NSW government to fund free, late-night Sydney music festival

A free, all-night music festival is set to reignite Sydney’s party scene with 100 of Australia’s best performers and DJ’s to perform at 16 different locations around the city.

Hospitality giant Solotel and the NSW Government are hoping a free, all-night music festival will reignite Sydney’s late night party scene after lockout and lockdown laws wreaked havoc on it.

The Sydney All-Nighter is a one night music festival, with 100 of the countries best performers and DJ’s, including Montaigne and Confidence Man, performing on 27 stages across 16 different venues scattered around the city, and play until 4am.

The event, to be held on Saturday September 17, is part of the NSW Government’s $50 million CBD Revitalisation Program.

Highlights of the event include a performance by ARIA award-winning performer Montaigne, who, with Sydney Harbour as a backdrop, will perform at Opera Bar.

Across the city, at the Albion in Parramatta, 22-year-old hip-hop DJ Paris Lawrence will be on the decks.

Montaigne will take part in the one-night music festival.

Coming off sold out shows in Melbourne, Indie electro group Confidence Man will perform a DJ set at Newtown’s Bank Hotel.

Celebrity chef Matt Moran’s new venture, Japanese vinyl bar and restaurant Rekodo, which will only just have opened is also hosting a performance, with Harvey Sutherland playing a special vinyl set.

The festival will run at 16 venues.

It is hoped the event will help revive Sydney’s night-life post lockdown. Picture: Richard Dobson

Solotel was given the grant during round 3 of the Revitalisation Program, which awarded $21.25 million across 40 projects including Sydney All-Nighter.

The NSW Government’s 24h Economy Commissioner, Michael Rodrigues said he was “thrilled” to see so many venues from east to west light up all at once.

“Live music and entertainment is well and truly back in Sydney and collaboration between the 16 venues and more than 100 artists sets an exciting benchmark for an in-venue music festival,” Mr Rodrigues said.

In a statement, Solotel’s CEO Elliot Solomon said the event was “created to encourage people to come out at night and experience the best of Sydney’s vibrant music and night-life culture”.

The event follows in the footsteps of an earlier initiative, which saw the NSW Government fund select restaurants in the CBD to keep them open past 9pm during Vivid.

The full list of participating venues involved are Opera Bar; Barangaroo House; Kings Cross Hotel; Paddo Inn; Dusk Club at The Edinburgh Castle Hotel, CBD; Goros, Surry Hills; Darlo Bar, Darlinghurst; The Clock, Surry Hills; The Marly, Newtown; The Bank, Newtown; The Golden Sheaf, Double Bay; The Albion Parramatta, The Erko, Erskineville; Public House Petersham; The Regent, Kingsford; and The Courthouse Hotel, Newtown.