Annual contemporary music festival in Sydney, Australia
Vivid LIVE is an annual contemporary music festival held by Sydney Opera House as part of Vivid Sydney. Taking place across all six venues at the Opera House, it features a bill of local and international artists, specially commissioned works and the hallmark Lighting of the Sails. It stands as the centrepiece of the Sydney Opera House's contemporary music program.
At the forefront of each lineup are influential artists performing their most impactful works. Over the years this has included The Cure’s Reflections (2011); Kraftwerk’s retrospective, The Catalogue 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 in 3D (2013); Brian Eno’s Pure Scenius (2009); Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson (2010) and the Pixies (2014).
Unique projects have ranged from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Karen O in Stop The Virgens (2012); Sufjan Stevens, Bryce Dessner & Nico Muhly in Planetarium (2012) to Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon, Megafaun and Fight the Big Bull in Sounds of the South (2013).
Vivid LIVE has also seen Australian premieres and exclusive performances from the likes of Ms. Lauryn Hill (2014); Amon Tobin’s ISAM (2012); Chris Cunningham (2011); Bat For Lashes (2011); The Gurrumul Project (2013) and the late Bobby Womack (2013). Most notably, it has showcased a series of emerging artists who have since established themselves at the forefront of contemporary music—including Nils Frahm (2014), St Vincent (2014), Danny Brown (2013), Flume (2009) and Jon Hopkins (2009).
Vivid LIVE was the winner of the Helpmann Award for Best Contemporary Music Festival in 2015.
In 2018 Vivid LIVE celebrated its 10th anniversary.
History
In its inaugural incarnation 26 May - 14 June 2009, Luminous, the festival was curated by Brian Eno whose aim was to produce a truly eclectic lineup: "people who work in the new territories, the places in between, the places out at the edges."[3] Acts included New York city's experimental rock group Battles, trumpet player and composer Jon Hassell, and comedian/musician Reggie Watts.
In 2010, the late Lou Reed and his wife Laurie Anderson realised their artistic vision by performing works of their own, with Reed's Metal Machine Trio and Anderson's Transitory Life.[4]
2011 saw the Sydney-based music promoter and founder of Modular Recordings Steve Pavlovic program the likes of The Cure, video artist Chris Cunningham and psychedelic rock project Tame Impala. The Studio venue was also transformed into a club space for the first time with parties curated by The Avalanches, Mad Racket featuring Gavin Russom’s The Crystal Ark and 2manydjs.[5]
In 2012, Sydney Opera House took the programming of the festival into its own hands, reflecting the rising status of contemporary music at the performing arts centre. Fergus Lineham, the Head of Contemporary Music at the time, said the change was necessary to facilitate the ambitious nature of the festival: "there was such a time commitment and a geographical challenge that it meant we ended up with a lot of people who would have loved to do something but wouldn't do the whole thing."[6] The lineup included Sufjan Stevens, Florence + the Machine and the Ceremonial Orchestra, and the Australian premiere of Shut Up and Play the Hits—a documentary recounting the lead up to LCD Soundsystem's final performance. Karen O also appeared in the Australian debut of her "psycho-opera" Stop the Virgens.[7]
In 2015, Ben Marshall, Head of Contemporary Music at Sydney Opera House, presented his first Vivid LIVE line up — one that he described as "a celebration of unique individuals' voices".[8] In a first for contemporary music at the Opera House, Sydney label Future Classic presented concerts on the Northern Broadwalk.
2020 saw no festival due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
