So many events! So little time! Have a chew through these tip-offs and march out there, culture soldier.
Music
It's a huge month for live music, with so many quality artists in town that even the grubby weather won't keep the music lovers at home.
Vivid Sydney is doing lots of the heavy lifting in this category, with the Carriageworks line-up particularly juicy, featuring hip hop royalty Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), the unique Yves Tumor (Aus debut), industrial rnb singer Tirzah, plus homegrown heroes Pond and Emma Donovan.
Warren Ellis' incomparable bush rock outfit Dirty Three play the Enmore (jump on Tixel for the inevitable resales). City Recital Hall hosts American alt-rock trio Blonde Redhead and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra tackling Handel's Water Music.
Iconic First Nations outfit No Fixed Address takes on Machine Hall, and Sydney Festival favourite Joseph Tawadros plays Marrickville gem, the Camelot Lounge.
Theatre and dance
Sydney Theatre Company stages two Australian originals: Stolen, telling the heartbreaking story of five members of the Stolen Generation, and dark comedy, American Signs.
The celebration of Sri Lanka and Australia that was the popular Sydney Festival premiere, Counting and Cracking, is back on tour thanks to Belvoir St Theatre, and if you're of the musical persuasion, Hayes Theatre has a genre-busting twisted comedy just for you in Ride the Cyclone.
Death of a Salesman featuring Anthony Lapaglia enters is final weeks at Theatre Royal and for the dance lovers, you can catch the final two nights of the Romeo and Juliet Suite, featuring innovative new choreography to accompany the iconic Prokofiev score, and Bangarra's latest offering, Horizon, evoking the sacred realm where the sun meets the sky.
Free
Some very interesting discussions going down in the city this month, via Vivid Sydney's After the Fact series, and City of Sydney's City Talks series, all free to attend. And of course the Vivid Light Walk is there for the taking, and the taking of pictures, every night throughout the festival.
Jazz in the Rocks brings free outdoor jazz concerts to The Rocks on Thursday evenings all through winter, and Vivid still has a few great nights left of its free live music program Tumbalong Nights. Sydney Film Festival is running SFF TV, screening a fantastic selection of short films at 12pm every day in Martin Place until the end of the Festival on 16 June. Up for a curveball event? Check out Best of the West Battle of the Bands in Parramatta square and discover the next big thing.
Event fruit salad
Sydney Film Festival is underway! And as usual there's a film for every niche genre you can think of. Go explore the world – in a comfy seat, with popcorn. Festival alumni The Huxleys bring their singular performative and decorative excess to Machine Hall with The Huxleys present Personality Crisis, and speaking of The Huxleys, it's Pride Month! With every manner of queer creative events happening in Sydney during June, from drag to theatre to visual art.
Finally, a family-friendly special, with our beloved puppeteers, Erth, bringing magical encounters with rare species to Riverside in ARC.
