Inaugural 'Petting Zoo' Music Event Moves Indoors Due To Extreme Heat

Sydneysiders can enjoy live music and air conditioning at an indoor venue this weekend.

As extreme heat takes over the southeast corners of the country, organisers behind the inaugural Petting Zoo mini festival have moved their event from an outdoor setting to an indoor, air-conditioned venue.

Making its debut this weekend – on Saturday, 10 January – the festival has moved from the University of Sydney car park to the Plaza Hotel, in the heart of the Sydney CBD on 600 George Street, Sydney. The multi-stage, colourful event with a focus on drawing the attention of Gen Z attendees will now keep punters nice and cool in an immersive space.

In addition to the venue change, Petting Zoo has moved from a daytime event to a festival that will last all night, from 7 pm to 3 am, taking over the space’s multiple floors, including the basement and theatre. Fans will take in immersive production, bursts of confetti, and playful inflatable installations.

With the move to the Plaza Hotel, the festival will host 2,000 guests, with back-to-back sets and a curated line-up keeping the party going.

Petting Zoo has locked in an impressive line-up of local and international DJs, including UK stars Parker, Kenry, and Laidlaw, and Aussie artists Jordan Brando, Ca Lou, Me1to, and more. You can check out the line-up below.

Punters who can no longer attend the festival at the new venue will be offered refunds, while fans who thought they’d miss out can access tickets for the relocated show here.

Originally announced last month by music and culture agency noisy and LINES, the festival made headlines for notably trialling an Arrive By Ticketing approach, which will award punters for arriving before a set time.

The approach encourages punters to arrive early and discover new artists, while standard Arrive Anytime tickets are also available for purchase.

Upon announcing the festival in December, Harry Wilson, Managing Director of noisy and Co-founder of Petting Zoo, said (via Media Week): “Petting Zoo gives us a chance to show the full range of what we can do. We built noisy on audience insight and cultural credibility, and this festival takes that thinking into a real-world experience at scale.

“We are also exploring new ways for brands to show up with ideas that go far beyond putting a logo on a stage. This is a moment to prove how creative and original noisy, LINES, and Petting Zoo can be.”