12 Mar 2025

Carriageworks Unveils Vivid Sydney 2025 Program Spanning Live Music and Food

Sydney, Australia: Carriageworks, on Gadigal Country, has unveiled a dynamic program of live music and food spearheaded by Australian talent for Vivid Sydney 2025, Australia’s largest festival and major showcase of our creative industries. From 30 May - 14 June, during Vivid Sydney (23 May – 14 June), Carriageworks will erupt with homegrown and international artists pushing boundaries across soul, jazz, indie rock, R&B, funk and electronic sound in a music program curated by Tom Supple, alongside the return of the much-loved Carriageworks Night Market.

Mall Grab makes his long-awaited return to Sydney, taking over Carriageworks’ Bays 22-24 on 13 June and bringing his Looking For Trouble label and party back home for his largest headline show to date. 2025 marks 10 years of the Mall Grab project - since bursting onto the scene and exploring a plethora of genres, Mall Grab has reshaped the global electronic landscape, cementing himself as one of Australia's most influential DJs and producers. With his hotly anticipated second album on the horizon, he’s bringing a stacked lineup of homegrown talent for a night of unstoppable energy, immersive audio-visual production, deep cuts, and future anthems.

Sydney-based artist from Papua New Guinea Ngaiire (6 June) brings her captivating fusion of experimental jazz, electro-pop, hip hop, and beyond, filtered through her perspective as a First Nations songwriter, to the stage. Ngaiire is set to perform her most visceral and transcendent work yet – PAIA, a new collaboration with multi-award winning director Dino Dimitriadis. Rooted in the Tok Pisin word for “fire,” PAIA is an eruption of rage, sex, ecstasy, ceremony, ancestry, and cleansing that fuses music, dance, and visuals into a blazing, multi-sensory experience.

Byron Bay outfit Skegss (7 June) will inject the lineup with their raw mix of surf and garage rock. Hailing from NSW's Northern Beaches, Skegss have built a devoted global following with their sun-soaked melodies, gritty riffs, and infectious anthems. Now, following the recent release of their album Pacific Highway Music, they’re bringing their cruisy surf rock meets thrasher punk to Carriageworks.

Teaming up with renowned party-starters Astral People, moktar (14 June) joins the lineup with his bold, genre-blending sound, weaving together pulsating techno and IDM with the rich textures of Arabic percussion and folk melodies. Following a sold-out show at Dark Mofo and hard-hitting Boiler Room sets, the Egyptian-Australian DJ and producer delivers a thrilling sonic journey that takes inspiration from the global dance scene and his vibrant Arab heritage to celebrate cultural fusion and unity on the dancefloor.

A night of deep cuts and raw energy - Pure Space & Butter Sessions (7 June) unites two of Australia’s electronic trailblazers for an unmissable sonic odyssey. From the creative heartlands of Australia to the world’s most revered clubs and airwaves, Pure Space is a driving force in underground electronic music, with club queen Andy Garvey weaving deep techno textures with mesmerising rhythms. Meanwhile, Butter Sessions, led by Sleep D, has spent over a decade curating cerebral house, hypnotic dub, and raw underground techno. The two powerhouses join forces to take over Carriageworks’ Bay 17 for an exhilarating party that will pull you deep into the emotional and expansive landscapes of electronic music.

Awesome Black and leading voices in Sydney’s hip-hop scene are teaming up with Carriageworks to present Echoes of the Block: A Live & Local Blak Hip Hop Collaboration - a celebration of First Nations rich creativity. From 5-8 June, Carriageworks’ Track 8 will transform into a vibrant creative hub, where emerging and established artists come together in an open exchange of music, storytelling, and Culture. By day, the industrial space will serve as a collaborative studio, fostering artistic experimentation; by night, it will evolve into an immersive live performance venue, offering audiences a rare chance to experience raw, unfiltered artistry and powerful First Nations storytelling. More details to be announced.

International heavyweights joining the program include American modern jazz icon Kamasi Washington (8 June), who returns to Australia after sell-out headline shows at the Hollywood Bowl and Sydney Opera House. A celebrated saxophonist and composer from Los Angeles renowned for his critically acclaimed albums and collaborations with artists like Kendrick Lamar and Florence + the Machine, Washington is a driving force in the mainstream jazz renaissance and will deliver a powerful, transcendent performance.

Following Madlib’s unforgettable set in 2023 and Yasiin Bey’s (formerly Mos Def) two sold-out shows in 2024, Carriageworks’ hip-hop explorations during Vivid Sydney continue with Bey returning in 2025 - this time alongside his longtime collaborator Talib Kweli as the legendary duo Black Star (June 10). Emerging from the underground rap scene of the mid-’90s, the duo has shaped the sound of conscious hip-hop, blending Afrocentric themes, socio-political commentary, and unmatched wordplay into anthems that resonate. Decades on, Black Star remains a driving force in the ever-evolving hip-hop landscape.

Brooklyn-based indie rock band DIIV (13 June) will captivate with their blend of shoegaze and dream pop in their first Australian show in five years. Known for their swirling guitars and atmospheric, entrancing sound, DIIV will create a smoky, spiraling pop experience that promises to transport audiences.

Carriageworks' legendary Night Market (30 May) is back for Vivid Sydney 2025, and this year, it’s all about dreams—big, bold, and delicious! Handing the reins to the next generation of culinary stars, young guns from Sydney’s top bars and restaurants will step into the spotlight, representing their team and serving up a dish or drink that’s entirely their own—their dream, on a plate or in a glass, for you to taste. Expect incredible food, killer cocktails, live music to set the vibe, and a People’s Choice Award where you get to crown a future food legend.

Carriageworks’ Vivid Sydney program forms part of the precinct’s Carriageworks Winter program, which also features new and award-winning stage works and major design and innovation events.

Carriageworks CEO, Fergus Linehan, said: “Carriageworks is proud to be part of Vivid Sydney, Australia’s biggest and best-loved cultural event. We look forward to welcoming tens of thousands of music and food lovers to the Inner West this winter.”

Vivid Sydney Festival Director, Gill Minervini, said: "Vivid Sydney celebrates creativity, technology and innovation. Our longstanding partnership with Carriageworks exemplifies the very heart of this vision. The exceptional quality and diversity of programming at Carriageworks has established it as an unmissable cultural cornerstone of the festival. This partnership enriches the Vivid Sydney experience, creating distinctive spaces where audiences can discover and immerse themselves in extraordinary creative encounters—moments that continue to resonate long after the festival lights fade."

Carriageworks Music Curator, Tom Supple, said: “Carriageworks continues to beat as the electronic heart of Vivid Sydney, once again showcasing the exceptional diversity of Australia’s world-renowned electronic music scene. Coupled with global icons like Black Star and Kamasi Washington, the 2025 program promises unforgettable musical experiences which will echo in the audience’s memories long after the lights fade.”

Carriageworks’ music and food program as part of Vivid Sydney 2025 takes place from 30 May to 14 June.
Program can be found here.

Mall Grab Presale: Thursday 13 March, 9am AEDT.
General Presale: Thursday 13 March, 10am AEDT. Sign-up to the presale here.
General sale: Friday 14 March, 10am AEDT.

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MEDIA CONTACT

For further information or to request media interviews, please contact: 

Marissa Giannone
Communications Manager, Carriageworks
marissa.g@carriageworks.com.au 02 8571 9099

Vivid Sydney
media@dnsw.com.au 

IMAGES available to download here.