Ryuichi Fujimura and Stephen Adams.

Collective Disorder is a project of interdisciplinary collaboration between movement and sound artists of diverse backgrounds, experiences and disciplines.

For the 100th anniversary of the making of Fritz Lang's iconic silent movie Metropolis, Cone of Confusion and Psymatic 2000 team up for an audiovisual experience: a psychedelic cinema experience with an original soundtrack performed live.

The silent movie will be screened with a soundtrack performed live by psych jazz band Cone of Confusion and augmented by visual installations and effects by Psymatic 2000.

Another Green World:
Brendan Clarke, bass
Ashley Stoneham, drums
Hilary Geddes, guitar
Lauren Tsamouras, piano and electronics.

BELIEVE:
Peter Farrar, saxophones and percussion
Novak Manojlovic, piano and percussion
Clayton Thomas, double bass and percussion
and Laurence Pike, drums and percussion

An evening of ambient, immersive and exploratory music across three acts.

Laura Altman has woven her way through improvised, exploratory and folk music scenes with intuitive clarinet playing, free improvisation and composition.
Land Systems is the melodic ambient project of Eora/Sydney-based producer Nathan Moas.
Jacqui O’Reilly’s experimental practice investigates identity, place and sensory perception with a focus on sound as material, to explore social and environmental relations.

Sydney Onikenbai Club - Onikenbai is a powerful traditional performing art passed down in and around Kitakami City in Iwate Prefecture.
Moment of Silence | Asuka - A shared moment of silence for remembrance and prayer led by ASUKA with singing bowls.
Main Performance | Aji - An immersive sound journey blending mantra, handpan, flutes, didgeridoo, and traditional instruments into a meditative soundscape.
Special Collaboration - A collaborative piece with Special Guest: Ryuji from Taikoz (Taiko), where rhythm and resonance merge into a powerful expression of prayer.

Muharrem Aslan - Baglama
Alister Spence - piano
Muharrem and Alister explore ways to bring together Anatolian bağlama music—with its evocative quarter-tone language—and jazz and free improvisation on the piano, an instrument defined by equal temperament. This performance marks their debut as a duo.

SayakaBotanic brings together instruments, electronics, magnetic tape, and fragments of voice, setting sonic and visual experiments in dialogue.

HUH are a freeform-freakout / noise improvisation duo formed in Tokyo by Kyosuke Terada (guitar/voice) and Takuma Mori (drums/voice).

Jacques Emery presents Giant Shimmer, a polyrhythmic percussion suite for drum kit, singing bowls, and a detuned 12-string electric guitar played with drumsticks.

Hinano Fujisaki and Mitch Elliott will open the night in duo formation.

Sirius Chamber Ensemble presents a concert of Australian music.
"Bellbirds" Troy Russell
"Collaroy Skies" Gareth Lewis
"Call from the Deep" Corinna Bonshek
"The Dreaming Land" Natalie Williams
"Three Places for a New Millennium" Stuart Greenbaum
A new work by Kenya Wilkins in collaboration with Gumeroy Newman

In:Flux is an improvised, electroacoustic, ambient performance by jazz musician Gary Daley on accordion and composer/improviser Fiona Hill on electronics and gestural controllers.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

French audiovisual artists Franck Vigroux and Antoine Schmitt present their new live performance VIDEOPOLIS. A live audiovisual duo, blending electronic sound with generative visual systems. Vigroux’s raw, physical approach to electronic music meets Schmitt’s algorithmic and conceptual visual art. Videopolis emerges from the chaos of a world overwhelmed by images corrupted by dark forces.

HUH are a freeform-freakout / noise improvisation duo formed in Tokyo by Kyosuke Terada (guitar/voice) and Takuma Mori (drums/voice).
HUH are joined by Sakaya Botanic (Yokohama), withdawe (Mitch Elliott and Jasper Craig-Adams) and Meow Meow Casio.

Immersive sound journey by The Nano Symphony, supported by Rémi Marchand.

THE NANO SYMPHONY Signature psychedelic-classical experience. Weaving live string and wind instruments together with piano and expressive electronics.

RÉMI MARCHAND For his ambient solo project, Rémi brings together his influences of blues music, 70s prog and fusion.

Jorik Bergman (GERMANY)
Jorik Bergman: Flute
The Germany-based Dutch flutist and composer is making her Sydney debut and has invited two local Sydney musicians to build bridges and embrace the moment.

Pyc/Gill/Undy/Tucker
Cassidy Pyc – electric guitar
Sam Gill - saxophones
Cameron Undy – electric bass 
Alex Tucker – drums

Microfiche are one of the most creative and boundary-pushing improvising jazz acts to emerge from the Sydney scene in the last 10 years.

