The band David Bowie used on Blackstar redefines how jazz and rock can fuse.

The first Sydney Con International Jazz Festival puts international stars, local heavyweights, students and audiences all on the same page.

Vivid Live: Air Opera House Concert Hall, May 30 ★★★★½

There's traditional roots in this Irishwoman's music but the journey has gone much further.

BILL CALLAHAN

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Bill Callahan's swooning fans (and some new converts) gently rock night away at Howler.

All proceeds from the concert will go to the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund.

Repackaging the hits for three musical giants means a full tank of hits and bits and a happily emptied wallet for fans.

Works by Carl Vine, Graeme Koehne and Matthew Hindson will be played.

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His readings of Scarlatti sonatas and Schubert movements make for a high-quality experience.

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Harbour lights aglow to greet The Avalanches and special guests at Vivid Sydney.

The all-girl Melbourne three-piece has no fear - if their straight-talking, 'tell it like it is' lyrics are anything to go by.

Guitarist Bill Frisell has turned to film and television for his latest inspiration.

​Two of the three works in this concert focused on the practice, common before the recording age, of transcribing orchestral music for smaller groups so that listeners could get to know the music in their own homes.

Poor rock'n'roll. So many obstacles now to the simple act of setting your mind and body free.

Once a classically-trained soprano, Ali Barter has traded her choir girl credentials for that of the indie rock frontwoman.

Percussive, tender, rhythmic and semi-lit, Sampha Sisay explored new ways with old soul on Vivid Live's second night.

Sia has revealed she will bring her North American Nostalgic For The Present tour to stadiums in two Australian cities and one in New Zealand this year.

Opening the Vivid Live festival after a five year absence, this was a different Fox on the run, more complex, less immediately attractive, gnarlier.

While The Avalanches haven't messed with their set much, they still have a few surprises up their sleeve.

"I have been thinking of my fans, and of you all, non stop over the past week."

Soundgarden music played from a portable speaker outside the cemetery's gates.

Back in Melbourne for a fleeting visit, British pianist/conductor/raconteur Bramwell Tovey had the pleasure on Thursday night of premiering Big Rhap by the MSO's 2017 composer-in-residence, Elena Kats-Chernin.

Would you pay a few thousand dollars to get into festivals around the world?