Sydney Festival Unveils First Acts With David Byrne, St Vincent

Sydney Festival has today announced the first three shows for its 2013 program, ahead of the full announcement scheduled for Tuesday 23 October.

At the Sydney Town Hall from Friday 11 - Tuesday 15 January, music and fashion unite with Semele Walk, featuring the costumes of fashion designer Vivienne Westwood soundtracked by Handel's Semele, and showcased by models and performers across a 30 metre catwalk.

Already announced earlier this week as the headline act of Hobart's MONA FOMA festival for 2013, David Byrne (former frontman of Talking Heads) and St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark) will be performing together off the back of their debut collaborative record, Love This Giant. The brass-heavy record means that the New York City-based duo will be accompanied by a brass band at the State Theatre on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 January.

The third show announced this morning is the Latin street circus group Circolombia, who will be bringing their show URBAN to Parramatta's Riverside Theatre. With sold our shows all across Europe, they have stunned audiences with their high-energy, acrobatic antics.

Sydney Festival Parramatta will also be returning in January. Its 15-day event includes two free outdoor events - Parra Opening Party on Saturday 19 January and Closing Night Event on Saturday 26 January - with included Australia Day celebrations.

The free outdoor program was also announced, Symphony In The Domain will return for another year, to be held on Australia Day, and Summer Sounds In The Domain returns on Saturday 12 January. Changes have however been made to the opening celebrations of the festival, in past years known as Festival First Night. In 2013, Day One: An Opening In Three Acts will offer a series of events throughout the day and into the evening spread across Hyde Park, Darling Harbour and The Domain.

Tickets for the first three shows announced will go on sale Thursday 13 September. The full program will be announced on Tuesday 23 October.

Sydney Festival 2013 runs from Saturday 5 to Sunday 27 January.