Sudan Archives

East Perth Power Station, Perth Festival

1 March 2026

It didn’t look this good on paper.

When Perth Festival dropped its contemporary music line up last October, eyebrows were raised. Had they spent the entire budget on the venue?

Never mind a world-beating exclusive like Bjork in 2023, we already had some of 2025’s biggest acts like Pulp, Geese, Water from Your Eyes, Smerz, Ethel Cain and This is Lorelai in the country. Then there was the promise of more acts to come in December. “Surely a WA show for Pulp!” we prayed. Hell, Beck has just announced an orchestral tour for Sydney and Melbourne that practically screams “festival exclusive!” But none of this was to materialise.

With no one in charge of the contemporary music program despite our festival’s best venue yet in East Perth Power Station, it was beginning to feel like a missed opportunity.

That was… until Max Cooper arrived on opening night. One of two acts to completely sell out in advance (the other being Morcheeba), Cooper blew everyone’s mind with a visual display that made the most of the industrial surrounds of the Power Station. He reminded us that Perth Fest is a time for celebration from the outset.

Over the weeks to come, we were treated to international trailblazers from Nilufer Yanya to Black Country, New Road, and Australian greats from Bleak Squad to Baker Boy and King Stingray. It’s been nothing short of a blast.

By the time a much-vaunted Sudan Archives arrived to close proceedings more than three weeks later on March 1, there was nothing left to prove. Fair to say Perth Fest has had the last laugh in 2026.

For her part, Cincinnati’s Brittney Denise Parks was a joyous force of nature, her one-woman show a fitting finale. Sudan Archives symbolises her interest in both ethnomusicology and “the Blackness of the violin”, and she sexed up her instrument of choice with some wild solos atop a riser centre stage, backed by the infectious dancefloor beats of latest record The BPM.

Kicking off with that record’s opener Dead was a call to arms: “Hello, it’s me/ Did you miss me?” Parks had her electric Flying V violin out from the opener, and she wasn’t afraid of shredding on it like a bluesman on a Fender Strat.

With a headset mic and an aqua-green onesie as bright as her resplendent personality, this was a theatrical performance with moments of pure drama. Ms. Pac Man is already an overtly sexual, jaws-on-the-floor song lyrically, but throw in a rabid cackle at the end followed suddenly be a choking death on stage and it was all a little subversive.

If there was a slight, then having just one person doing all the work felt like a lot of heavy lifting for Parks, and whilst she was impressive in using live synths, drum machines and other instruments, there was also no shortage of vocals and beats in the backing track that clearly weren’t live. In order to take the show to another level, it’d be interesting to see more players/dancers/singers alongside her.

That wasn’t something support act Kayps lacked for, the Broome MC joined by a DJ and guitarist helping to suspend disbelief for all that might’ve been pre-recorded. The most appropriately matched opening act musically for the entire festival, the man born Kurrungaya Bieundurry and of Walmatjarri and Bunuba heritage, has a mad flow and some super upbeat productions that got early arrivals tapping toes, particularly on the vibrant Come My Way.

It was the big 80s vibes of Freakalizer that got the crowd amping halfway through Sudan Archives’ set, and she never looked back. Carefully placed older faves like this, Selfish Soul and Natural Brown Prom Queen’s title track balanced the heavily favoured 13 tracks from The BPM.

A Bug’s Life saw a guest dancer invited up onto the podium, while A Computer Love was a blast of energetic white noise electronica. An encore featuring melodic highlight The Nature of Power kept the party going to the last and ended the festival with a big dance, just as it had begun with Max Cooper.

Perhaps it was the expectations going into this one, but as good as Sudan Archives was she didn’t quite make this Perth Fest fan’s top three for 2026, that would be Max Cooper, Nilüfer Yanya and Black Country, New Road (special mention to Bleak Squad).

But all reports suggest that there was very little happening at the Power Station venue that wasn’t high quality. Along with riverside East Perth free Casa Musica showcase and the Embassy Ballroom, like any good festival this was a program to dig a little deeper on to find the many hidden gems.