We love local music, you love local music, so we've dedicated our 2023 Festival Edition to South Australia’s music industry.

Music has been a developing focus at CityMag for at least half its life (we’re 10 this year!), and so when it came time to plan our 2023 Festival Edition, we decided it was worth dedicating the issue to the vibrant and multi-faceted South Australian industry.

Plonked in the middle of the magazine is a special section we’ve called the Adelaide Music Almanac – a collection of stories all about the music and music makers of our city and state.

We’ve spoken with Aṉangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara rap group DEM MOB about what it means to make music for their community; following its 50-year anniversary last year, we dug into the history of The University of Adelaide’s Centre for Aboriginal Studies in Music to find out how it became the singular institution it is today; we chatted to two professional gig-makers about how to throw a music festival; and we jumped into the studio with Tom Spall at the Hills-based Milestone Records.

There is also a rundown of our favourite single, EP and LP releases of the last little while, a metro-wide gig guide, and we developed a playlist of iconic South Australian sounds in collaboration with the SA Museum, Northern Sound System, SA History Trust, Music SA, The Elder Conservatorium, the ASO and Radio Adelaide, which we’ve called Adelaide’s Golden Record.

It’s not all rosy, though. Performers and lovers of live music alike often put themselves at risk of hearing loss, so we spoke with a couple of locals about living with tinnitus, and what gig heads can do to protect themselves.

Outside of the Almanac, we spoke with 40 Under 40 Creative Thinker Award winner Alex Karatassa about how Plus One Co’s DJ parties became a global affair during COVID, and Interim Studio’s Colby Robertson shares his fears for the future of Gunson Street’s creative enclave now that a retirement living apartment complex is scheduled for construction down the street.

There is also a lot of the CityMag you love – a collection of what’s new in food and beverage around town, and the best Bloody Marys the city has to offer.

All this and more for the low, low price of absolutely nothing but your precious time and attention.

These stories will come up online over the next month or so, but, in our opinion, they’re best read in print (possibly paired with a beer). Pick up a copy from one of our much-loved magazine stockists, or grab a copy from out front of CityMag HQ, at 165 Grenfell Street.

Happy reading xx