In 2011, the Harbour City will once again come alive to the sounds of the Sydney Festival. We can think of few better places to be from 8 to 30 January, and as ever the Beck’s Festival Bar is set to be a hub for the city’s electronic music lovers.

So, who’s on the guest-list for all those balmy nights at the Hyde Park Barracks? Some of Sydney’s finest party purveyors – including Mad Racket, Future Classic, Picnic and FBi – will be presenting nights over the month.

For techno, house, disco and dub heads, the riches are plentiful: Detroit originals Octave One, live laptop maestro Henrik Schwarz, scene leaders DJ Harvey and DJ Garth sharing a bill, and the mighty Mathew Jonson and his Cobblestone Jazz collective. Soul and hip hop devotees are guaranteed a special night on 28 January thanks to Aloe Blacc and a distinguished support cast, while the Holy Fuck and My Disco double-bill will be a sure-fire mind-melt.

Away from the Beck’s Festival Bar, there’s a wide range of arts and musical events to soak up. Festival First Night is not the rave-up it was in 2009 when A-Trak and Busy P took to the streets, instead opting for a family-friendly line-up that includes hip hop veterans Arrested Development.

Other festival appearances come from revered minimalist composer Phillip Glass and multi-instrumentalist Gotye in his first performance in three years. Find out more at the Sydney Festival website.

Beck’s Festival Bar line-ups:

January 9 – The Dynamites feat. Charles Walker, I Like It Like That Orchestra & Russ Dewbury
January 10 – Arrested Development & The Last Kinection
January 12 – The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion & Super Wild Horses
January 13 – Future Classic: Henrik Schwarz
January 15 – PICNIC: DJ Harvey & DJ Garth
January 19 – Scribe, Ru C.L. & Radical Son
January 20 – Wire, HEALTH & Popfrenzy DJs
January 21 – Matt and Kim & TheDeathSet
January 22 – Cobblestone Jazz, Mathew Jonson & Murat Kilic
January 26 – Beach House & Parades
January 27 – FBi Night: Holy Fuck & My Disco
January 28 – Aloe Blacc & The Grand Scheme, Benji B, Waajeed & Africa Hitech
January 29 – Mad Racket: Octave One (Live) and Mad Racket DJs