Vivid Sydney, RISING Melbourne, you’ve had your turn – it’s time for Adelaide to have some fun.
Taking place across three weekends from July 4th-21st, Illuminate Adelaide will celebrate the intersection and innovation between art, music, and technology.
The award-winning festival (Illuminate won the Gold Medal for Major Festivals or Events at the South Australian Tourism Awards last year) is now in its fourth year, and has become an important event on the South Australian calendar, supporting almost 150 local, national, and international artists.
Organisers have compiled an exciting program for 2024, featuring a perfect mix of major ticketed events, music performances, and free installations, all in the heart of Adelaide CBD.
Check out a few select highlights from the music program below:
Joep Beving
A Dutch pianist acclaimed for his minimalist style, Joep Beving will perform his latest work, Hermetism, at Her Majesty’s Theatre. Despite only getting his big break at the age of 38, Beving has made up for lost time, becoming ranked alongside iconic composers such as Nils Frahm, Max Richter, and Ólafur Arnalds.
Max Cooper
Belfast-born, London-based electronic musician Max Cooper is bringing his unmissable live 3D AV phenomenon to Illuminate Adelaide, a special stop on his massive global tour.
In an Australian-exclusive performance, expect to see immersive visuals, stunning sound design, and the sort of experimental electronica that Cooper does best.
Helen Svoboda
Helen Svoboda does it all. One of the leading lights of Australian jazz music, the double bassist, vocalist, and composer will perform a masterful solo set at Lion Arts Centre.
Unsound Adelaide
Melbourne might get a lot of acclaim for its music scene, but Adelaide has one of the world’s most progressive experimental music festivals.
Unsound Adelaide has assembled an incredible collection of artists who are ready to turn up the volume in the Dom Polski Centre.
There’s Sonic Youth legend Kim Gordon, still going strong as an idiosyncratic solo artist in 2024. There’s the equally legendary The Caretaker, aka Leyland Kirby, the ambient British musician whose music has profoundly moved people on TikTok and beyond. There’s Norwegian saxophonist and performance artist Bendik Giske, as well as renowned producer and musician Jim O’Rourke and Japanese multi-instrumentalist Eiko Ishibashi.
The list could go on and on.
“This year the 2024 Illuminate Adelaide program features some of the most exciting creative innovators and artists the world has to offer – and we can’t wait for July when they will brighten our winter with installations, projections, performances and immersive experiences across the city for a full 18 nights,” Illuminate Adelaide’s co-founders and creative directors, Rachael Azzopardi and Lee Cumberlidge, said.
You can find out more information about Illuminate Adelaide, including exploring the entire 2024 program, here.
