It’s been ten amazing years for the iconic Dark Mofo Festival in the southern outpost of Hobart: a period that has seen the region blossom with the ministrations of resident millionaire philanthropist David Walsh and his spectacular Museum of New and Old Art (MONA). The injection of wonder during the dark cold winter months by the visceral, bacchanalian Dark Mofo Festival has been nothing short of spectacular. This year also sadly marks the last Dark Mofo organised by the innovative and creative Director, Leigh Carmichael.
Today’s announcement of the 2023 program is a fitting farewell to Carmichael just as it is an affirmation of the longevity and vitality of the festival itself.
Of course the festival is a wild collage of creative art forms all doused in a gothic blush of carnal excess – art, exhibitions, rituals, theatre and of course music, and it is the latter we shall outline in detail below.
The Festival’s opening night celebration The Gathering will take over the In The Hanging Garden’s Cathedral and Odeon Theatre, featuring First Nations artists BARKAA, Tasman Keith, dameeeela, DENNI, MARLON X RULLA, Uncle Dougie Mansell, Katarnya Maynard, Rob Braslin,and many more artists. A presentation of artwork and performance developed in collaboration with YIRRAMBOI + Dark Mofo, ‘kin’ highlights the cross-cultural connections and kinship between Victoria’s Koorie and Tasmania’s Palawa peoples in developing works, building relationships and exchanging knowledge.
Headline and notable musical acts scheduled for 2023 include an exclusive performance by Black Flag as well as performances from Sleaford Mods, Squarepusher, RVG, Thundercat, Ethel Cain, Max Richter, Trentemøller, Witch with Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis on the drums and Lee Reynaldo from Sonic Youth. The usual nights of sludge metal, blackened doom, hardcore, and raw punk rock also beckon.
The important dates this year are:
- Subscriber tickets on sale: Midday Wednesday 5 April AEST
- General tickets on sale: 2pm Wednesday 5 April AEST
- Festival dates: 8–22 June 2023
- All accessed through www.darkmofo.net.au
Fueled by the bacchanalian Winter Feast – an orgy of delicious food in a candle-lit and cavernous hall and surrounding area – and the famous nude winter solstice swim, there is a panoply of earthy and heavenly delights awaiting attendees.
Week 1 – 8-12 June 2023
Dark Mofo’s opening night celebration The Gathering will take over the In The Hanging Garden’s Cathedral and Odeon Theatre, featuring First Nations artists BARKAA, Tasman Keith, dameeeela, DENNI, MARLON X RULLA, Uncle Dougie Mansell, Katarnya Maynard, Rob Braslin,and many more artists. A presentation of artwork and performance developed in collaboration with YIRRAMBOI + Dark Mofo, ‘kin’ highlights the cross-cultural connections and kinship between Victoria’s Koorie and Tasmania’s Palawa peoples in developing works, building relationships and exchanging knowledge.
Visionary composer Max Richter (DEU) brings two double-billed performances of VOICES—a composition in dozens of languages reading the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with Recomposed—his complete reinterpretation of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.
Bass-playing extraordinaire Thundercat (USA) drives his virtuosic astral acid jazz into a psychedelic funk fusion. Witch (USA) invite us to surrender to a cascading haze of fuzzy riffs from the heavy stoner doom, with Dinosaur Jr’s J Mascis on the drums.
Touring Australia for the first time, Ethel Cain (USA) will haunt with her gothic pop and Deep South sound. Having quickly sold out multiple shows at Vivid and Rising festivals, this performance is a hot ticket.
Punk-rock icons Black Flag (USA) will perform a one-off exclusive Australian show—their first time here since 2013. Drab Majesty’s (USA) exclusive performance will mix darkwave synth with dreams, supported by Bitumen’s (AUS) edgy industrial sounds.
Eartheater (USA), a multi-instrumentalist producer whose experimental digital production and three-octave vocal range melds classical composition with avant-electronica.
Pioneering English electronic artists Squarepusher (GBR) and Plaid (GBR) join on a double-header bill of twisty synth electronica. Sleaford Mods (GBR) will deliver their immaculately enraged punk-hop and ferociously poetic convulsions.
