Winter is here, but that’s no reason to cower under the doona at home. There’s so much to see and do in the city right now, thanks to the brilliant line-up of new festival Sydney Solstice. And the best thing about this extraordinary happening is that heaps of it is totally free. The Sydney Opera House is all over it in this regard, transforming the public forum of the Monumental Steps into a fabulous free festival, Badu Gili: Winter Nights.
Illuminated by giant projections of First Nations art on the harbour icon’s world-famous sails – a collaboration with Coby Edgar, the Art Gallery of New South Wales’s curator of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art – this 13-night showcase of emerging R&B, electro soul, pop, classical musicians and poets invites you to rug up and get lit.
The free gigs kick off at 5.30pm each evening. Artists performing include Blue Mountains-based husband and wife act Bow and Arrow, aka Mindy Jane and Mitchell Kwanten, Ngiyampaa, Yuin, Bandjalang and Gumbangirr violinist, singer and dancer Eric Avery, award-winning Wiradjuri poet living on Gadigal land Jazz Money, South Korean vocalist AnSo, Afro-house and ballroom sensation Glo, and former X-Factor contestant Jessica Jade.
Meriam woman Nornie Bero, the owner and chef at Melbourne café Mabu Mabu – a Torres Strait Islander term meaning to ‘help yourself’ – will be in charge of Winter Nights’ food and drink offering. It’s the first time Sydneysiders have been able to taste her yum offerings using native ingredients, making this event all the more unmissable. But don’t take out word for it. You can find out more about the program here, and we doubt you’ll be able to resist all this fantastic for absolutely free.
