The 2023 Darwin Festival is set to ignite the Australian arts scene with 18 days of spectacular performances from local talents, national and international artists, and a range of shows that will delight both tourists and locals. From August 10 to August 27, the festival will feature over 80 events spread across 28 venues, with more than 850 artists from the NT, Australia, and overseas taking the stage.
Music lovers will have plenty of options to choose from, with performances from a diverse range of genres on offer. The INPEX Sunset Stage in Festival Park, one of the Territory’s most popular open-air venues, will host a dynamic line-up of live music, featuring Aboriginal women from Groote Eylandt and Dr. Shellie Morris’s Yarnumamalya Ayangkidarrbalangwa, ’90s rock legends Regurgitator, ARIA-winning Budjerah, dance-pop mavericks Haiku Hands, Unearthed High winner Jacotene, Arnhem Land’s rising star Yirrmal, and History of House, a musical journey through disco, pop, and house, with DJ Groove Terminator and Soweto Gospel Choir.
The closing weekend of the festival will take place at the iconic Darwin Ski Club, featuring a mesmerising waterfront concert by Queensland virtuoso Katie Noonan performing Joni Mitchell’s Blue, and a musical journey led by The Whitlams Black Stump Band, revisiting cherished hits and debuting new originals.
Apart from live music, the festival boasts an impressive roster of events across theatre, comedy, dance, cabaret, visual arts, and family-oriented shows. The 17-year-old National Indigenous Music Awards (NIMAs) will showcase the diversity and achievements of First Nations musicians and foster the careers of acclaimed artists. The Darwin Symphony Orchestra presents Desire & Destiny, a compelling program featuring works by renowned Australian composers, exploring themes of love, death, and destiny.
Rock fans can experience the live rockumentary 27 Club, featuring Australian rock icons like Sarah McLeod, Kevin Mitchell, Carla Lippis, Dusty Lee Stephensen, Cam Blokland, and Wanderers, celebrating the music and stories of legendary artists who tragically left us at 27. Silence of the Jams combines a movie and live music gig, with Eddie and his Band of Legends presenting their self-made independent film accompanied by an original soundtrack.
The festival will also showcase local talents at the Power and Water Bamboo Bandstand in Festival Park and the Railway Club, Darwin’s favourite year-round music venue. The Barber of Seville, a comical opera featuring lyrical acrobatics, brings humour to the stage, while Milpirri Sensorium celebrates the blend of youthful energy and elder wisdom in learning Western and Warlpiri ways, bringing the Warlpiri kinship of Milpirri from the Tanami Desert to Larrakia country for the first time.
With so much on offer, the 2023 Darwin Festival promises to be an unmissable event for anyone who loves music, theatre, art and culture.