SONIC CITY 2026

A CITY-WIDE JOURNEY OF

CREATIVE MUSIC

Sonic City returns on 8 July 2026 with an expanded city-wide program celebrating contemporary creative music across Melbourne’s CBD. Spanning a series of performances and live experiences, the event invites audiences to explore the city through sound, movement and shared encounter.

Sonic City transforms Melbourne into a connected musical landscape, with audiences encouraged to wander between venues, discovering performances in diverse spaces throughout the day and into the night. Each venue offers its own atmosphere and perspective, creating a journey that is as much about experiencing the city itself as it is about the music.

Bringing together leading local and international artists, Sonic City foregrounds experimentation, collaboration and boundary-pushing performance, offering audiences the chance to experience creative music in dynamic and evolving contexts.

PROGRAM

11:00am - AAO Listening Room with sose fuamoli:

Karappo OKESTURA VOL.III

(online) - FREE

Sonic City opens with the launch of AAO Listening Room, an online space for music and reflection that extends the day beyond its physical venues. The program is hosted award-winning journalist and broadcaster Sose Fuamoli in conversation with Jem Savage about Nicole Lizée’s work Karappo Okestura Vol.III followed by a full album stream.

1:00pm - Vahideh Eisaei & Ying Yang

(Blender Studios) - FREE ENTRY

A meeting of distinct musical lineages joined through contemporary improvisation, this duo performance brings together the qanun of Vahideh Eisaei and pipa of Ying Yang. Eisaei’s work draws on Persian musical heritage, poetry, and storytelling through instrument and voice, while Yang’s practice brings a rich tradition of Chinese classical performance into dialogue with new forms. Together, they create a space where cultural memory and improvisation intersect in real time at Blender Studios.

3:00pm - Barney McAll

(Melbourne City Library Gallery) - FREE ENTRY

Pianist Barney McAll presents a solo performance shaped by his intangible instinct for both invention and transformation. Known for a boundary-crossing approach to jazz and composition, McAll moves fluidly between structure and spontaneity, creating music that challenges any attempt at categorisation. In the context of Sonic City, his performance offers an expressive, focused, moment within the broader journey throughout the CBD.

5:30pm - Margie Lou Dyer Quartet

(The Couch, Bourke Street) - FREE TICKETED ENTRY

From stomps, to rags, to swing, the Margie Lou Dyer Quartet delivers soulful, emotionally rich performances that draw on traditional jazz and blues traditions while bringing a distinctive voice to Australian jazz. Presented at The Couch, this performance is led by Margie Lou Dyer’s gravelly, expressive vocals, the quartet channels the spirit of New Orleans-inflected jazz with warmth, depth and decades of musical experience.

PREMIERE:

7:30pm - Smoke Between Mountains

(Immigration Museum, Long Room) - TICKETED ENTRY

Smoke Between Mountains is a new work by Aaron Choulai and the Australian Art Orchestra, performed by an ensemble of nine musicians. The work blends composition, improvisation and mythic storytelling through a dreamlike narrative shaped by Shinto and First Nations Australian ecological knowledge systems, featuring Miyama McQueen-Tokita on voice and koto, Adam Manning in percussive storytelling, and video design by Michael Carmody, exploring connection between cultures, landscapes and ecology.

BUY TICKETS

9:30 til late - DJ Sets at Robot Bar

Closing Sonic City, a series of DJ sets at Robot Bar shifts the energy into a more informal, communal space. The night moves into rhythm and release, offering audiences a place to unwind and continue the sonic experience.

SONIC CITY PASSPORT

To make the journey complete, this year there’s a SONIC CITY Passport: a city-wide interactive pass designed to guide your exploration through both the festival program and Melbourne’s CBD. Collect your passport card from any participating venue or business on the day and earn stamps by attending Sonic City events and making purchases at participating local businesses throughout the day. The more stamps collected, the more opportunities to unlock music and merch giveaways provided by Crumpler and the AAO*.

Collect all 9 stamps and you will be eligible to receive a SONIC CITY Music Pack featuring CDs and records from all performing artists.

Once you have completed your passport journey, scan it and send it to info@aao.com.au to claim your giveaway.

*Giveaways will be available for anyone who achieves a minimum of 4 stamps - including a minimum of one event attendance and one business purchase.

Partnering businesses include: Captains of Industry, Crumpler, Hareruya Pantry, Pizza Pizza Pizza

SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS