Music of Adelaide includes music relating to the city of Adelaide, South Australia. It includes all genres of both live and recorded music by artists born or living in the city, live music events happening in the city, and other aspects of the music industry relating to Adelaide.
Adelaide is a UNESCO City of Music. It enjoys several annual music festivals and awards, and possibly has more live music venues per capita than any other capital city in the southern hemisphere. Organisations such as Music SA and the Music Development Office, backed by the state government, help to nurture the live music industry and the careers of emerging artists.
Artists of some renown such as Sia, Paul Kelly, Redgum, Cold Chisel, Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, Hilltop Hoods, No Fixed Address and Guy Sebastian originate from the city.
Live music
2013: Reverb report leads to new support
In 2012, the Don Dunstan Foundation, in partnership with Adelaide City Council, the Australia Council, Arts SA, Adelaide Fringe, the Department of the Premier and Cabinet and Regional Development Australia Barossa, hired British music promoter Martin Elbourne as Thinker in Residence on a project named "Reverb". The project aimed "to create collaboration and unified action for a healthy, more sustainable music scene" in South Australia. A report based on his recommendations was produced in 2013, entitled The future of live music in South Australia.
As a result of Elbourne's report, the Music Development Office and adjunct St Paul's Creative Centre was created by the state government (then under Arts SA, now Dept of Innovation & Skills) in 2014, with the goal of "build[ing] pathways into creative and industry development, with city vibrancy and economic benefit being the ultimate outcomes", which it does by facilitating grants, fellowships and other means of developing the careers of contemporary musicians.
A new independent body called Musitec and an advisory body known as the Music Industry Council were also established.
City of Music
Adelaide was awarded a UNESCO City of Music title from the United Nations in late 2015, after an application driven by the Festival Centre, the Music Development Office and Adelaide City Council. It was the 19th city to gain the status.
In 2015, it was said that there were more live music venues per capita in Adelaide than any other capital city in the southern hemisphere, and Lonely Planet labelled Adelaide “Australia’s live music city”.
2017–2020: Live Music Action Plan
In 2017 the City of Adelaide produced a report entitled Adelaide: City of Music: Live Music Action Plan 2017−2020, after holding its first Live Music Summit to coincide with a visit by other global UNESCO Cities of Music on 8 March 2017. The report outlined the council's strategic plan and role in sustaining live music in the city.
Live music events
The city and surrounding area showcases many different genres of music with international and local artists in events such as the Adelaide Festival of Arts, Barossa Music Festival, Adelaide Fringe, the world music festival WOMADelaide (held annually in Botanic Park), the Adelaide Guitar Festival and the Adelaide Cabaret Festival.
Music SA is a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1997 to promote, support and develop contemporary music in South Australia, which it does by providing training at many levels, professional development advice and live performance opportunities. Among its other activities, it has run the annual Umbrella: Winter City Sounds event since 2016, growing each year. Described as "a grass roots organic creation that is made up of local venues and mainly local performers", it offered over 350 live events in 2018. In association with the biennial Adelaide Guitar Festival, it presents "Guitars in Bars" each year, as part of Umbrella.
The touring music festival, St Jerome's Laneway Festival, visits Adelaide each February with a range of contemporary artists, since 2014 at Hart's Mill in Port Adelaide.
The first Adelaide Jazz Festival was held in 2023.
Classical music
The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1937, with William Cade as conductor. The ASO often plays for the State Opera of South Australia, the Adelaide Youth Orchestra and Adelaide Chamber Singers.
Music education
Music education starts in primary and secondary public and private schools across the state. A number of public schools (19 have been designated "music focus schools" by an Education Department program called Instrumental Music (IM). Some of these are the APY Lands schools, Marryatville High School, Open Access College and Whyalla High School.