CRH Presents: Switched On
A sonic shift to contemporary music and a whole new dimension in listening.
CRH Presents: Switched On flicks the switch on an iconic venue and activates the Hall in a new light. A sonic shift to contemporary music and a whole new dimension in listening.
Artist Line-Up
Thelma Plum
Saturday 26 October 2024, 8pm
Handsome Tours and CRH Presents bring Thelma Plum’s 2024 Australian tour to Sydney’s City Recital Hall this October. Thelma Plum is a Gamilaraay woman, musician and creator. She has been making music her whole life and has told one chapter with her debut album Better in Blak a story about culture, heritage, love, and pain.
The Whitlams
Friday 11 October 2024, 8pm, Saturday 30 November 2024, 8pm & Sat 18 January 2025, 8pm
The Whitlams take the stage to celebrate the 25th anniversary of their double platinum album, Love This City. It will be an unforgettable evening of memories, milestones and humour as the band delivers their usual rambunctious performance, complete with the power of brass. Supported by Charm of Finches.
Zapp
Friday 6 December 2024, 8pm
Zapp knows how to party! The robo-funk family affair from Dayton Ohio with the instantly recognisable signature sound, made up of seriously bumping grooves and trademark custom-made talk-box tonality. Armed with sizzling chemistry, high energy, tight playing and a wicked sense of humour, brace yourself as City Recital Hall gets hit by a funkquake.
DJ Shadow
Monday 17 February 2025, 7pm
For over 30 years, DJ Shadow has shaped instrumental electronic music with masterpieces like Endtroducing… and The Mountain Will Fall. Join us for an all new immersive audio-visual experience that forsees the future of his innovative sonics, performic renowned classics alongside tracks from his most recent album Action Adventure.
The Necks
Wednesday 26 February 2025, 8pm
One of Australia's great cult bands, The Necks, play City Recital Hall to celebrate the release of their 20th studio album Bleed. Consisting of a singular 42-minute composition, the album explores the language of stillness and masterfully expresses the unspeakable beauty of decay and space in a totally distinct addition to their vast body of work.
Cat Power Sings Dylan
Monday 3 March 2025, 8pm
Almost 59 years to the day, Bob Dylan’s most memorable moment in music history will be celebrated when CAT POWER performs Dylan’s fabled and transformative 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert set. Cat Power and her band brings her spellbinding performance honouring her hero in an historic moment, returning, reliving and reforming a pivotal moment in music history.
Marc Broussard
Wednesday 16 April 2025, 8pm
Join Marc Broussard at City Recital Hall for his highly anticipated Australian debut. Celebrating 20 years of his landmark album Carencro, Broussard will perform the album in full, along with fan-favourite covers from his acclaimed S.O.S. series. A night of soulful, powerful music awaits.
Allison Russell
Thursday 17 April 2025, 8pm
Experience the return of Grammy-winning artist Allison Russell at City Recital Hall. After a two-year hiatus, Russell brings her soulful, genre-defying music back to Sydney. Don’t miss this chance to witness her powerful performance, blending emotive storytelling with her signature blend of blues, folk, and soul.
RY X
Wednesday 23 April 2025, 8pm
Join Grammy-nominated artist RY X for an unforgettable evening of ethereal music and deep emotional connection. After a decade away from Sydney, RY X brings his heart-centered artistry back to the stage, captivating audiences with his soulful, introspective performances.
Past Shows
Marcus Miller
Friday 18 October 2024, 8pm
Consistently recognised as one of the greatest electric bassists of all time, Marcus Miller has been the first-choice player for artists so great they need only go by one name: Miles. Dizzy. Aretha. Chaka. Elton. Herbie. Prepare to be blown away by Miller’s long-awaited Australian debut. Supported by Hilary Geddes Trio.
Image: Nergal Youkhana
Robert Glasper
Thursday 22 August 2024, 8pm
Five-time Grammy-winner Robert Glasper brings his groundbreaking meld of jazz, hip-hop, R&B and neo-soul to City Recital Hall. Within the diaspora of black culture, Glasper seeks to connect all the divergent threads of styles, genres, and scenes into one cohesive sound within a jazz framework. Supported by DJ Jahi Sundance.
