Illuminate’s underground music offerings that you need to know about
Illuminate Adelaide has packed South Australia’s underground music scene with hidden gems. We’ve listed the best underground and electronic artists you can catch this wintertime during Illuminate Adelaide.
While Illuminate Adelaide has a strong focus on art, light and technology – the Night Visions walk through the Adelaide Botanic Garden and the interactive immersive gaming event Augmented Games at the Adelaide Showground being just a few stand outs – it’s the events’ underground music scene that has CityMag most excited.
Whether it’s a five-time Grammy Award nominee, a composer who’s worked on an Academy Award-winning score or a local underground DJ making new waves, Illuminate Adelaide’s music program is filled with artists you’ll want to remember.
Read on for the artists we’re not missing this Illuminate Adelaide:
Music events during wintertime
Unsound Adelaide
Best known for its underground take on music festivals, Unsound is unlike anything on offer in the music world in Adelaide at the moment. Its focus is to fly in the face of expectation – specialising in showcasing artists with experimental, leftfield and emerging sounds that often don’t fit the mould of mainstream music. Travelling to major cities like London, New York, Krakow, Toronto and more, Adelaide is the only Unsound outpost in the Southern hemisphere, making a fitting return to Illuminate Adelaide in 2026.
During the middle weekend of Illuminate Adelaide, Unsound will take over Lion Arts Factory and Hindley Street Music Hall for the festival that last year sold out – so get in quick for tickets. Then be sure to head to Ancient World for the special sell-out kick-on event, Unsound Club.
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Find out more and buy tickets to Unsound here. Here are our top picks from the 2026 line-up:
Hania Rani
Polish composer Hania Rani will bring her project Chilling Bambino to life at Unsound Adelaide, which Hania herself claims is her “alter ego”. The ever-evolving project is a sonic adventure and gives space for dark tinted electronica and hypnotic rhythms. Hania’s career stems far and wide: the pianist, composer and vocalist began playing piano at age seven and, just last year, she composed the score for the Academy Award-winning film Sentimental Value (2025).
billy woods
For billy woods, literate rhymes and inventive flows are littered through all his works. But for the New York-based rapper, his music career began in the early 2000s; since then, billy has gone on to release solo albums like Today, I Wrote Nothing (2015), Maps (2023) and more.
His latest – the 2025 album GOLLIWOG – has been deemed his most experimental yet. Pitchfork described it as “a twisty horrorcore masterpiece where history and nightmares are indistinguishable” and a “perfect showcase for his craft”.
Suzanne Ciani & Actress
The five-time Grammy Award-nominated composer Suzanne Ciani partners with one of the most influential contemporary electronic producers, Darren J. Cunningham (aka Actress) for their intimate performance of Concrète Waves. This show harnesses the power of their similarities and differences and explores the juxtaposition of the natural and industrial world.
Sebastian Vivian x Wellness Centre
The two experimental artists Sebastian Vivian x Wellness Centre – one of the many local groups fronting the Unsound stage this Illuminate Adelaide – will move into darker, heavier territory after gaining inspiration from previous Unsound artists they’ve long admired. This specially curated Unsound set won’t be one to miss.
Elsie Craig
South Australian local Elsie Craig is the driving force behind an ever-growing list of projects like grassroots camping festivals, unique club concepts, and pop-up raves highlighting the underground electronic music scene.
Supersonic
In its second iteration, Supersonic is Illuminate’s pulse-pounding lock-in across one night at Hindley Street Music Hall. The Illuminate Adelaide founded event is a celebration of electronic music – raw, loud and gloriously unfiltered. Curated by Adelaide local musician Motez, Supersonic showcases techno, house and genre-blurring club energy deep into the night.
Find out more and buy tickets to Supersonic here. Here are our top pics from the 2026 line-up:
Skin On Skin
Headlining the 2026 edition of Supersonic is the South Sudan, Skrillex-collaborator Skin On Skin, best known for his 2019 debut EP Steel City Dance Discs. He has since appeared at some of the world’s best clubs and biggest festivals, received more than 2 million views on Boiler Room sets, and partnered with the likes of Kettama, Mall Grab and more.
Soju Gang
Community and connection are at the centre of Soju Gang’s music. It was a natural progression to a life behind the decks after working as a promoter and host – she’s well equipped with knowledge on the Naarm nightlife scene and will be bringing that expertise to Supersonic this year.
KHUEVO
For the locally founded and curated event, this music night highlights the ever growing South Australian electronic artists on show: KHUEVO being one of them. Known for his high-energy sets and techno-blends, KHUEVO will bring his heavy hitting grooves to Supersonic in 2026.
moktar
Drawing from his Egyptian heritage and upbringing in Australia, moktar – the Sydney based DJ and producer – is carving out his own lane in electronic music. His work is a mix of textured percussion, Arabic influences and emotive storytelling.
Illuminate Adelaide will take place from July 1-19 in various locations. Head to the website for the full program and to buy tickets.
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