Day 3 of SXSW Sydney, and the sky is brooding, but inside the Lord Gladstone Juice Webster’s indie-pop is already filling the pub with a warmth that no weather could dim. She’s got a vibe—Stevie Nicks’ ethereal cool but with Chrissie Hynde’s raw edge. The crowd is drawn in, sipping beers, swaying slowly, and then giving in entirely as her set unfurls with grace and grit.
Next up, Loose Content hit the stage. They’ve got the energy of a band that’s been playing together since high school because, well, they have. They open with angular, new-wave riffs that quickly evolve into a wall of sound—guitars snarling, feedback swirling until it feels like the amps might actually combust. It’s the kind of glorious noise that makes your heart race and your ears ring.
From there, I head to Tumbalong Park, where Ben Gillies—yes, that Ben Gillies—is holding court. He’s riffing on AI and creativity, but the highlight of the talk is an AI-powered remix of Silverchair’s “Freak” that gets people moving. You can feel nostalgia mixed with curiosity in the air, the crowd buzzing over the strange alchemy of tech and memory.
Then it’s Moonchild Sanelly’s turn, and suddenly, the energy shifts. Straight out of South Africa, her swagger ignites the stage like a match to kindling. She’s worked with some heavyweights in the industry, and you don’t have to wonder why. Halfway through her set, she leaps over the barrier and turns the lawn into her personal dance floor, dragging the crowd into a spontaneous, sweaty disco. Everyone is moving, hands in the air, smiles stretched wide.
As the sun starts to drop behind Sydney Harbour, ENNY steps up. She’s got the kind of effortless cool that you don’t learn—it just exists in your bones. Her sound—sharp, reflective, and grounded in her Nigerian heritage—feels like it was made to be played at golden hour.
Lately, the buzz is building around total tommy, and it’s clear from the first chord why. She has that rising-star magnetism, pulling the crowd into her orbit with jangly indie-rock anthems. You can feel it in the air—this girl’s going places.
On my way home, I duck into the Barrie for one last surprise: Brekky Boy. The jazz ensemble is crafting intricate grooves on a stage decked out in fairy lights and disco balls—a perfect, dreamy send-off to the night. And that’s the beauty of SXSW: you drift from venue to venue, catching fragments of genius along the way, realizing just how much magic can fit into one city in one day.
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