MEDIA RELEASE
Thursday 10 December 2009
Festival First Night
FREE!
Saturday January 9, 2010
Expect the unexpected at Festival First Night 2010!
In just two years Festival First Night has become a Sydney tradition. In 2010 this free opening night
event is shaping up as an amazing night of surprise, exploration and inspiration as the streets come
alive with new experiences and artists from around the globe.
Sydney Festival’s new Artistic Director Lindy Hume wants everyone to take to the streets and explore
their city like they’ve never seen it before – look up, look around and look out for the unexpected.
For 2010, Hume has appointed visionary director Nigel Jamieson to create Festival First Night.
Drawing on Jamieson’s
experience in large-scale outdoor events, the entertainment
has been
injected with a theatrical air, which means this year Festival First Night will take flight, literally!
“Our aim is to transform our city into an epic theatre of surprise and spectacle. With artists on a host
of different stages across the CBD, as well as
playing on balconies and rooftops, hanging from
trapezes and floating in the sky, the night is designed for people to wander and experience their city
in a magical new way,” said Jamieson.
The 2010 program is designed to encourage people to stroll through the many sites rather than spend
all their time in one area. With performances around every corner there will be many exciting
surprises to be experienced along the way.
This year’s line-up is again packed with talent from around the world, and they’re all playing in our
backyard for FREE!
From the legendary
Al Green (USA) to The Black Arm Band and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy (USA),
from
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro
(Japan) to
The Manganiyar Seduction
(India)
and
Bobby
Singh, from Kasey Chambers, Poppa Bill and the Hillbillies to Ruby Hunter, from Aerialize and
Australia’s top circus performers to a veritable army of saxophonists, the array of talent
filling the
city’s streets, skies and parks is simply staggering.
Festival First Night is on Saturday 9 January from 2pm to 11pm and is the opening night of
Sydney Festival 2010.
FESTIVAL FIRST NIGHT MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Fresh Communications & Events – ph: 02 9517 9977
Janet Glover:
0412 601 816
janet@freshcommunications.com.au
Lyndel Feher:
0419 614 013
lyndel@freshcommunications.com.au
NOTE: With literally HUNDREDS of Sydney based performers appearing at Festival First Night,
if you require a local angle please contact us and we can provide you with relevant artists
names and photos for you.
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MEDIA RELEASE
Festival First Night
Saturday January 9, 2010
FULL PROGRAM – ALL FREE!
FESTIVAL FIRST NIGHT AFTERNOON PROGRAM – HYDE PARK from 2pm
Festival First Night 2010 afternoon program has a fabulous line-up of entertainment for families to kick
back and enjoy in the garden surrounds of Hyde Park. From 2pm across the park there’ll be a range of
activities and performances, circus workshops and daredevil shows to keep the whole family
entertained.
Hyde Park will be transformed into a spice garden,a feast of sumptuous delights,
with Sydney based
artist collective 107 Projects who will bring the park to life with stunning décor, colours and sensuous
smells that will envelope the crowd all afternoon and into the evening.
Multi award-winning country music star Kasey Chambers has teamed up with her father Bill
Chambers
and rounded up the kids to bring you a show that the whole family will enjoy
–
Kasey
Chambers, Poppa Bill and The Little Hillbillies. Performing songs from their new album, there’ll be
something for everyone with blues, bluegrass, folk, country and those trademark Chambers vocal
harmonies to sing along to, even Kasey’s seven year old son Talon makes his song-writing debut!
One of Australia’s most-loved Indigenous singer-songwriters, Ruby Hunter, will be performing her new
show, Out and About, featuring songs from her forthcoming album. Joined by husband Archie Roach
and Dave Arden, the show includes storytelling, singing and music, all inspired by Hunter’s travels
through Australia’s cities and outback, and the kids she met along the way.
There will be plenty to keep those restless kids busy, with Erth’s Petting Zoo, a fun journey through
prehistoric Australia when dinosaurs and other exotic creatures roamed Gondwana, plus circus
workshops with Aerialize
as they turn Hyde Park into an interactive playground where aspiring
performers can learn hula hoops, juggling and tumbling in supervised workshops throughout the
afternoon.
Also live on the lawn is
solar-powered music from
The Sun Chasers Collective -
afro-dub-reggae-
grooves -
all powered by solar panels that soak up the rays and feed power to
the band. And back
again in 2010 are Songs from the Australian Children’s Music Foundation National Songwriting
Competition 2009 -
with a selection of the winning entries, arranged and conducted by maestro
George Ellis, to be performed by the Australian Youth Choir alongside some of the songwriters
themselves.
