JOLT Sonic Arts

10/06/2026

JOLT Arts and Stani Goma present

AFRICAN SUNSET RESIDENCY

WILLIS CHIMANO
HEAVY IS THE CROWN: A ONE MAN SHOW
Saturday 18 July
Doors open 7pm
Tickets $20/15. Buy tickets: https://events.humanitix.com/jolt-african-sunset-residency-willis-chimano

JOLTED Arts Space
342 High Street Northcote

WILLIS CHIMANO – HEAVY IS THE CROWN: A ONE MAN SHOW

Heavy Is the Crown: A One Man Show is a powerful, courageous, and deeply personal performance by Willis Chimano—international recording artist and member of Africa’s biggest boy band, Sauti Sol.

Blending live music, and storytelling, the show takes audiences on an intimate journey through Chimano’s lived experience as a q***r man navigating identity, visibility, and survival across the African continent.

This is not just a performance—it is an act of truth telling.

Through raw vulnerability and commanding stage presence, Chimano unpacks the realities faced by LGBTQ+ communities in Africa—where freedom is often contested, and existence itself can be an act of defiance. From moments of fear and isolation to healing, self-worth, and ultimately joy, the show moves through a deeply human emotional arc that resonates far beyond geography.

With a carefully curated soundtrack featuring his solo work and music from Sauti Sol, Heavy Is the Crown transforms pain into power, and silence into voice.

At its core, this work is a celebration of courage—of those who choose to stand in their truth, love without apology, and reimagine what freedom can look like for future generations.

09/06/2026

Presented by Made Now Music and JOLT Arts

MEREDITH + HAYLEY

HAYLEY CHAN
MEREDITH BEARDMORE

Sunday 5 July
Doors open 3.30pm
Tickets $15/$10
Buy tickets: https://jolted.art/

JOLTED Arts Space
342 High Street Northcote

Made Now Music presents a night of honest, exploratory music with the double album launch of elemental contrasts: Hayley Chan’s dynamic Desert Meditations & Meredith Beardmore’s curious The Long Blue Horizon.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS
// Hayley Chan

Hayley Chan is a performer, improviser, and composer based in Warrane/Sydney. Praised for her ability to “evoke atmosphere through subtlety and nuance” (Jessica Nichols, Sydney Morning Herald), her work transcends traditional genre boundaries, drawing inspiration from leading Australian artists such as Maria Moles, Dylan van der Schyff, and Andrea Keller. With a background in jazz, hip-hop, improvised, experimental, and industrial music, Hayley brings a distinctive post-genre sound to her performances. For her launch of Desert Meditations Hayley will perform a solo percussion set.

https://hayleychandrums.com/

// Meredith Beardmore

Meredith plays historical, wooden flutes in new soundworlds. Her album, The Long Blue Horizon, was written and recorded on the Tasman Peninsula. It combines flute and field recordings and captures different landmarks from around the peninsula. For the launch gig she will be joined by Ryan Williams, recorders, and Timothy Franklin, guitar.

https://www.meredithbeardmore.com/

https://www.madenowmusic.com/

09/06/2026

JOLT Arts and Stani Goma present

AFRICAN SUNSET RESIDENCY

MELBOURNE AFRICAN TRADITIONAL ENSEMBLE

Saturday 20 June
Doors open 7pm
Tickets $20/15. Buy tickets: https://jolted.art/

JOLTED Arts Space
342 High Street Northcote

The first show in African Sunset residency at JOLTED Arts Space.

MELBOURNE AFRICAN TRADITIONAL ENSEMBLE
MATE brings a powerful, cross-cultural soundscape to Jolted Arts, where ancient traditions meet bold, contemporary energy. This dynamic collaboration weaves together the hypnotic melodies of the Kamalengoni (West African hunter’s harp), the meditative pulse of the Mbira, and the driving force of African percussion, creating a rich, layered sonic journey.

At the heart of the ensemble are masterful artists Valanga Khoza, Aboubacar Djelike Kouyate, whose deep musical lineages and virtuosic interplay breathe life into these traditions. Joining them is Jason Tamiru on Yidaki (Didgeridoo), grounding the performance in the ancient sound traditions of Australia’s First Peoples. The result is a rare and electrifying dialogue between continents Africa and Australia in rhythmic and spiritual conversation.

Uplifting, immersive, and deeply rooted, MATE’s performance invites audiences into a shared musical space where culture, connection, and groove take centre stage.

27/05/2026

I Hold The Lion's Paw & guests tonight!!

Don't miss out on this rare and unique gig.

I HOLD THE LION’S PAW
THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS
TARIRO MAVONDO
JAMES HULLICK

Wednesday 27 May. Doors Open 7pm.
Northcote Social Club
301 High St, Northcote
Tickets: https://jolted.art/

I Hold The Lion's Paw are hosting a surrealist happening. Expect grungy durational performance, psychedelic ambience, unhinged funk, spoken word, avant-garde electronics, and (of course) some potentially interesting jazz music.

Supporting them are guests Tariro Mavondo, James Hullick & The Amplified Elephants.

Tariro Mavondo’s artistry spans voiceover work for brands like LEXUS, BMX, and Thomas the Tank Engine, to making music and poetry with I Hold The Lion’s Paw, and championing diverse communities behind the scenes in the arts. She was nominated for an ARIA Award with the Australian Art Orchestra (Best Jazz Album, 2021), and won an APRA AMCOS Award for Closed Beginnings. Recently, she co-directed The Hate Race at Malthouse Theatre, was associate director of The Audition (Outer Urban Projects), and returned to acting in La Belle Epoque and St Kilda Tales. A powerful voice in poetry, Tariro has featured at Slamalamadingdong, Melbourne Spoken Word & Poetry Festival, Mother Tongue, African Music and Cultural Festival and more. Her work is published in Growing Up African in Australia (Black Inc.) and Going Down Swinging.

