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Contemporary Music

The Opera House has played host to many incredible performances. From Bon Iver's goosebump show to Solange's powerful Australian debut, our Head of Contemporary Music, Ben Marshall, chooses 10 of his favourite music videos captured from under the Opera House sails.

In a ferocious performance of guttural guitars and anthemic vocals, Low Life make their Sydney Opera House debut for a cathartic masterclass in pummelling post-punk rhythm live from the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Join Julian Bel Bachir for a melodic odyssey as he voyages through traditional melodies of Indigenous music from North-Western Africa with a modern influence. 

Get ready to snuggle in for a Sunday session of lush soul heaters, as Manly’s very own hip-hop funk machine Winston Surfshirt make their Sydney Opera House debut in an intimate performance beamed live to your lounge from the Joan Sutherland Theatre.

Nooks & Crannies is a unique live music series celebrating iconic architecture and artistic expression in unexpected and spectacular unseen spaces inside Sydney Opera House. In Volume One, watch enchanting performances from Glen Hansard, José González, Hiatus Kaiyote, Conor Oberst, Nai Palm and Poliça as they bring inside spaces outside.

Meet eccentric Blue Mountains-based electro soul duo Bow and Arrow, aka husband and wife team Mindy Jane (Bow) and Mitchell Kwanten (Arrow).  

Premiered in full for the first time, Iceland's BAFTA Award-winning pianist-composer Ólafur Arnalds leads the Sydney Chamber Orchestra arranged by Viktor Orri Árnason in a specially-commissioned performance two years in the making.

The Alaska Orchestra led by Megan Alice Clune, along with Heather Shannon and Mara Schwerdtfeger return to Sydney Opera House for their digital stage debut with a live streamed re-imagining of Brian Eno's 1978 landmark album, Ambient 1: Music for Airports accompanied by live visuals from renowned Sydney artist Carla Zimbler.

Amon Tobin’s audiovisual spectacle ISAM took over the Concert Hall at Vivid LIVE 2012 in an audiovisual spectacle like no other.

Australian folk-pop singer and producer Gordi is set to play her official international album launch show for her latest record, Our Two Skins. 

In an exclusively commissioned performance featuring a 10-piece band and specially-made visuals, Ziggy Ramo Burrmuruk Fatnowna presents his debut album Black Thoughts like never before as part of the Sydney Opera House's From Our House to Yours weekly program – a live-streamed hip-hop reckoning through love, compassion, dispossession and systemic racism envisioned for listeners from all walks of life.

Celebrating the 60th anniversary of John Coltrane’s revolutionary composition ‘Giant Steps’, Sydney’s own psychedelic jazz explorers GODTET will expand the original’s four minute blast of hyper-speed virtuosity into a 40 minute meditation on Coltrane’s creativity, spirituality, and how our perceptions of identity, time and place have changed in the face in recent times.

Sampa The Great presents An Afro Future, with special guests Mwanjé, KYE and sounds by C.FRIM. 

After a four-year hiatus, and fresh off her tour with Billie Eilish, Zimbabwe-born Australian hip-hop star Tkay Maidza makes her long-awaited Sydney Opera House debut.

Melbourne electronic post-punk duo HTRK perform live in the Drama Theatre, shortly prior to their Sydney Opera House debut in May 2022, with a set which draws heavily from their acclaimed 2021 album, 'Rhinestones'.

Candid, in-depth, and always revealing, On The Level catches up with artists during their visit to the Sydney Opera House, discussing their careers, inspirations, and preparations for their performance.

Watch Khruangbin tracks Time (You and I) and People Everywhere (Still Alive) – a preview from a captivating performance in the Concert Hall. In November 2022 the band made their long-awaited Sydney Opera House debut as part of their First Class Tour.

Highlights of our 'Liminal' contemporary music film series featuring eight Australian artists, each creating unique live performances for the screen –spotlighting BLESSED, Budjerah, Chris Abrahams, EGOISM, Liz Martin Band, Maina Doe, Ninajirachi and Young Franco.

Making his return to the Opera House for the first time since 2016, chart-topping, ARIA-award-winning folk-pop sensation Vance Joy performs "Clarity'" on the Forecourt in November 2022.

In a rare one-off performance, neo-soul R&B artist Ngaiire joins forces with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra for a transcendent night of music, art and power on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt, conducted by Nicholas Buc.

Animal Collective co-founder Noah Lennox (aka Panda Bear), made his highly anticipated Australian debut in the intimate settings of the Sydney Opera House Studio in 2018. A unique blend of experimental-pop, featuring sun-drenched sampling coupled with introspective lyrics, Panda Bear’s careful attention to detail and masterful use of vocal harmonies are unparalleled in modern indie rock. 

Pioneering, genre-bending German producer DJ Koze debuted his game-changing mix of house, soul, hip hop and R&B at the Sydney Opera House in December 2019, with an epic night of euphoric sounds and exceptional visuals.

