Four ways to experience Elevate – Sydney’s exhilarating new festival

Elevate will open on New Year’s Day with a spectacular First Nations celebration brimming with music and joy. The evening will be hosted by Rhoda Roberts AO, one of Australia’s foremost arts and culture leaders who has shaped programs at the Sydney Opera House, NIDA and Bluesfest. Commencing with a rousing Call to Country, the night will flow into a set from Electric Fields, a boundary-breaking duo who meld the traditional languages of the APY Lands into electronic music both epic and intimate. Baker Boy will then pick up the mantle with an hour of exuberant hip hop and rap to remind everyone why he’s one of the country’s most lauded artists at only 25. The party will close with the first of the nightly Skyshows, a five-minute visual extravaganza that sees choreographed drones conduct a mesmerising light show over Sydney Cove.

The Elevate Kids program is a goldmine for carers of little ones, with a host of Australia’s most loved entertainers delighting children each morning January 2-5. Play School presenter and children's music superstar Justine Clarke will be on hosting duties bringing out Simon Wiggle and friends (including Dorothy the Dinosaur and Wags the Dog) for their adoring fans. There’ll be sing-a-longs, dancing and plenty of laughs, while budding musicians will adore eclectic performance group Junkyard Beats, who turn ordinary household items and unwanted junk into extraordinary musical instruments. Be warned – your plastic buckets and wheelie bins may be ringing out with drum beats for the foreseeable future.

Afternoons at Elevate will be a whole-family affair, with sports stars, bands, entertainers and comedians taking over the stage as part of Elevate Arena. Core to the program will be a panel series hosted by Stephanie Brantz and featuring guests such as Olympic diver Melissa Wu and high jumper Nicola McDermott, Sydney Swans forward Tom Papley, international cricketer Ashleigh Gardner, NRL player Tom Trbojevic and Swifts netballer Madeleine Proud. Fans will get a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to become an elite athlete with plenty of insightful and inspiring stories to be shared. Over at the Harbour Stage there’ll be tunes from Dancehall DJ Nicole Tania, the live and loud Drummer Queens and rising stars from the Conservatorium of Music to bliss out to.

When the sun goes down the volume will turn up with a series of themed parties exploring a different genre each night. Kicking things off on Sunday January 2 is Elevate Discotheque, which will see the Cahill Expressway transformed into a glam 1970s nightclub featuring performances from Marcia Hines, Leo Sayer and Courtney Act. Monday night welcomes Elevate Encore, a warm salute to musical theatre graced by veterans Todd McKenney, David Campbell and John Paul Young, while on Tuesday night Elevate Music will switch it up with high-energy sets from R’n’B songstress Ngaiire, rising hip-hop and R’n’B talents BVT, Hauskey and CXLOE plus local rap legend L-FRESH the Lion. Elevate Sydney Final Night will bring out headline stars Tim Minchin and Tones and I, each lighting up the stage with an hour-long set.