Snowy 2.0's origin story of being conceived as a scribble on a pub coaster is a fitting metaphor for one of the most ambitious renewable energy projects in Australia's history.

It's Sunday night in Sydney, and we're all off to Church. But tonight's service comes with a 30-piece orchestra, a healthy dose of psychedelia and some of the finest songs in Australian rock history. The Church are presenting A Psychedelic Symphony, an ambitious reworking of their extraordinary back catalogue alongside the George Ellis Orchestra. And for a band whose music has always occupied a space somewhere between the earthly and the otherworldly, the orchestral treatment feels entirely appropriate. Led by the ever-enigmatic Steve Kilbey, The Church have spent more than four decades carving out their own corner of Australian music, their atmospheric guitars, hypnotic rhythms and cryptic lyrics earning them a devoted international following.

Forget everything you think you know about psychedelic rock. Thailand's Khun Narin are heading to the Sydney Opera House, making their Australian headline debut with a performance in the intimate Utzon Room on Thursday 4 March 2027. Hailing from the Phetchabun Mountains, this multi-generational collective has built a cult following with its wild collision of traditional Thai music, electrified instruments and relentless percussion. Their sound revolves around the phin, a three-stringed electric lute that cuts through the rhythmic chaos. Back home, the band performs at village celebrations and ceremonies, often playing through a towering, wheeled sound system that turns performances into moving street parties.

Icelandic composer and producer Ólafur Arnalds is heading back to the Sydney Opera House for two performances on 5 and 6 March 2027, bringing his ambitious new live show, Falling Apart Together, to the Concert Hall. It's his first solo appearance at the venue since 2018, although Sydney audiences last caught him in 2025 as one half of electronic duo Kiasmos, alongside Janus Rasmussen. A three-time Grammy nominee, Arnalds has spent his career blurring the lines between classical, ambient and electronic music. His compositions move effortlessly between delicate piano passages, sweeping strings and intricate electronics, creating music that's as cinematic as it is personal.

José González is heading back to the Sydney Opera House, and this time he's swapping the Concert Hall for the open air. The Swedish indie-folk favourite will take over the Opera House Forecourt on Saturday 27 February 2027, bringing his intricate guitar work and unmistakable vocals to one of Sydney's most spectacular outdoor stages. Armed with little more than an acoustic guitar, González will revisit favourites including Heartbeats and Crosses, alongside material from his fifth studio album, Against the Dying of the Light, released in March 2026. The new record finds González turning his attention to technology, human connection and the increasingly complicated business of being human.

Heilung are heading back Down Under, bringing their extraordinary live rituals to Australia and New Zealand in March 2027, including two nights at the Sydney Opera House. Forget your average gig. The experimental folk collective turn their performances into full-blown ancient ceremonies, complete with warriors, elaborate costumes, incense, throat singing and pounding tribal drums. It's part concert, part theatre and unlike just about anything else on the touring circuit. Backseat Mafia photographed Heilung on their last Australian tour, witnessing firsthand the sheer scale and spectacle of their performances. Now the collective are returning for seven shows, taking over some of the region's biggest and most iconic venues.

New York art-rock rockers Geese are heading back to Sydney, bringing their gloriously unpredictable live show to the Sydney Opera House Forecourt on Tuesday 2 March 2027. Fronted by the magnetic Cameron Winter, Geese have become one of the most talked-about bands in modern rock, tearing up the rulebook with jagged guitars, unpredictable rhythms and songs that seem ready to fall apart at any moment before pulling themselves back together. Their 2025 album Getting Killed landed on numerous best-of-year lists, including those of The New York Times, The New Yorker…

It has been a very long wait. Suede are returning to Australia for the first time since 1999, and they are making up for lost time with three nights at the Sydney Opera House that dig straight into the records that made them one of the defining British bands of the 1990s. Brett Anderson and co. make their Opera House debut in the Concert Hall from January 28 to 30, 2027, with these their only Australian performances. Better still, each night gets a different Suede album played live and in full: Suede, Dog Man Star and Coming Up, one record per night.

YouTube video by SYNTHONY