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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

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