Featured Events in Sussex in February, 2025 (May Updated)

🌴 Start the Year Fresh with Presko 🌴 E1 Collective’s groovier and chiller alter ego, Presko, is making its grand debut, and you're invited to vibe out in style! Join us on January 31, 2025, for a tropical rooftop takeover at the Shelbourne Hotel. Expect FRESH groovy sounds seasons worldwide - from soulful R&B to booty shakin Baile Funk. From 6 PM to midnight, groove with us above the Sydney skyline at 200 Sussex Street. Let's kick off the year right—Presko! Cop your tickets now pronto~ Information Source: E1 Collective | eventbrite

Lunar New Year Evening Concert by Shirley Ly, upcoming classical music composer from London Get ready for an unforgettable, unique evening of classical music by the upcoming composer Shirley Ly and the talented ensemble, Blossom Ensemble. Join them at St James's Church, Sussex Gardens for a magical performance celebrating Lunar New Year, it is the year of the snake this year. Let Shirley Ly's mesmerising compositions transport you to another world as we ring in the new year with sublime melodies and harmonies. Don't miss out on this special event! FREE concert but donations greatly appreciated for the musicians. BYOB drinks - non-glass cups only! --- Shirley Ly is an upcoming classical music composer from London, UK with Chinese and Vietnamese heritage. She will be debuting her compositions from her new album, Winds of the East in this Lunar New Year Concert with Blossom Ensemble. Her new compositions combines contemporary Western classical music with Eastern influences and guaranteed to transport you to another world. She particularly wants to highlight her heritage through her music, which aside from her travels, has also been inspired by her grandfather, who was a distinguished fine artist, poet and photographer from China. Growing up, Shirley was greatly influenced by his love of the beauty of nature and the world, and his aspirations to capture and show this beauty in the form of art. Shirley has composed over 50 pieces for solo piano / violin / cello, duets, trios, quartets and quintets. She has released 4 albums: 9 Lives (2023), Paradise (2023), Blossom (2021), and Impetus (2018) and multiple singles i.e. Olive Tree (2024), Emerald (2023), and London Strive (2023). Her music has been played over a million times across more than 100 countries around the world, including by BBC radio and other radio shows, and is described to be a bridge between classical, romantic, and minimalist music with Eastern and jazz elements. Magic Classical Radio has recently named her as a 'One To Watch' artist. For more information and links to music, visit: www.shirleylymusic.com --- St James's Church, Sussex Gardens is a glorious Victorian parish church, rich in original stained glass, monuments and fittings, and home to a lively and active community. Although the parish of Paddington is medieval, a church was first built on this site in 1843. It was substantially rebuilt by the illustrious Victorian architect GE Street, in a neo-Gothic style of unusual and generous breadth. Information Source: Shirley Ly | eventbrite

Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a night of Unforgettable Turkish Love SongsThis event is a special evening dedicated to the beauty of Turkish love songs. Join us at Innis Town Hall for a romantic night filled with soulful melodies and heartfelt lyrics. Let the music transport you to the enchanting world of Turkish romance as you celebrate love on this special day. Don't miss out on this unforgettable experience! Information Source: AkitaRoseWater Inc. | eventbrite

The Cinema Studies Institute celebrates its 50th anniversary with a screening series of films picked by notable CSI alumni. Seven Veils is a 2023 Canadian drama film written and directed by Atom Egoyan. The film stars Amanda Seyfried as Jeanine, a theatre director who is dealing with repressed trauma as she prepares to mount a production of the opera Salome. Atom Egoyan is a Canadian filmmaker.Emerging in the 1980s as part of the Toronto New Wave, he made his career breakthrough with Exotica (1994), and received two Academy Award nominations for The Sweet Hereafter (1997). Atom graduated from the University of Toronto in 1982. Information Source: Cinema Studies Institute | eventbrite

Join us for the screening of Swan Song followed by a Q&A with members of the creative team focusing on the making of a film about dance, including producing, directing and editing. Synopsis Swan Song immerses viewers inside one of the world’s leading ballet companies as it mounts a legacy-defining new production of Swan Lake, directed by ballet icon Karen Kain on the eve of her retirement. The verité-driven feature documentary closely follows Kain and a group of young dancers drawn from the National Ballet of Canada’s ranks, weaving Swan Lake’s dramatic creation process with intimate scenes from the subjects’ personal lives as they push toward one of the most significant opening nights in their company’s history. Kain and her company granted full access, and the filmmakers followed the film’s subjects for nearly two years through creative conflicts, devastating injuries and personal setbacks, and a pointed push for equity and change from within its ranks. Swan Song’s intimate, character-driven approach invites viewers to consider the impacts of the culture of ballet on its artists—the film’s subjects, in various ways, challenge ideals of race, class and body type as they navigate a tradition that has historically valued compliance and perfection. At the same time, the film captures the sincere love of the form that drives Kain and the dancers as they face down challenges and make deep personal sacrifices in an effort to create something meaningful and lasting. Swan Song Credits A Visitor Media Production Produced in Association with Mercury Films Inc. and Quiet Ghost Presented in Association with Dogwoof Presented in Association with Blue Ice Docs A Film by Chelsea McMullan & Sean O’Neill Directed by Chelsea McMullan Produced by Sean O’Neill Executive Producers: Sean O’Neill, Chelsea McMullan, Jennifer Baichwal, Nicholas de Pencier, Anna Godas, Oli Harbottle, Neve Campbell, Janice, Dawe, Kathy Avrich-Johnson Producer: Christina Carvalho Directors of Photography: Tess Girard & Shady Hanna Edited by Brendan Mills Additional Editing: Sabrina Budiman, John Gallagher Original Score by Katie Austra Stelmanis Written by Chelsea McMullan & Sean O’Neill Runtime: 100 Minutes Swan Song won the $50,000 Toronto Film Critics Association Rogers Prize for Best Canadian Documentary in 2024. Chelsea McMullan won the DGC's Allan King Award for Excellence in a Documentary Directing in 2024. Swan Song had its world premiere at TIFF, followed by screenings at the BFI London Film Festival, Lincoln Centre, and CPH:DOX. Information Source: eventbrite

With over 80 million global streams, Grammy nominated singer-songwriter Steven Lee Olsen‘s path to international success has been an admirable journey. Olsen broke into the upper echelons of Nashville‘s songwriter community with accolades that include two #1 hits in the US with his Grammy-nominated, double-platinum certified song ‘Blue Ain‘t Your Color,‘ performed by Keith Urban, and ‘More Girls Like You‘ performed by Kip Moore. In 2019, Olsen‘s passion for writing and producing music pushed him to take the stage himself. As a solo artist, he has continued to make his mark with multiple Top-10 singles, extensive touring, and also made his Grand Ole Opry debut. Information Source: The Mule Bar and Grill | eventbrite