Party on
He confounded expectations with his debut solo album, then changed the game up again with this year’s release Trick. Now Kele Okereke, formerly lead singer of Bloc Party, brings his new “confident, carnal disco” second album to Australia and New Zealand. With his love of drum n bass, techno, garage and house music, the only certainty with Kele is a good night out.
Kele plays the TBC Club in Brisbane, 13 March, then tours to the Helm on Sunshine Coast, the Corner in Melbourne, Karova in Ballarat, Oxford Art Factory in Sydney, the Kings Arms in Auckland, and Sets on the Beach in Perth
Fashion first
With a roll call of Australia’s top designers including Camilla and Marc, Romance was Born and Scanlan and Theodore, the Virgin Australia Melbourne fashion festival is the best way to plan next seasons wardrobe. Those in search of intellectual stimulation along with the gorgeous frocks will appreciate the cultural program including fashion films, fashion journalism and retail workshops
Virgin Australia Melbourne fashion festival, Central Pier, Docklands and other venues, Melbourne, from 14 to 22 March
From the mouths of babes
Give the pots and pans a miss and let the little ones loose on the glockenspiel, xylophone, vibraphone, gourd rattles and shell chimes. The next Babies Proms at the Sydney Opera House will be led by award-winning percussionist Claire Edwardes and Indigenous actor Miranda Tapsell, who will introduce the children to the instruments and sounds that conjure up the dreamtime and the mythology of the night sky. Forthcoming concerts will focus on country and western songs, the sounds of the tuba and Christmas carols
Babies Proms: Percussion of the Stars, Sydney Opera House, Sydney, from 11 to 22 March
Art with meaning
The sheer breadth of emerging Indigenous art talent will be on show at Perth’s Revealed exhibition in April. More than 25 art centres will showcase and sell the work of artists from regional and remote Western Australia areas, while visitors will enjoy a fun-packed film and musical program
Revealed exhibition, Central Institute of Technology, Northbridge, from 18 April to 9 May. Marketplace, Cultural Centre, Perth, 18 April
The devil in disguise
Acclaimed Welsh bass-baritone Bryn Terfel will join chief conductor Sir Andrew Davis, tenor Andrew Staples and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra for a limited performance of Berliotz’s The Damnation of Faust. With its unusual form and perspective, the epic work throws up serious staging challenges but the four soloists, 90 musicians and over 160 chorus members are sure to up for the job.
The Damnation of Faust, Hamer Hall, Arts Centre, Melbourne, from 20 to 21 March
