Skip to main content

Thundercat

4 June 2023

In the Concert Hall

Contemporary Music

Returning to Australia for the first time in five years, virtuoso bassist and Kendrick Lamar collaborator Thundercat brings his impossibly funky grooves to the Sydney Opera House for his Vivid LIVE debut.

The gifted bassist and Kendrick Lamar sidekick twists fusion, soul and hip-hop into magical shapes.

The Guardian

California’s coolest funk comes to town

The masterful low-end grooves of Los Angeles native Stephen Bruner – better known as Thundercat – have galvanised some of the funkiest hits of the millennium. Since his early days playing in everything from Cali-punk legends Suicidal Tendencies to live bands for Erykah Badu and Snoop Dogg, the virtuoso bass player has collaborated with a who’s-who line-up of artists that includes Childish Gambino, Steve Lacy, Janelle Monáe, Haim, Mac Miller, SZA, Travis Scott, Earl Sweatshirt, Silk Sonic, George Clinton and, of course, superstar Kendrick Lamar, whose breakthrough smash To Pimp A Butterfly (2015) pivoted on Thundercat’s sonic contributions.

Thundercat’s sultry fusion of funk, R&B, psychedelic jazz and yacht rock dances with the cosmic and the comic across his wildly eclectic solo albums, including 2017’s Drunk – with its unforgettable hit, “Show You the Way,” featuring smooth rock legends Kenny Loggins and Michael McDonald – and 2020’s It Is What it Is, which won the Grammy award for Best Progressive R&B Album. In 2022 he teamed up with Gorillaz, played on Metro Boomin’s blockbuster Heroes & Villains, and reunited with Kendrick for playing and production duties on Mr. Morale & the Big Steppers.

An astonishing live performer capable of dazzling musicianship and goofball philosophy in equal measure, Thundercat will make his Vivid LIVE debut and his first solo Australian show in a decade. It’ll be a blast.

Presented by Sydney Opera House

Other information

3 Jun 2023 Contemporary Music

Maina Doe

Returning to the Sydney Opera House after her shimmering performances at Liminal and supporting Tkay Maidza, emerging R&B Maina Doe lights up the Utzon Room with her debut headline performance at Vivid LIVE.

4 Jun 2023 Contemporary Music

JACOTÉNE

From teenage soul sensation to Sydney Opera House debutante, Triple J Unearthed High winner and breakout star JACOTÉNE is set to blow the Utzon Room away in her very first Vivid LIVE appearance.

Arlo Parks wearing a striped knitted sweater, sitting on the ground against a dark purple wall.
20 Jul 2023 Contemporary Music

Arlo Parks

Acclaimed singer-songwriter, Mercury Music Prize winner and reluctant voice of a generation, Arlo Parks returns to Australia with her indelibly dreamy and sensual soul – and a hotly anticipated new album.

Checking availability