Concrete Playground

Vivid is Sydney’s so-branded festival of ‘music, light and ideas’ aimed at getting us through the winter. This year, the Vivid LIVE (previously, Luminous) portion of proceedings will be curated by New York’s premier rock royalty, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson. The programme promises music, dance, film, theatre and comedy totalling a music festival with a difference — and, out of sheer hunger to attain their level of enlightenment, we will no doubt devour the whole thing.

Anderson suggested prior to any announcements that the people she would be including were very “eclectic”, and that she’s drawn to the spirit of collaboration, improvisation and “things that can only be done live”. Perusing the line-up, it is fair to say that she was not understating that sentiment.

Highlights include Japanese experimental three-piece Boris, day trippers Bardo Pond, Lou Reed's critically condemned Metal Machine Trio, Sufjan Stevens' beautiful back-up singer My Brightest Diamond, Laurie Anderson's own Transitory Life, two-man Vice Magazine party machine King Khan and BBQ Show and lauded experimental play The Shipment from Brooklyn.

Creative Sydney, Fire Water, and the bit with all the pretty lights will be back as part of greater Vivid this year, too. The festival runs May 27 to June 11.