James Hullick performing Noise in Red – electric guitar and electronics in surround sound, with video projections.

The Amplified Elephants dive to great auditory and visual depths linking sonic art; video art; deep ocean creatures and their own take on the infinite brilliance of the creative mind. At times ambient; at times oceanic; at times strident with powerful sonic waves. The show resonates with a love of the sea and a calling to protect our beloved blue planet. The Elephants perform their latest work with a gathering of electronic instruments and sound-making devices.

19/05/2026

I HOLD THE LION’S PAW
THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS
TARIRO MAVONDO
JAMES HULLICK

Wednesday 27 May. Doors Open 7pm.
Northcote Social Club
301 High St, Northcote
Tickets: https://jolted.art/

Ever wondered what it would sound like if the Muppets jammed with the Sun Ra Arkestra?

Find out on Wednesday 27 May when local genre-benders I Hold the Lion's Paw take over the Northcote Social Club.

Joined by special guests Tariro Mavondo, James Hullick, and The Amplified Elephants, expect grungy unhinged funk, psychedelic ambience, avant-garde electronics, and of course, some potentially interesting Jazz music.

Wednesday, May 27th, at the Northcote Social Club. Doors from 7:00 PM. Don't miss out.

19/05/2026

Don't miss this rare and sublime show!

Join us at JOLTED Arts Space this Saturday 23 May for Bobby Singh and guests.

TARLOCHAN (BOBBY) SINGH
THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS
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23 MAY /// 7:30PM DOORS OPEN, 8PM SHOW
JOLTED Arts Space
342 High St Northcote

Tix: $15/$10 @ https://jolted.art/bobby-singh-and-guests/

JOLT Arts will showcase three ecstatic and legendary in-house acts. Prepare to levitate upon audio waves of delight and heightened awareness.

Mesmerising and technically bedazzling, Tarlochan Bobby Singh is Australia’s master of the tabla and Indian Classical rhythmic flows.

In a reimagining of what it means to be avant-garde, award-winning electronic act The Amplified Elephants with Australia’s recalcitrant sound artist James Hullick in a night of multicultural, electric and expansive sonic offerings.

19/05/2026

Bobby Singh & guests at JOLTED Arts Space this week - https://mailchi.mp/joltarts/httpsjoltedart-9949022

18/05/2026

Check out the awesome article in Beat on the upcoming I Hold The Lion's Paw & guests show on 27 May at the Northcote Social Club.

Read the entire article here: https://beat.com.au/absurdist-jazz-group-i-hold-the-lions-paw-bring-unlikely-fusion-to-the-stage/

I HOLD THE LION’S PAW
THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS
TARIRO MAVONDO
JAMES HULLICK

Wednesday 27 May. Doors Open 7pm.
Northcote Social Club
301 High St, Northcote
Tickets: https://jolted.art/

I Hold the Lion’s Paw will perform material from their album Potentially Interesting Jazz Music alongside experimental heavyweights.

18/05/2026

Join us at JOLTED Arts Space this Saturday 23 May for Bobby Singh and guests.

TARLOCHAN (BOBBY) SINGH
THE AMPLIFIED ELEPHANTS
)-(U||!C|<

23 MAY /// 7:30PM DOORS OPEN, 8PM SHOW
JOLTED Arts Space
342 High St Northcote

Tix: $15/$10 @ https://jolted.art/bobby-singh-and-guests/

JOLT Arts will showcase three ecstatic and legendary in-house acts. Prepare to levitate upon audio waves of delight and heightened awareness.

Mesmerising and technically bedazzling, Tarlochan Bobby Singh is Australia’s master of the tabla and Indian Classical rhythmic flows.

In a reimagining of what it means to be avant-garde, award-winning electronic act The Amplified Elephants with Australia’s recalcitrant sound artist James Hullick in a night of multicultural, electric and expansive sonic offerings.

06/05/2026

Check out I Hold the Lion's Paw and guests at Northcote Social Club!

Wednesday 27 May
Doors 7pm
Northcote Social Club
301 High St, Northcote

I Hold The Lion’s Paw
The Amplified Elephants
Tariro Mavondo
James Hullick

Tickets at: https://northcotesocialclub.com/gigs/

Jon Hassell meets Ornette Coleman, meets Laurie Anderson. I Hold the Lion’s Paw (IHTLP) sounds familiar and, at the same time, like nothing else you’ve ever heard. Led by ARIA nominated trumpeter-producer Reuben Lewis, IHTLP’s vast sonic universe is equal parts absurd and brilliant, as if the Muppets wandered into a Sun Ra rehearsal and never left.

Drawing from the abstract playgrounds of their third studio album, Potentially Interesting Jazz Music, IHTLP are hosting a surrealist happening. Expect grungy durational performance, psychedelic ambience, unhinged funk, spoken word, avant-garde electronics, and (of course) some potentially interesting Jazz music.

“Like a visit to a contemporary art museum, the album invites you to sit down, slow down, look closer, and listen deeper. In an age that rushes faster than reason, Potentially Interesting Jazz Music feels like a deliberate act of resistance.” — paris-move.com

“More likely was the feeling of having stumbled into someone else’s L*D trip” — Sydney Morning Herald

Reuben Lewis – trumpet, pedals, synths
Emily Bennett – synth, voice, electronics
Adam Halliwell – guitar, bass
Ronny Ferella – drums