Umbrella Winter City Sounds Music Festival Unveils Epic 2017 Program

After a massive inaugural run last year, Music SA-led festival Umbrella Winter City Sounds will return this year with another eclectic, star-studded local line-up.

Kicking off on July 14 and running until July 30, more than 300 live music events will consume more than 100 venues across the state, including trams, car parks and abandoned hospital wards.

The state’s music body once again curated part of the line-up with the rest set up by local artists and the result paints a comprehensive snapshot of Adelaide’s burgeoning creative industry while also igniting a time of year that might otherwise be a little quiet, falling just outside peak festival season.

The 2017 line-up will see The Tram Sessions return to the state, a Winter Island Festival of world music, SA legends Golden Era Records deliver a hip hop party, a wealth of local acts paying tribute to musical greats, audio-visual extravaganza Dark Matter (which takes over the abandoned hospital), Wintersteady festival making a triumphant comeback and so much more.

It’s a step up from last year’s debut, which hosted around 260 events, partly due to the State Government’s Live Music Events Fund, which will assist Umbrella for the next three years too.

“Adelaide has a rich tradition of showcasing the arts, and Umbrella: Winter City Sounds is testament to what a city can do for musicians, audiences, visitors and venues when we collectively get behind live music,” South Australian Arts Minister Jack Snelling said.

"Umbrella is now a staple on the South Australian events calendar, and is leading Adelaide's Newest Festival Month with Guitars in Bars, Beer & BBQ Festival, Winter Reds, the AIR Awards, as well as the Riverbank activation.” Music SA General Manager Lisa Bishop added.

"Umbrella Winter City Sounds is truly an exciting range of musical offerings, with something for everyone from jazz and hip hop, to psychedelic-rock and family friendly entertainment. Coupled with the major addition of being able to showcase Adelaide’s talents to key national industry identities through the inclusion of the AIR Award and conference, it’s going to be a truly exciting winter for music in South Australia.”

The program announcement follows news earlier this year that the Independent Music Awards would call Adelaide home for the next three years, hitting the state as part of Umbrella and accompanied by a brand new two-day music industry conference featuring panels, workshops, music industry figures and more.

Six city venues will host official after parties for the AIR Awards, showcasing some Umbrella performers alongside new Music SA flagship AIR event, Scouted, and more.

Head to the Umbrella website for more information and tickets.