Image: Nergal Youkhana
Ben Frost
Saturday 17 August 2024, 8pm
Ben Frost is Australia’s best-known experimental music export. Based in Reykjavík, Ben will play to a home crowd for the first time in five years, bringing his stunning new album Scope Neglect to City Recital Hall. Supported by JWPaton.
Image: Nergal Youkhana
Blonde Redhead
Saturday 15 June 2024, 8pm
Beloved NYC avant-rock trio Blonde Redhead return with a new album and back catalogue of heady, romantic songs. Partially inspired by a passage from Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, the luminous Sit Down for Dinner has been called Blonde Redhead’s finest work yet. Supported by Georgia Lines.
Jeff Mills Presents Tomorrow Comes the Harvest
Saturday 16 March 2024, 8pm
Hail Jeff Mills: techno's greatest ambassador, believer, and innovator. Now the figurehead of the Detroit scene brings his Afrofunk-electro-jazz ensemble, Tomorrow Comes The Harvest, to City Recital Hall. Supported by Land Systems.
Image: Mikki Gomez
Thee Sacred Souls
Friday 15 March 2024, 8pm
Mixing southern Californian sweet soul with the grit and groove of early ’70s R&B, Daptone’s Thee Sacred Souls shows are utterly intoxicating, delivered with a rawness and a sincerity that transcends time and place. Supported by Setwun.
Image: Vitor Duarte
Yothu Yindi
Friday 8 March 2024, 8pm
From Treaty to Tribal Voice, the rhythms and message of Yolgnu rock pioneers Yothu Yindi have made Australians sit up and listen since 1986. Supported by Maanyung.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Michael Rother and Friends — 50+ Years of NEU!
Thursday 22 February 2024, 8pm
As a founding member of Neu! Michael Rother has cast a line of inspiration that has shaped numerous musical generations. Neu! 50+ is a recognition and a celebration of the legacy of these pioneering musicians. Supported by Laurence Pike.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Courtney Barnett's 'End of the Day'
Saturday 20 January 2024, 8pm
A new and gorgeous chapter from Courtney Barnett is here with the release of her instrumental album End of the Day (music from the film Anonymous Club). Supported by Warm Currency.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Ezra Collective
Wednesday 22 November 2023, 8pm
Groove-laden British jazz-funk outfit Ezra Collective brings a thumping celebration of life via the sounds of South London to City Recital Hall for Switched On. Supported by Cricket.
Image: Vitor Duarte
GoGo Penguin
Thursday 26 October 2023, 8pm
UK instrumental trio GoGo Penguin make their long-awaited maiden voyage to Australia for an electrifying performance guaranteed to take audiences on a journey from the rhythmic and ethereal to danceable and downright banging. Supported by GODTET (trio).
Image: Jared Leibowitz
Son Little
Saturday 30 September 2023, 8pm
Son Little, "one of the best songwriters working today” (American Songwriter), presents Like Neptune, “a stunning statement of purpose”, an album of unbridled joy and self-acceptance. Supported by Mo'Ju.
Image: Mikki Gomez
The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper
Thursday 21 September 2023, 8pm
The Exploding Universe of Ed Kuepper celebrates the reissue of the Australian musical icon’s seminal solo catalogue with his first full band show of solo material in over a dozen years. Supported by D.C. Cross.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Autechre
Sunday 27 August 2023, 7pm
Embark on a captivating journey into the abyss alongside Autechre, an unrivalled force of innovation and influence in the realm of electronic music. Also featured E. Fishpool and Actress.
This concert was performed in complete darkness, so no photos!
Gordi
Saturday 26 August 2023, 8pm
Melding lush electronics with moody acoustic songwriting into a timbre that is instantly recognisable, Gordi has quickly become one of the most cherished songwriters in Australia. Supported by Bonniesongs.
