‘The talent is there’: Western Sydney collectives claim Powerhouse’s rooftop

November 11, 2026 — 5:00am

In front of a wall draped in multicoloured saris, Jeevi Bola launches into a transfixing traditional Bharatanatyam (a classical Indian dance) atop the shiny new $1 billion Parramatta Powerhouse.

The Diwali party organised by western Sydney-based South Asian creative collective Kerfew drew inspiration from the day raves thrown by the UK’s South Asian diaspora in the 1980s and 1990s when migrant children often faced strict parental curfews but wanted to party.

Despite western Sydney creatives leading Sydney’s culture and taste-making, public investment has taken years to arrive and reward the area – until now, Kerfew’s Sidd Sharma says.

“The people, the talent, the audiences are there. What has not been there is the infrastructure. And I think Powerhouse Parramatta really changes that,” Sharma says.

“It’s a billion-dollar venue with state-of-the-art rooms, state-of-the-art spaces, and a lot of eyeballs.”

Throughout November, numerous western Sydney collectives and musicians will take over the rooftop for free events. Country Always, an all-female First Nations acoustic group opened the series on Saturday, and will be followed Three Rivers Ensemble, a seven-piece group inspired by Islamic devotional music, this Friday, November 13 and by ARIA winner BOY SODA on November 21. The series spans a range of practices and genres, curated by leading musicians, DJs, and collectives.

The Powerhouse received a joyous reception when it opened on Saturday, after 11 years of planning, three years of construction, two parliamentary inquiries and four NSW premiers.

The moment couldn’t have come soon enough for Fernando Benavides of Beat Kitchen Records, a western Sydney record label and creative collective taking over the rooftop next Sunday.

Benavides’ father worked on the museum’s construction, fitting the air conditioning system, while he is now responsible for programming a night of music.

“I come from like a very working-class family, and my dad’s always just kind of worked a trade,” he says. “When I’d see him, I’d always be like, ‘How’s the Powerhouse, how’s the Powerhouse?’ And then it was exciting when I got to tell him about us working there.”

Benavides says the melting pot of backgrounds and class origins makes western Sydney an exciting region for music production.

“It’s a meeting point between different cultures and what breeds from that is hip-hop, reggaeton and garage and all these fun genres that are innovative and new and exciting,” he says.

Powerhouse’s senior program curator Nikki Brogan says the museum’s approach to the live performance offering was to select exciting young emerging music makers and collectives “hungry” for spaces to make their own.

“That idea of [the rooftop series is to draw in] young people or creatively kind of minded people who are connected in some ways to these creatives and the shows that they put on,” Brogan says.

“But also when we’re thinking about families who are visiting the museum, when we’re thinking about local communities … we’ve really tried to look across what a nice cross-section might look like to have different offerings that could potentially resonate with different groups of people.”

Artist Nooky, who engineered the Country Always opening rooftop show, says western Sydney creatives now have a cultural institution where they can perform without having to travel into the city.

“Starting to set up these cultural institutions and precincts in the heart of western Sydney will definitely alleviate [that travel],” he says.

Rooftop Music, Powerhouse Parramatta, until November 27, free entry, details: powerhouse.com.au

Kayla Olaya is a culture reporter at The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.

From our partners