Deafheaven (USA) will perform their post-metal album Sunbather exclusively for Dark Mofo, in conjunction with its 10th anniversary, while Zheani (AUS) will dish up a spicy performance of furious fairy trap, screamo, and electronica alongside Mahne Frame’s icy rave beats.
Fulu Miziki (COD) are hosting an experimental workshop on crafting musical instruments from garbage. They’ll also be bringing their Congolese Afro-futurist collective to the stage, using their salvaged trash musical instruments and costumes.
Zindzi & The Zillionaires (AUS) is fronted by ABC’s Play School host Zindzi Okenyo, who will present family-friendly daytime shows for junior darklings.
Singer-songwriter Keeley Forsyth’s (GBR) emotionally raw and magnetic vocals tell stories of hard-won triumphs and the darker corners of domestic life Tasman Keith (AUS) is Aussie hip hop’s new vanguard, whose music melds syrupy 90s synth with neo-funk, joined by GLVES (AUS).
Borderlands is a program of experimental electronica with four events across two weekends, with the first presenting David Lynch collaborator Dean Hurley (USA), as well as Laurel Halo (USA), with more shows in the second week.
Night Mass: Exstasia is the festival’s epic late-night event, this year bigger than ever, taking over three city blocks where artworks, performances, cocktail lounges, punk theatre, cinema cabarets, clubs and junkyard raves will create a sprawling metropolis. The packed program will be announced soon.
Week 2 – 14-22 June
Visionary composer Max Richter (DEU) presents SLEEP—an eight-and-a-half hour composition based on the neuroscience of sleep. We’ll provide the bed, BYO pyjamas.
Trentemøller (DNK), the indie electronic music composer, producer and multi-instrumentalist/soundtrack extraordinaire will deliver a theatrical electronic performance.
King Woman (USA) bring their ethereal doom rock to Australia for the first time, delivering weighty songwriting with wistful, brooding and hypnotic beats.
Hymns to the Dead returns with a brutal multi-band metal lineup, featuring Dødheimsgard (NOR), Uada (USA), Zuriaake (CHN), and Haunter (USA).
Belarusian viral TikTok stars Molchat Doma (BLR) bring their post-punk and dark synthwave to Australia for the first time. HEALTH (USA) blends new wave, metal, and heavy industrial electronic sounds with violent trap
Drowning Horse (AUS), Extortion (AUS), Ironhawk (AUS) fill a stacked heavy lineup with sludge metal, blackened doom, hardcore, and raw punk rock.
Behold The Wonder (AUS) is a winter solstice night performance to be performed by the Adelaide Chamber Singers—inspired by Hildegard of Bingen, 11th century Benedictine abbess and composer.
Borderlands returns for week two, with three nights of electronic exploration featuring Carl Stone (USA/JPN), Rama Parwata (AUS/IDN), Lydian Dunbar (AUS), Lee Ranaldo (Sonic Youth) + Leah Singer (Contre Jour) (USA), Julia Reidy (AUS/DEU), Tujiko Noriko (FRA), Hiro Kone (USA), KMRU (KEN), and Hüma Utku (TUR).
Berlin Atonal: Laterne returns with its international rave cave lineup, this year featuring Caterina Barbieri presents Spirit Exit (ITA), Blackhaine (GBR), Amnesia Scanner & Freeka Tet: kaaos.ooo (DEU), Rainy Miller (GBR).
Loraine James (GBR) is a British electronic composer whose experimental approach is struck through with vulnerability and hope. Also on the lineup is CORIN (AUS), a Filipina-Australian electronic producer delivering eerie and grimy ambient trance club beats.
Egyptian-Australian DJ and producer Moktar presents Qarae; a curated night of techno and IDM through the lens of Arabic percussion and instrumentation, joined by Nooriyah and Kid Pharaoh.
Bo Ningen (GBR) bring their brooding and fierce headbanging rock with hardcore support from Smug Anime Face (AUS). Naarm/Melbourne post-punks RVG will be joined in catharsis by ENOLA.
Night Mass: Exstasia continues with another weekend of nocturnal revelry, sprawling across three city blocks.
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