Going down from mid-January into March.
Melbourne’s seminal sculpture park Heide Museum of Modern Art has announced Heide Summer Festival, set to go down from mid January into early March, welcoming a stellar list of local artists to the stage.
Celebrating diversity and multiculturalism while supporting musicians and festivals impacted by COVID-19, the festival will kick off with a performance from world-class saxophonist Soloman Sisay on Sunday January 17.
Sisay’s appearance comes as part of an early run of shows presented by Melbourne International Jazz Festival. Across three Sundays in January, the revered festival will also showcase the talents of jazz aficionado Nichaud Fitzgibbon on January 24 and rising Yorta Yorta musician, composer and storyteller Allara Briggs Pattison on January 31.
From there, Songlines Music Aboriginal Corporation will step in to present four shows across two Sundays in February. As part of this, Djirri Djirri Dance Group and Emma Donovan & The Putbacks will perform on February 7 with Uncle Larry Walsh and The Deans appearing on February 14.
As we near the end of February, Heide will host celebrated queer arts and cultural festival Midsumma for two events. Going down on Saturday February 27, All The Queens Men is a LGBTIQ+ friendly dance party that welcomes anyone to come along and boogie the day away.
On February 28, music experimentalist Diimpa will team up with Midsumma favourites Forest Collective for a performance that will challenge all regular aural capabilities. It’s contemporary classical music meets transcendent ambience.
To cap off Heide Summer Festival on Sunday March 7, Opa! Bato will perform contemporary Balkan brass music and take listeners on a journey through Serbia, Macedonia and beyond – celebrating the rich traditions of this European region.
Heide’s Artistic Director Lley Harding says the festival is a capstone moment for the beloved museum.
“We are excited to be presenting this dynamic series of events that will fill Heide’s sculpture garden with music and stories during the summer months,” Harding said in a press statement.
“The Summer Festival is the first of its kind for Heide and we are delighted to kick off our 40th anniversary program with a celebration that has Indigenous heritage and culture at its centre and that also supports Melbourne’s talented local artists and performing arts organisations in the wake of COVID-19.”
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The Heide Summer Festival goes down from Sunday January 17 to Sunday March 7. Grab tickets via the Heide website.
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