And to get the pulses racing, the two charming but ridiculous stuntmen from 3 Speed Crunch Box will
perform incredible acrobatics and daringly stupid feats in a humorous, frenetic and fantastically physical
comedy from Geoff Dunstan and DJ Garner of renowned aerial theatre company Dislocate.
As the afternoon rolls on King Tide will take to the stage blending
dub, reggae, ska, roots and
dancehall seamlessly into fun, energetic sets for the whole family.
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HYDE PARK FOUNTAIN from 5pm
As the sun heads towards the horizon, MCs Tommy Fiasko, Jeswon & Tuka and DJ Morgs from the
Thundamentals take the stage with a blend of funk, soul, samples and musical beats with witty lyrics
and rhythmic raps. Seekae, with their beautiful lo-fi, ambient and instrumental sounds, will gently guide
you into the early evening – the perfect setting to chill out on the grass or dance away the sunset.
As night approaches, flyers, tumblers, daredevils, gymnasts, drummers,
DJs and dancers make up
Festival Hi-Flyers –
a
specially choreographed evening spectacular! Australia’s best performers
swing, fly and boogie on a custom-built five-storey outdoor circus rig to a thumping, high energy
soundtrack. Set against the backdrop of beautiful St Mary’s Cathedral, join the legendary Joel Salom
and hilarious Nicci Wilks, the perfect ringmasters to guide an incredible demonstration of skills, thrills
and maybe spills!
Featuring:
On the flying trapeze, the fabulous Ruby Rowat, direct from Montreal
On cloudswing, the delectable Natalie Harris and world renowned Geoff Dunstan
From La Clique, Mozes and his graceful spinning web
Pop-Eyed, the strongmen with balancing tricks to leave you breathless
Direct from a sell-out season in Edinburgh, gravity-defying acrobatics from This Side Up
On the straps, strongmen Ben Lewis and DJ Garner
The next generation, fresh from the National Institute of Circus Arts: Hannah Cryle, Billie
Wilson-Coffey, Caroline Walsh and Jessica Ward
Plus break dancing, BMX bike stunts, live music and a special guest performance from Grrilla Step
(AUSTRALIA/ PAPUA NEW GUINEA) featuring Dexter (ex-The Avalanches) on the decks.
HYDE PARK LAWN from 6:30pm
Multi award-winning Bobby Singh, Australia’s leading tabla player, and his friends will take audiences
on a journey full of music, colour and dance including performances from Jeff Lang, one of Australia’s
most captivating guitarists
and, The Band of Brothers
featuring Slava & Leonard Grigoryan with
Joseph & James Tawardros blending Egyptian, Brazilian and Eastern European music into a very
Australian whole.
And then don’t miss what will surely be one of the gems of the night, The Manganiyar Seduction
(INDIA).
Director Roysten Abel has transformed a traditional Indian music concert into a theatrical
event, placing 43 musicians from the deserts of Rajasthan in a ‘magic box’ structure that unfolds into a
dazzling spectacle of melody, rhythm and song.
UBER LINGUA AT CHIFLEY SQUARE from 6pm
In 2010, the DJ collective Uber Lingua
spread their wings from the city laneways and relocate to
Chifley Square, where the palm trees have inspired them to play neo-tropical beats on an international
scale.
The mix of global urban beats will include the grooves of Mexico, the beats of
Africa, the hot, humid
sounds of Southern Asia alongside the high intensity, carnival styles of the Caribbean and Latin
America. With DJs, musicians, MCs and stunning visuals, Uber Lingua continue the annual ritual of
helping launch Sydney Festival in global style.
The evening will showcase Ghislain Poirier
(CANADA),
from
Montreal via the influences of the
Caribbean, and MC Zulu
(PANAMA), with his deep, melodic voice delivering a rhythmic, reggae
inspired performance.
Page 4
DJ Chucuchu (MEXICO), DJ, filmmaker & video artist direct from Tijuana, combining beautiful imagery
with infectious rhythms; Diafrix , African beats, dance hall, funk, Australian hip hop, soul and reggae;
and Prince V, eclectic, unorthodox and truly international.
Uber Lingua Sound System presents a concoction of music, visuals, MCs and dance to round out the
Uber experience.
MARTIN PLACE from 6pm
From funk to krump, soul and swing, this stage features fantastic bands and favourite local DJs. With
MC Drew Fairley as your host, join us on this rollercoaster ride of music that speaks to our souls.