Max Alduca - double bass
Nick Calligeros - trumpet
Holly Conner - drums & electronics
Hilary Geddes - guitar
Sam Gill - saxophones & percussion
Phillippa Murphy-Haste - clarinets & viola

Melbourne/Naarm-based On Diamond take an anomalous look at alternative pop. Their sound relies on an interactive group dynamic and is inspired by folk, noise, rock, jazz, and improvised music, with lyrics that are personal and poetic. The current ensemble features Lisa Salvo (vocals), Scott McConnachie (guitar and synth), Myka Wallace (drums), Jules Pascoe (bass), and Duré Dara (percussion).

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Diane Berger (flute), Richard Rourke (clarinet), Sumiko Yamamura (pianoforte)

Parallax - Paul Moulatlet (b.1955) Flute, clarinet & piano
Clarinet concerto K622 slow mvt - W.A. Mozart (1756- 1791)
Leaves . . . . in . . . time - Howard Dillon (b.1954) Flute, clarinet & piano
Il Gardellino RV 428 1st and 2nd mvts - A. Vivaldi (1678- 1741)
Cirrus - Alan Holley (b.1954) Flute, clarinet & piano
Where the Rivers Meet - Johanna Selleck (b.1959) Flute & piano

Switzerland-based Australian cellist James Morley plays:

SALVATORE SCIARRINO Ai limiti della notte
GIUSEPPE COLUMBI Chiacona
GYÖRGY LIGETI Sonata for solo cello
JANE SHELDON The Unfolding Hour
DAVID FULMER Star of the North - Requiem for Zhanaozen
FERGUS HALL Adrift
LIZA LIM Spirit Weapons I
BRETT DEAN Eleven Oblique Strategies
HEINRICH IGNAZ FRANZ VON BIBER Passacaglia

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

The concert includes both new and reimagined songs from Greenwell’s extensive catalogue of performing arts and concert works, made especially for this piano trio.

The program will include pieces set to lyrics by leading Australian and international contemporary writers such as Jordie Albiston, Fiona Benson (UK), Alison Croggon, Katy Didden (US), Ross Gibson, Maryanne Lynch and Felicity Plunkett. The concert also features the world premier of Katie Liu’s Shorebird Suite.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Diane Berger, flutes and Richard Rourke, Clarinet, are members of the Opera Australia Orchestra and pianist Sumiko Yamamura is one of Australia's leading chamber pianists. New works by Alan Holley, Howard Dillon and Paul Moulatlet and a work by Johanna Selleck plus Mozart and Vivaldi.

Led by Iraqi-born violinist and joza (Iraqi kamancheh) player Nawres Alfreh, Shanasheel explores the worlds of maqam, regional folk repertoires, and classical forms. Focusing exclusively on instrumental music, Shanasheel crafts journeys built on melody, improvisation and rhythmic conversation. Their repertoire moves between classical works, village songs, and newly arranged pieces.

Jana Irmert is a Berlin-based sound artist and composer working across spatial composition, film and live performance, using extensive experimentation with field recordings.

Alexandra Spence and Mara will collaborate live for the first time with an improvised electro-acoustic set. 

Composer Cyrus Meurant presents his recently completed two-part work Distant Cities for cello and piano, inspired by Rimbaud's Les Illuminations.
Saxophonist Andrew Smith will then join him to perform Constancies for alto saxophone and piano.
Solo piano compositions, including "Sortie" (from the ballet Au revoir mon ami), "Monday III" from the album Monday to Friday (composed for people living with dementia) and Mneme.

Cyrus Meurant, piano; Andrew Smith, alto saxophone; Daniel Yeadon, cello

Led by pianist and composer Lauren Tsamouras, Another Green World draws on elements of Greek traditional music as a way of exploring Tsamouras’ Greek heritage and what it means to be Greek-Australian today.

Lauren Tsamouras (piano), Hilary Geddes (guitar), Brendan Clark (bass) and Ashley Stoneham (drums).

Pianist Ronan Apcar and saxophonist Alice Morgan join forces to present a contemporary take on saxophone playing

PAUL STANHOPE phoSpheric Variations
ELIZABETH JIGALIN New work World premiere
EINOJUHANI RAUTAAVARA Notturno
KEVIN JUILLERAT L’Étang du Patriarche
ANDREW HOWES The Eyes of the Earth
GERARD BROPHY trois tableaux

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Tabla virtuoso Bobby Singh is coming to Sydney to promote his extraordinary new album Sutradhaar - a cross-cultural musical journey featuring some of Australia’s finest musicians and composed by his guru, Dr Aneesh Pradhan, arranged by Sandy Evans. Including Jeff Lang, Greg Sheehan, Lara Goodridge, Shenzo Gregorio, Ben Walsh, Zela Margossian, and Tjupurru. 

