The fifth edition of Illuminate Adelaide has been announced, with the winter festival of light, sound and music set to fire up the CBD and surrounds with nine world premieres and 23 Australian exclusives.

Among the exclusives is Horizons, which transforming Adelaide Oval into a living canvas with a huge fleet of drones and the sensory journey that is Night Visions at Adelaide Botanic Garden, a “portal of parallel dimensions” utilising cutting-edge light, lasers, projections and sound.

The line-up of local, national, and international artists and musicians includes Velvet Underground co-founder John Cale, the revered electronic musician Wolfgang Voigt (Germany) presenting GAS live, and rising post-rock band Moin (US) with their Australian live debut.

John Cale. Photo © Madeline McManus

Parallel to Illuminate, Adelaide’s Unsound Festival of experimental music and sound will feature sets from Portland, Oregon-based improvisers Yellow Swans, the electronic meets traditional Andean music project Los Thuthanaka (aka sibling duo Chuquimamani-Condori and Joshua Chuquimia Crampton), the experimental club and pop artist aya (UK) and percussionist Valentina Magaletti (Italy) with Afro-Portuguese beat-maker Nídia (Portugal).

From midnight, the Unsound base...