Grrilla Step
(AUSTRALIA/ PAPUA NEW GUINEA), An exciting new project from Dexter of The
Avalanches fame teaming up with
Papua New Guinean log drumming master Airi Ingram and the
Pacific Islander Krump crew Royal Fam, effortlessly blending traditional music, hip hop turntablism and
dance, creating an extraordinary, high energy show that’s sure to get you moving.
New York’s masters of swing, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
(USA) will be fusing classic American jazz,
swing, Dixieland and big-band music. Dubbed ‘America’s favourite little big band’, Big Bad Voodoo
Daddy are renowned for their brassy horns, crooning vocals and jumping jazz rhythms
Hailing from Texas,
Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears
(USA)
play a gritty, funky style of self-
described ‘garage-soul’, an eight-piece ensemble complete with Memphis-style horns, lead man Joe
Lewis has a voice described by the New York Post as a ‘soul shouter who can belt it out like a junior
James Brown’.
For those who prefer things a little more funky, there are the young groove merchants of Tokyo,
Mountain Mocha Kilimanjaro
(JAPAN). Well-dressed and slick as can be, this six-piece
phenomenon plays some of the rawest and deepest funk around, with the furious energy of a rock and
roll band. These lads have a fast-growing reputation as one of the finest funk units on the scene.
And anchoring this amazing line-up will be our favourite local DJ’s Jay Katz, the man behind Sounds of
Seduction and Fbi Radio’s ‘The Naked City’, and Smokey la Beef & Exercise Mike. With their
stompin’ soul, garage, rockabilly, swing and rhythm and blues, these guys have got it covered, so come
along and celebrate the music of days gone by.
THE QANTAS DOMAIN CONCERT from 7pm
MC Robbie Buck (ABC Radio) will host an extraordinary evening, a joyous experience showcasing
some of the finest talent in the world.
To kick off the evening, one of the UK’s original jazz DJ’s, Russ Dewbury (UK), turns up the heat with
his wonderful mix of jazz-fused beats and grooves before a contemporary Welcome To Country
Ceremony.
Then in a powerful collaboration, prepare for an uplifting experience with The Black Arm Band. This
stellar line-up of influential and iconic Indigenous singers and musicians will perform Hidden Republic,
a concert celebrating
songs of hope and resistance from the heart of Australia’s contemporary
Indigenous music scene. On stage will be
Jimmy Little, Archie Roach, Ruby Hunter, Dan Sultan,
Shane Howard, Emma Donovan, Bevan Gapanbulu Yunupingu, Mark Atkins
and more,
accompanied by a full orchestra.
One of the all-time great voices of soul will then take to the stage, the legendary Al Green (USA) along
with his 13-piece band. Green became known to the world through a string of hits in the
early 1970s
like ‘Let’s Stay Together’ and ‘Love and Happiness’. In a career spanning more than four decades, the
Page 5
minister of L-O-V-E has sold more than 20 million albums, won 11 Grammy Awards, been inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame, and
is the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Join Al Green for a passionate set of love-
fuelled classics for what promises to be a truly memorable evening in The Domain.
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED!
As part of the plan to get our city moving, Festival First Night is set to surprise, so look up, look around
and look out for the unexpected!
Festival First Night will present an
array of artists, musicians and performers who will emerge from
unexpected and unusual locations, from balconies along Macquarie Street, to rooftops and around city
corners.
Look out for Sax and the City, a 60-strong saxophonist ensemble
led by Sandy Evans
and
the quirky, safari-suited Gramophone Man with his wind up gramophone playing 78s, to the comical
youMove Dance Company.
The incredible Heliosphere
(UK)
will make its Sydney debut. A seemingly weightless balloon with
suspended performer floating through the sky above the streets of Sydney but dipping so low you could
lose your hat….an extraordinary spectacle not to be missed.
Take a stroll down
Hyde Park’s Central Avenue
and be enveloped in a magical spectacle of
lasers
and lights in the tree canopy, choreographed to a blend of traditional and contemporary Indian music,
from Bollywood pop to ancient melodies. This unique display will run from sunset through to 11pm.
Where
Hyde Park, Martin Place, Chifley Square, city streets and The Domain
When
January 9 at 2–11pm
Duration
9hrs, no interval!
Price
FREE
Information
The entertainment at The Domain is proudly sponsored and supported by the Botanic Gardens Trust
Sydney.
FESTIVAL FIRST NIGHT MEDIA ENQUIRIES Fresh Communications & Events – T: 02 9517 9977
Lyndel Feher:
0419 614 013
lyndel@freshcommunications.com.au
Janet Glover:
0412 601 816
janet@freshcommunications.com.au
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