Pioneering a new chapter for Illuminate Adelaide’s night-time culture, Supersonic ignited the city last night with the whirlwind music event we’ve been waiting for! As one of the final offerings of Illuminate Adelaide 2025, Supersonic was an Adelaide-first, multi-venue music and arts festival. Taking over the city’s West End, Supersonic presented seventeen artists across seven staple venues, including the ACE Gallery, Ancient World, ILA, Jive, Lion Arts Factory, Nexus Arts and Mercury Cinema.
Just like an outdoor festival, Supersonic invited audiences to choose their own adventure through the city’s venues. Illuminate Adelaide’s Creative Directors Rachael Azzopardi and Lee Cumberlidge successfully created an event that amplified the city’s late-night energy.
Across the 12 hours, audiences could pick and choose their desired events. Some were free and some ticketed, with each venue offering a curated lineup of performances or film screenings. The schedule boasted a selection of local, national and international artists, making it difficult to choose how to best spend the night out!
My night began at the Mercury Cinema where I collected my wristband and free drink on arrival. At the cinema, a series of short films ran for most of the night. All were under the banner ‘The Sound of Revolution’ and curated by Shalom Almond.
After the cinema, I headed to Lion Arts Factory. Kicking things off was Housing Boom Soundsystem. A locally owned and operated music company, Housing Boom was founded by Phil Pirone and Dave Kameniar. Best known for hosting house music festivals around Adelaide, Housing Boom features a selection of local DJs. The house beats on offer set the tone for the night with infectious grooves and rhythms that immediately pulled the crowd in.
Ready for the next set, the room was suddenly packed and eager to see the well-loved Australian DJ, Memphis LK, who has risen onto the EDM scene. The crowd circled around her DJ decks and was engrossed in her unique sound. Memphis has emerged as a standout producer, vocalist and DJ. Her music is an eclectic blend of pop, EDM and 90s House.
Her ability to effortlessly layer her vocals as well as mix her tracks is super impressive and made for an enjoyable audience experience to witness this live! She had the crowd singing along to her well-known hits such as Don’t Touch Me Baby and Coffee.
Following Memphis, I had a quick walk over to Jive and caught the second half of Polito’s performance. Polito is a collaborative project between musicians Robert Downie and Finnian Langham, and dancers Arabelle Frahn-Starkie and Hillary Gildsmith. Their work is a combination of contemporary dance and live techno music that creates a unique audio and visual experience. It was not until afterwards that I discovered Polito’s whole set is improvised – both music and dance, leaving me even more impressed!
In the intimate space, they had the audience transfixed by what was unfolding. The dancers commanded the space with sweeping, repetitive movements, each gesture charged with emotion. To their left, the musicians worked intently, mixing tracks in real time. Spoken word, bold props, and striking visuals layered the performance with unexpected texture. Judging by the crowd’s transfixed faces, the result was hypnotic, unsettling, and profoundly moving.
Back at Lion Arts, acclaimed Australian DJ Motez took over the decks. Moutaiz Ai-Obaidi was a refugee born in Iraq and moved to Adelaide in 2006. He is now a record producer and musician, most known for his song The Future featuring Antony and Cleopatra that went Platinum in Australia.
Clearly eager to see him on his home turf, the crowd was lapping up his set, grooving and bopping along. Motez clearly knows how to pack and keep a dance floor alive. With a finely tuned sense of dynamics and energy, Motez showed exactly why he’s become a mainstay in the Australian music scene!
I could have continued until the event concluded at 5am, however, I ended the night after midnight feeling deeply satisfied! It was great to see so many patrons out and about, walking between venues, and supporting the artists. There was a wide demographic in attendance, a testament to the organisers who curated an event with appeal to a variety of ages and interests.
Any event that celebrates established, as well as up-and-coming artists, is one to keep. I hope that Supersonic can continue to evolve after its successful debut run. The close proximity of the venues and the walkability of our city make an event like Supersonic an accessible and achievable night out!
Supersonic was part of Illuminate Adelaide, running 2 – 20 July at various locations around Adelaide.
Website: https://www.illuminateadelaide.com/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/illuminateadelaide/
Images: Sophie Tsoulos