The Sydney Cringe Festival is back and we are here to be your weirdest event of the year.

Cassy Judy, Designer Mutts, Doctor Robot, Julio Stinky, Myxi Buns, S. Miles, Scruffamudda, Sister Ursuline, Terrificus, The Lost Futures, Tom Adamson, Whatever Eva and Skitzenbitz, DJ Underwatermelon, The Clown Bride, LIVING SCIENCE Dept. (Visuals)

Guitar Club brings together Hamburg-based guitarists Danica Hobden and Pouya Abdi with Sydney musicians Hinano Fujisaki and Alex Inman-Hislop.

DANICA HOBDEN Gamelan; Pescatarian; Sleepwalker; Warmbluetig; Brouwer’s Will

POUYA ABDI Facereader; Kunterbunt

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Ross McHenry, Julius Schwing, Django Rowe
Ross McHenry - bass
Julius Schwing - guitar
Django Rowe - guitar

Chaos Collective
Ben Lopes - guitars, composition
Saskia Shearer - percussion
Maddy Briggs - piano
Lilly Innis - cello

Jon Rose and Erik Griswold are two of Australia’s foremost improvising experimentalists. Unnamed Road engages two violins: one an amplified tenor violin, and keyboards — a regular piano and a MIDI keyboard hooked up to samples of prepared piano - in free improvisation.  

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

D.C Cross (Sydney) + Andrew Tuttle (Brisbane). No Drums Records presents "A seated listening experience", supported by the Inner West Council.
After several years developing a friendship and mutual appreciation society, innovative folk musicians D.C Cross and Andrew Tuttle combine to present a double-headline tour along the Australian east coast in April 2026.

Jordan Chung presents a new set of original music for solo piano. Drawing from an array of influences, the performance will explore the freedom of improvisation.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Unsuk Chin Etude
Elizabeth Younan Piano Sonata No. 2
Alexander Scriabin Piano Sonata No. 3
Alexander Scriabin Piano Sonata No. 10
J.S. Bach Partita No. 5 in G Major

Lee Dionne, piano

O Mensch! transforms 21 poems by Friedrich Nietzsche into a series of musical declarations in major living French composer Pascal Dusapin’s intimate song cycle.
Mitchell Riley - baritone and Jack Symonds - piano.

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

The Mesos Trio is an Australian Folk/Indian classical ensemble featuring Susie Bishop (violin), Maharshi Raval (tabla) and Elsen Price (double bass). They perform unique arrangements of Folk music from the broader European community and Indian Classical inspired improvisations. 

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Laura Chislett - flute
Satsuki Odamura - koto
Brad Gill - percussion

This performance will consist of structured improvisations: Kaze, Flung Ink, Crossways, Murmuration

Tickets: Free, by ballot only

Phillip Johnston - Alto Saxophone
Peter Farrar - Alto Saxophone
Tim Clarkson - Tenor Saxophone
Jim Loughnan - Baritone Saxophone

This performance pays homage to the compositions of American soprano saxophone virtuoso Steve Lacy, as well as original jazz and New Music works by Johnston.

Sat 2 May, 2:00pm

Sat 2 May, 7:00pm

Missy Mazzoli Tooth and Nail
Anna Meredith Tuggemo 
Daniel Wohl New Work
Pierre Jalbert Howl
Danny Elfman Piano Quartet

Katia Geha and they leave me in the dark
Beth Roche Refraction, Reflection
Jessie Cox Enter the Impossible
Gerard Grisey Excerpts from Vortex Temporum

Afternoon Concert: 16 May 2026, 2-6pm
The Music Box Project - Imaginary Radio Station
Jim Denley and the Eternally Orchestrating Sonoverse
Trevor Brown - Chromo Suono Solo
Monika Brooks

Evening Concert: 16 May 2026, 7.30-10.30pm
SPEL with Jason Noble and Louisa Rankin
W.E.S.T. - Wilcox Encarnaçao Swanton Trio
Hilary Geddes Quartet

An intimate winter gathering in the Blue Mountains, bringing together Dungeon Synth and Dark Ambient artists.

Tir
Lurid Orb
Most Ominous Mystic
Atavus Infectum
Mythscribe
Aniseed Shroud