Open Air at the Square playlist

From candlelit concerts to sound system takeovers, from queer hip-hop to transcendental, genre-spanning performances – Open Air will be an eclectic feast for music-lovers and gig-goers.

Tina Arena, AM, is an iconic Australian singer-songwriter, record producer, actress and performing artist. Voted Australia’s greatest female singer of all time (NewsCorp, 2013), her powerful voice remains unparalleled after 50 years in the industry. 

Since she was first introduced to Australian audiences as a contestant on Young Talent Time in 1974, Tina Arena has gone on to become the only Australian artist to have gold or platinum album released in every decade since the 1970s. She’s performed to critical acclaim in musicals on London’s West End, and at the iconic Royal Albert Hall. She holds a Knighthood of the French National Order of Merit and an Order of Australia and was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame in 2015. 

With over 11 million records sold worldwide, several ARIA awards, 2 world music awards, an ALMA award, 13 studio albums, 4 live albums, 5 compilations, 52 singles and a best-selling autobiography under her belt, Tina has no plans to slow down.  

Her presence continues to shape the Australian musical landscape, with her music delicately weaved into the fabric of Australia’s cultural identity. Now celebrating her 50th anniversary in the business, Tina Arena will perform live at Fed Square. 

Melbourne/ Naarm-based Folk Bitch Trio, comprising Gracie Sinclair, Jeanie Pilkington and Heide Peverelle, deliver a point of view as undeniably captivating as their songs and voices. The trio’s music tells vivid and visceral stories of dissociative daydreams, sexual fantasies and media overload, and all the petty resentments and minor humiliations of being in your early twenties in the 2020s. With a sound at once familiar but fresh, they draw from traditional folk and indie pop/rock forms, front-loading textured harmonies that are rich and timeless.

After a breakout 2024 which saw the release of their hit single God’s a Different Sword, an appearance at SXSW and supporting gigs for Alex G, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Julia Jacklin and Courtney Barnett, the Folk Bitch Trio juggernaut continued throughout 2025. Their debut album Now Would Be A Good Time was released in July to critical acclaim, they sold out shows across Europe, North America and Australia, and received 4 ARIA Award nominations.

Descended from the Gugu Yalanji and Birrigubba people, as well as the Matabele of Zimbabwe, Dean Brady is one of Australia’s most exciting new voices in contemporary R&B. His debut album, Dean’s Home, was released in October 2025, and is warm, groove-soaked reflection on love, memory and identity, stitched together by the rising star’s unmistakable voice and soulful instincts. With a sound that nods to the Motown greats he grew up idolising, Brady carves out a fresh, future-facing space in Australian R&B that is all his own. 

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Sister Nancy (aka ‘Muma Nancy’) emerged from a musical family and became one of dancehall’s most formidable voices. Encouraged early by her brother, iconic DJ Brigadier Jerry, she began performing on sound systems in her teens – becoming a rare woman on-mic DJ in a heavily male-dominated scene. In 1982, she released One Two, the LP that features her enduring anthem ‘Bam Bam’, which has since become one of the most sampled reggae tracks of all time. Over the decades, Queen of the Dancehall Sister Nancy has been a trailblazer and inspiration to generations of artists. With over forty years in the game, Sister Nancy remains a living legend of dancehall and sound system culture.

Big Freedia is a New Orleans–born rapper, singer and cultural force credited with bringing bounce music to global audiences. Known as the Queen of Bounce, she’s featured on high-profile hits including Beyoncé’s Grammy-winning Break My Soul and Drake’s Nice for What, and has released acclaimed projects over a 25-year career.

Big Freedia’s life and artistry have been documented on reality TV, from Big Freedia Bounces Back to Big Freedia Means Business on Fuse TV. In 2025 she released Pressing Onward, a deeply personal gospel-influenced album that blends spiritual roots with her signature high-energy style.

Ali is a musical project originating from Jakarta, Indonesia, initiated by John Paul Patton and Arswandaru Cahyo. Ali incorporates Middle Eastern culture with elements of 70s Indonesian rock, cinematic soul, Afro beat, funk and disco to create a new groove and all-new sound. With lyrics sung in Arabic, Ali builds on the influence of Middle Eastern art and music, which over centuries has assimilated itself deep into Indonesian culture and way of life. Middle Eastern beats with a South-East Asian twist – Ali promises a unique experience of the melting pot of influences present in contemporary Indonesian music.

