It’s always festival season somewhere in the world. If you happen to be in the Southern Hemisphere, that time is now (yay!) and – over in Australia – there’s heaps to look forward to, including Melbourne’s upcoming Sugar Mountain Festival.
Priding itself on a seamless yet unexpected mix of performance, visual art, and all-round creative collaboration, the boutique event’s music lineup boasts a selection of local favourites and international names, plus the return of the Boiler Room stage.
The single day event finds a new home at the Melbourne Arts Precinct on Saturday, January 20. Head over here for tickets and more info.
If you’re looking for recommendations, here’s five artists you’re going to want to check out, plus the full lineup below.
Following a run of North American tour dates, Melbourne’s Cut Copy head home for their Sugar Mountain debut. We’ve had the new album Haiku From Zero on repeat – and you can always expect arms raised high for the triumphant, singalong hits the four-piece has made their name on. For more reasons on why they’re one of our favourites, you can also checkout Sidewalk Hustle’s recent conversation with the band here.
Calling Honey Dijon one of the world’s coolest DJs is about as accurate as you can get. The fashionable Chicago artist is also what the electronic scene (and, frankly, all of music) desperately needs – an intelligent trans-activist not afraid to call out white guy bro culture and encourage marginalized creator culture instead. Damn right.
Jamila Woods has both a voice and a vibe that are out of this world. If you’re not just melting under the sun, you’ll also be melting to the Chance the Rapper collaborator’s smooth, powerfully delivered R&B.
Montreal’s Project Pablo is set to hit the Boiler Room stage. With Pitchfork praising the track “Is It Dry?” as “big room techno with a weird edge,” it seems like Sugar Mountain will be a perfect fit for his dance floor experimentation.
If Sevdaliza’s background is any indication, this Iranian-Dutch alt-electronic musician should be well versed in cultural and creative collaboration. She comes to the festival with her 2017 debut album, with Pop Matters saying: “On ISON, she is the origin of life, creating, shaping, and giving all of herself.” High praise indeed.
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Music:
Actress
Ara Koufax
Beaches
Body Type
Cut Copy
Dan Shake
Éclair Fifi
Fantastic Man
Gerd Janson
Honey Dijon
J Hus
Jamilia Woods
Joey Bada$$
Kardajala Kirridarra
Laurel Halo
Love Deluxe
Project Pablo
Svedaliza
Shanti Celeste
Stella Donnelly
Visual Art:
VIA ALICE feat. Waangenga Blanco x Khalif Diouf
Amrita Hepi x Pasefika Victoria Choir
Justin Shoulder x CORIN x Tristan Jalleh
Hiroyasu Tsuri x Jun Inoue
Marcus Whale x Athena Thebus