2008 - Sydney Festival

Sydney Festival hit the national spotlight with their first ever Festival First Night. Taking over the CBD and surrounding areas, the party was headlined by none other than The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Meanwhile on other stages, there were performances from Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Paul Kelly, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Shooglenifty, Babylon Circus, Airvag, Pink Martini, Shuffle Club Big Band, Plump DJs, Spank Rock and many more.

View Program

Festival Director: Fergus Linehan

Sydney Festival hit the national spotlight with theirfirst ever Festival First Night. Taking over the CBD and surrounding areas, the party was headlined by none other than The Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson. Meanwhile on other stages, there were performances from Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Paul Kelly, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Shooglenifty, Babylon Circus, Airvag, Pink Martini, Shuffle Club Big Band, Plump DJs, Spank Rock and many more.

The music program drew remarkable audiences, particularly when Björk (pictured above) performed on the Sydney Opera House forecourt. The songs of Kev Carmody were brought to life in a collaborative performance featuring Paul and Dan Kelly, Tex Perkins, Clare Bowditch, The Drones, Sara Storer, Pigram Brothers, Missy Higgins, Steve Kilbey, Dan Sultan, Last Kinection and Kev Carmody himself.

FESTIVAL FIRST NIGHT

Brian Wilson, Paul Kelly, Spanish Harlem Orchestra, Sydney Youth Orchestra, Shooglenifty, Babylon Circus, Airvag, Pink Martini and more

THEATRE

Black Watch
National Theatre of Scotland

AALST
National Theatre of Scotland

Au Revoir Parapluie
James Thierrée

DANCE

Three Works and Alas

Compania Nacional De Danza
Choreography by Nacho Duato

CABARET

Insert the Name of the Person You Love
Meow Meow

CIRCUS

La Clique

Secret Cirque Ici

ABOUT AN HOUR

Dance Screen

Mortal Engine
Chunky Move
Gideon Obarzanek

Kin
Stephen Page

Aether
Lucy Guerin Inc

This Show Is About People
Shaun Parker

The Age I'm In
Force Majeure
Kate Champion

Construct
Tanja Liedtke

Into
Kathryn Dunn, Narelle Benjamin, Frances Rings

Movers & Shakers Conversations

MUSIC

A Secret in the Shape of a Song
The Triffids and Friends

Andrew Bird

Beck's Festival Bar: Amp Fiddler

Beck's Festival Bar: Babylon Circus and True Live

Beck's Festival Bar: Chromeo

Beck's Festival Bar: De La Soul and People Under the Stairs

Beck's Festival Bar: Don't Look Back
Mudhoney and The Cosmic Psychos

Beck's Festival Bar: FBi Night
Bonde do Role and Girl Talk

Beck's Festival Bar: FBi Night
Spank Rock

Beck's Festival Bar: Klub Koori
Busdriver, Wire MC, Street Warriors, Sean Choolburra, Radical Son, Last Kinection, Brothablack and MC_S

Beck's Festival Bar: Mad Racket
Moodymann, Mark Pritchard, Steve Spacek, Jimmi James, Ken Cloud, Zootie and Simon Caldwell

Beck's Festival Bar: Monobloco and Uber Lingua Sound System

Beck's Festival Bar: Warp Future Music
Battles, Andy Weatherall, Harmonic 313 and Pivot

Björk

Brian Wilson

Cannot Buy My Soul: The Songs of Kev Carmody
Paul Kelly, Dan Kelly, Tex Perkins, Clare Bowditch, The Drones, Sara Storer, Pigram Brothers, Missy Higgins, Steve Kilbey, Dan Sultan, Last Kinection, Kev Carmody

Fourplay

House of The Holy Afro
Third World Bunfight

Iiro Rantala New Trio

Jazz in The Domain - El Barrio
Spanish Harlem Orchestra

Joanna Newsom with The Sydney Symphony

Kimmo Pohjonen

Low

Martin Craft

Mice Parade

Murundak
The Black Arm Band

Ngapartji Ngapartji

Pink Martini