Image: Mikki Gomez
Oneohtrix Point Never
Friday 14 July 2023, 8pm
Oneohtrix Point Never effortlessly traverses the vast intersects between music, pop culture and history; a sonic body of work that feels magically futuristic and nostalgic at the same time.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Obongjayar
Friday 16 June 2023, 8pm
Obongjayar brings characteristic poeticism and drum-driven, oozy club beats to CRH’s Switched On series with his latest album, genre-defiant Some Nights I Dream of Doors. Supported by Agung Mango and CINTA.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Yazmin Lacey
Wednesday 7 June 2023, 7pm
In a short time, Yazmin Lacey’s become known for making intimate experiences feel both deeply personal and universal through a beat driven take on soul and R&B. Supported by IJALE and Natalie Slade.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever
Saturday 10 June 2023, 8pm
Heroes in a hot minute, Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever are a tour de force of sprawling, angular guitar riffs that leave just enough room for infectious pop melodies and bright, shimmering moments. Supported by RVG.
Image: Jared Leibowitz
Cash Savage & The Last Drinks
Saturday 3 June 2023, 8pm
A pillar of Melbourne’s music and queer communities, Cash Savage and her colossal band The Last Drinks celebrate the release of their new album, So This Is Love. Supported by June Jones.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Ásgeir
Friday 2 June 2023, 8pm
One of Iceland’s most successful exports, Ásgeir’s distinctly Icelandic sound blends acoustic and electronic music with his trademark lilting vocals. Supported by Banjo Lucia.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Femi Kuti & The Positive Force
Thursday 6 April 2023, 8pm
Inclusive, immersive, a Lagos happening! Femi Kuti and the Positive Force take the political activism and irresistible grooves of Fela’s Afrobeat to jazz and funk-fuelled heights.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Monolake (Robert Henke) & Electric Indigo
Friday 24 March 2023, 8pm
For over two decades, Susanne Kirchmayr (aka Electric Indigo) and Robert Henke (aka Monolake) have shaped electronic music culture in profound ways. For their first joint tour in the Southern Hemisphere, they premiere newly developed performances.
Image: Jess Gleeson
The Teaches of Peaches
Saturday 4 March 2023, 8pm
Feminist icon and pop provocateur Peaches performs her seminal electroclash album The Teaches of Peaches in full to celebrate its 20th anniversary and Sydney WorldPride at City Recital Hall. Supported by Chela.
Image: Mikki Gomez
Nakhane
Friday 3 March 2023, 8pm
Celebrated polymath Nakhane "makes the dancefloor a place of tenderness". Challenging stereotypes of gender, sexuality and religion, their powerful odes to self-expression have garnered the adoration worldwide.
Image: Mikki Gomez
The Chills
Thursday 16 February 2023, 8pm
Get your jangle on to the joyous indie-pop mastery of The Chills. A swoon-worthy night of Heavenly Pop Hits from Martin Phillipps and his brilliant band. Supported by Mere Women.
Image: Vitor Duarte
Emma Donovan & Paul Grabowsky
Thursday 19 January 2023, 7pm
The voice of Emma Donovan carries deep currents in this tribute to country gospel from a powerhouse of soul, enriched by pianist Paul Grabowsky and his inimitable arrangements.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Alex the Astronaut
Friday 19 August 2022, 8pm
Described as one of Australia’s “most powerful and important songwriters”, Alex the Astronaut imbues the seemingly mundane with sensitivity, humour and self-reflection centered around electronic-tinged folk-pop melodies. Supported by Tasman Keith.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Luluc & Grace Cummings
Friday 29 July 2022, 8pm
Melbourne dream-folk duo Luluc bring their pristine harmonies and sublime poetics to Switched On with support from Grace Cummings.
Images: Jess Gleeson
Cedric Burnside
Saturday 19 March 2022, 8pm
Multiple Grammy nominee Cedric Burnside embodies the ancestral blues of his grandfather R.L. Burnside, and adds a personal resonance informed by the Mississippi’s modern-day blues.
Image: Mikki Gomez
Springtime
Thursday 24 February 2022, 8pm
Three titans meet as Springtime; incandescent frontman Gareth Liddiard, poetic drummer Jim White and spatial pianist, Chris Abrahams conjure wild, beautiful and emotionally powerful music.
Image: Jess Gleeson
Listen
Watch
Be the First to Know
Sign up to our fortnightly What's On newsletter to be among the first to hear about new artist announcements in the Switched On series.