The Iranian Music Festival Is Coming Back To Sydney This October

After a successful first run in 2023, CozyStage and the NSW government are bringing the Iranian Music Festival back to Sydney for another year.

The festival will take place across four days and two separate locations, first hosted at Haymarket Creative in the city’s CBD from the 23rd to the 25th of October, and closing its final night at the North Ryde School of Arts on the 26th.

The program features an explorative mixture of Iranian music traditions that “embody the rich diversity” and history of Iranian music. Across the nights, nine artists will soundtrack a spellbinding journey through the evolution of Iranian music, merging “traditional melodies with contemporary compositions”. 

The festival will open on the 23rd with a live calligraphy performance courtesy of visual artist Reza Taghipour, set to the playing of classic Persian instruments by CozyMinimal. The 24th will feature FolkXperimental, a unique ensemble that merges Opera singing, Iranian Setar, percussion and flute, and Eishan Ensemble, who have taken to some of the world’s major stages at WOMAD, Auckland Arts Festival, Rome Jazz Festival, the Sydney Opera House and Melbourne Recital Hall.

On the 25th, Persian folk and pop composer and vocalist Ashkan Shafie will be joined by friends to take audiences on a sonic journey of love, sorrow and passion through Iranian Modern Ethnic music. Experimental cross-cultural music duo ZÖJ will also bring together classic and modern sounds through a blend of string, vocal and drumming performances.

The festival will close out with a stacked lineup of four experimental musicians, first kicking off with percussionist Sohrab Kolahdooz. Persian classical music band Dela Ensemble will traverse the evolution of Iran’s classic, medieval and contemporary music eras through indigenous Iranian instruments and Farsi poetry. The Sama Ensemble will centre their musical performance around one of the oldest string instruments from western Iran, the tanbur, and for the first time, will feature the indigenous Australian wind instrument, the didgeridoo, as a cultural and musical exchange between two cultures. And sending the festival off will be Avaye Rood, a Persian-fusion ensemble band providing an enthralling musical experience through Persian-inspired compositions.

Single-day tickets or a festival pass – which provides access to all nights of the festival – can be purchased here.