In celebration of the album's 10th anniversary, Sigur Rós vocalist Jónsi and his partner, musician Alex Somers, performed 'Riceboy Sleeps' at Vivid LIVE 2019 in the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House with the Sydney International Orchestra and Choir. Watch highlights from the performance including 'Happiness', 'Indian Summer' and 'Boy 1904'.

In June 2021, right before things slowed down, we were fortunate to host a very special collaboration of two great Australian musicians. 

British techno titans Underworld bring soaring vocal samples and ricocheting rhythms to the Sydney Opera House Concert Hall with their performance of "Border Country". 

Watch The Bad Seeds bandmates' encore performance of 'Push The Sky Away' performed live with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Sydney Philharmonia Choirs, conducted by Nicholas Buc. 

Celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 1999 masterpiece, The Soft Bulletin, technicolour rock legends The Flaming Lips made their Sydney Opera House debut in 2019, playing the album in full alongside their greatest hits.

ollowing two fever-pitch mixtapes of woozy RnB, the mysterious trap soul heartbreaker H.E.R. finally made her roof-shaking Australian debut at Vivid LIVE 2018. 

Highlights from the Godfather of Punk's incendiary debut at the Sydney Opera House in April 2019, featuring the classic songs 'I Wanna Be Your Dog', 'Search and Destroy', 'The Passenger' and 'No Fun'.

Australian soul icon Meg Mac makes her Sydney Opera House debut. Watch her perform hit 'Never Be' as part of her powerhouse performance for Vivid LIVE 2022.

A gifted singer-songwriter with a knack for layered, introspective folk-pop sounds, internationally acclaimed Australian artist Gordi makes her Vivid LIVE debut with a solo performance in the Drama Theatre at the Sydney Opera House.

The award-winning band The New York Times called “the greatest trio on earth” perform live in the Utzon Room, performing their singular mix of avant rock, jazz and ambient music in a unique single-take performance.

One of the world’s most thrilling live bands, Kiwi seven-piece Fat Freddy’s Drop return to the Sydney Opera House for a massive night of jazz, funk, reggae and beats on the Forecourt. 

Andrew Weatherall was one of the music world's true innovators. He made his first and only appearance at the Sydney Opera House in December 2017 with an unforgettable five-hour Studio party, taking the audience on an eclectic journey through the history of electronic music and beyond.

Transformative American rocker Sharon Van Etten electrified the Sydney Opera House last December, and we’ve got three highlights of that storming Concert Hall performance for you to enjoy.

Recorded live on the Sydney Opera House’s stunning Forecourt, this set from ARIA award-winning musician Vance Joy sees the finger-pickin’ folk pop hero perform a selection of hits and recent releases. 

Travelling to a new Verse, we begin our story… A coming of age for this neo-outsider. A tragedy to some, a new hope for others. As she moves from her post-life-apocalypse. We extend an open invitation to anyone who wants to be their best.

Genesis Owusu soared to new heights as two arts worlds collided at Red Bull Symphonic, promising a captivating reimagination of his acclaimed catalogue of poetic punk and electronic hybridity. 

Available worldwide from 19 Sep until 27 May 2027
Sampa The Great debuted her long-awaited show ‘An Afro Future’ at Vivid LIVE 2022, performing her ARIA award-winning album ‘The Return’ - a deeply powerful record, blending hip-hop, neo-soul, gospel, afrobeat and jazz.

Available worldwide from 15 Sep 2023 until 15 Mar 2024
A true global icon of 21st-century club pop, Korean-American artist Yaeji brought fans together in the Joan Sutherland Theatre with an immersive multimedia live show, showcasing her debut album, 'With A Hammer'. (Premiere)

Available worldwide from 11 Sep 2023 until 11 Sep 2024
Singer, songwriter, actor, and playwright Ursula Yovich returned to her first love, singing, for the ‘From Our House to Yours’ season; created in response to lockdown, and featuring live-streamed performances from the Joan Sutherland Theatre stage. (Stream Premiere)

Available Australia only, from 9 Sep 2023 until 30 May 2024
At Vivid LIVE in 2023, master singer-songwriter José González celebrated the 20th anniversary of the indie folk classic, Veneer, playing the album in full, accompanied by a few classic covers. (Premiere)

Available worldwide from 6 Sep until 6 Oct 2023
Indigenous Australian musician Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu performs with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by rare footage and photography from his Yolngu upbringing through to his international success, delving deep into his music and spirit. (Stream Premiere)

Available worldwide from 23 Sep to 23 Oct 2023.
Hailed as the ‘Godfather of Punk’, The Stooges’ former frontman Iggy Pop made make his long-awaited Sydney Opera House debut in 2019 in the Concert Hall, performing his genre-defining back-catalogue of hits, including songs from seminal albums 'Lust For Life', 'The Idiot' and many more. (Stream Premiere)

Available worldwide from 29 Sep to 29 Oct 2023
Whilst the 2018 Forecourt performances from the indie rock luminaries were not recorded for broadcast, this new concert film is taken from a range of camera sources, offering a unique and vital record of a much-loved performance. (Premiere)