The Sydney Sacred Music Festival is making its return in 2022, showcasing cross-cultural music and events that will run from Friday, 2 September to Sunday, 18 September.
Multiple locations in Sydney including Sydney Olympic Park, Ashfield and Woollahra will soon become home to the 12th season of the Sydney Sacred Music Festival (SSMF). The festival aims to connect arts, culture, and community through a series of musical performances and unique events.
SSMF Director Richard Petkovic started these events over a decade ago to showcase the hidden cultural treasures within the Australian community and to break down ethnic barriers.
“For the last 12 years it’s really been about creating pathways for these amazing treasures in our community and to showcase that to the world,” he says.
This year the festival is launching Culture X Ashfield, a three-day fusion of cross-cultural music and community engaged art projects. This event will be held at the Pratten Park Bowling Club in Ashfield from Friday, 9 September to Sunday, 11 September. The ‘Culture X New Music Concert’, featuring three exciting bands, The Seven Ups, Farhan Shah & SufiOz, and Worlds Collide is the main event that will showcase the melding of Australia’s diverse cultures into new contemporary music.
Petkovic hopes this event builds on his vision of a nation touring network for culturally diverse artists.
“As a part of Culture X, we’ll be going through the streets of Ashfield banging drums and playing horns, then we’re coming back to the bowling club for an Aboriginal smoking ceremony and an amazing interactive concert that’s all free,” he reveals.
Sam Golding and The Glorious Sousaphonics are set to lead the Culture X Community Party horn and drum parade this year. The post-parade party is family-friendly and will hear FBI’s DJ Jack Shit and the Rhythm Hunters showcase the integration of Indonesian instruments and rhythm creating a powerful and explosive composition of music and chants.
The program continues in Ashfield with the ‘Culture X Folk Fusion’ on Sunday, 11 of September. This event will feature the Balkan Ethno Orchestra and their Balkan tunes and GiiMusic illustrating Troy Russell’s and his family's Aboriginal heritage and stories from the Stolen Generation. DJ Cocek and Folkloric Dance Ensembles will bring the festival outdoors, headlining their community folk dance workshops ‘in the round’.
The return of the SSMF has been a long time coming after cancellations due to Covid-19 in 2020 and 2021. Like many other festivals and events, organisers of SSMF took to creating an online space where audiences could still enjoy performances from up-and-coming Australian musicians.
“I thought about how I could do something exciting even though we were in lockdown, so I reached out to organisations across Australia and asked them to help me put on some online concerts showcasing talent around Australia,” says Petkovic.
“We started our online shows in 2020 and we have continued them as it’s been a great way to include artists from around Australia in remote areas, who we wouldn't hear about if there wasn’t an online concert.”
‘Global Grooves’ held at Pullman Laneway in Sydney Olympic Park from Friday, 2 September to Sunday, 4 September will offer a variety of world music performances. Plenty of food as well with a pop-up outdoor kitchen constructed by Bacar Restaurant and Bar and the Pullman Hotel that will be serving global inspired street food and drinks.
“For Global Grooves we’re doing three concerts in a space we’ve never used before in Sydney Olympic Park, it’s this dodgy little laneway that we’re going to transform into a world music playground for three nights,” says Petkovic.
“We’re excited to offer a series of unique venues and aim to make the festival an interactive experience between the audience and the artists.”
For the full SSMF program and further information, visit www.sydneysacredmusicfestival.org/program2022
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