BLAK DAY OUT returns to Open Season for its fifth edition, transforming The Princess Theatre into a living, breathing celebration of First Nations artistry on 24 July. Curated by Alethea Beetson, the night leans into something deeper than performance, a convergence of sound, identity and community where the energy doesn’t just sit on stage, it moves through the room.
Beetson’s vision has always been clear-eyed and expansive. BLAK DAY OUT isn’t framed as a showcase, it’s a platform that meets the scale of the talent it hosts. After a sold-out 2025 edition featuring Christine Anu, Thelma Plum and Miss Kaninna, the 2026 return doubles down with a lineup that cuts across genre and generation without losing cohesion.
At the centre stands Dan Sultan, a performer whose catalogue carries both weight and momentum. A seven-time ARIA Award winner, Sultan has long balanced scale with intimacy, whether headlining the forecourt of the Sydney Opera Houseor reshaping his work through orchestral arrangements. With new material on the horizon alongside producer Guy Chambers, his set here feels less like a retrospective and more like a checkpoint in a career that keeps shifting forward.
Then there’s Beddy Rays, bringing a different kind of propulsion. Their rise has been built on the kind of live energy that doesn’t tidy itself up for the stage. From the Gold-certified rush of “Sobercoaster” to an ARIA #1 album, their shows thrive on movement and release, the kind that pulls a crowd into its orbit and keeps it there.
Becca Hatch threads R&B, pop and dance into something fluid and contemporary, her voice carrying both precision and warmth. Emerging out of Western Sydney and breaking through via triple j Unearthed High, she’s since stepped onto major stages, from Vivid LIVE to arena supports, each appearance sharpening her presence.
Indie-pop songwriter Jem Cassar-Daley brings a different texture again. Her work leans inward, built on detail and emotional clarity, earning a run of accolades that speak to both craft and connection. Live, those songs tend to land with a quiet force that cuts through even the busiest rooms.
Rounding out the lineup is Rox Lavi, whose approach resists neat categorisation. Drawing from rap foundations but pushing outward, his music feels shaped by instinct and lived experience, shifting form without losing its centre.
BLAK DAY OUT has always positioned itself as a space where music and community meet without friction, and in 2026 that idea feels fully realised. The room will fill, the energy will rise, and for one night, everything points in the same direction.
Go HERE for tickets.