François Kevorkian – better known as François K – is one of dance music’s true pioneers. Born in France and based in New York since the mid-70s, he helped shape the sound of modern club culture through his legendary residencies at Studio 54, Paradise Garage and The Loft. A master remixer and producer, he redefined the 12-inch single format at Prelude Records, worked with icons from Depeche Mode and Kraftwerk to U2 and Nina Simone, and co-founded the influential Body & SOUL collective. Still innovating with immersive sound and AI-driven ‘Live Stems’ DJ sets, François K remains a visionary force in global electronic music.

One of Greece’s most compelling contemporary artists, known for her sleek blend of indie pop, synth-driven melodies, and effortless cool. A singer, songwriter and visual artist, Σtella crafts lush soundscapes that fuse retro nostalgia with modern edge –drawing inspiration from Greek pop, disco and global electronica. Her smooth vocals and cinematic production have earned international acclaim, including releases on Sub Pop Records and performances across Europe. With her signature mix of shimmering synths, intimate lyrics and stylish aesthetic, Σtella stands at the forefront of Greece’s modern music scene – bold, magnetic and utterly original.

The New York-born, Tamil Nadu-raised vocalist, composer and multidisciplinary artist’s music defies categorisation – blending jazz, South Indian classical tradition and poetic improvisation into something hypnotic, transcendent and entirely her own. Raised in the Hindu tradition of harikatha, a type of storytelling that blends music and poetry, and now based in California, Ganavya moves fluidly between languages and worlds, weaving songs that are at once devotional, experimental and deeply human. A frequent collaborator with boundary-pushing artists including Esperanza Spalding, Quincy Jones and Vijay Iyer, her 2025 album Nilam was co-produced with German musician and composer Nils Frahm. Ganavya wields a voice that is equal parts lullaby and lightning bolt, described by The Guardian as having ‘delicate emotive heft that could turn stoics into sobbing wrecks.’ Her performances invite audiences into moments of stillness and transformation while her fearless artistry continues to push the boundaries of contemporary music.

Mindy Meng Wang is a Chinese-Australian composer and one of the world’s leading contemporary guzheng performers. Classically trained in China and educated in composition in the UK, she is a pioneer in bringing the guzheng – the ancient Chinese harp – into contemporary genres including experimental, jazz, electronica and pop.

She has collaborated with artists such as Gorillaz, Regurgitator, Paul Grabowsky and Deborah Cheetham, and performed at major festivals and venues including the O2 Arena, Tate Modern, Asia TOPA, Dark Mofo, and the Melbourne Recital Centre, where she was the first non-Western instrumentalist in residence.

Mindy is the recipient of multiple honours including an APRA Art Music Award for Performance of the Year, a Sidney Myer Fellowship, Australian Asian Leadership Awards 2023 and the 40 Under 40: Most Influential Asian-Australian Award. As both artist and advocate, she champions cultural diversity and the exchange of music between Australia and China.

Burkhard Dallwitz is one of Australia’s leading screen composers, with a career spanning four decades across film and television in Australia, Europe and the US.

He is the recipient of numerous international and local awards, including a Golden Globe, Chicago Film Critics’ Award and ASCAP Award for The Truman Show, and an APRA Award for Best Television Theme for the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His work has also been recognised with multiple AACTA, ARIA and APRA/ AGSC nominations for productions such as Underbelly, The Secret River and Peter Weir’s The Way Back.

Other credits include Wolf Creek, The Gloaming, Pine Gap, and the award-winning SBS series Sunshine. Most recently, he contributed to the score for Robert Connolly’s feature film Magic Beach.

Over their 28-year career, Blue Grassy Knoll have cemented their place as one of Australia’s most well-loved, accomplished and enduring performance troupes. In recreating the silent movie experience the band sits watching the film with the audience, playing their own original compositions, and using the film itself for their cues – a truly amazing experience to witness. 

When writing for silent films, the Blue Grassy Knoll have developed an organic process of generating music to moving image that is uniquely collaborative. They draw on influences from a hugely diverse range of musical sources, creating arrangements and textures that mirror contemporary film scoring concepts. They aim to re-invigorate classic films with a modern aesthetic and energy, as well as inject a spontaneity that comes with live performance and improvisation. Their aim is always to deliver what they believe would be the intention of director had he knowledge of today’s film scoring techniques.