Saturday at Parramatta Lanes: Make the final night yours

Genesis Owusu. Shady Nasty. aja monet with her jazz quartet. Saturday at Parramatta Lanes brings a lineup worth planning around, with rooftop sets, Baile Funk and a final chance to eat, play and explore your way through the festival.

This is the last night of Lanes for 2026. Arrive early, choose your must- see moments and give the finale the evening it deserves.

Get a head start on the night

Start at Eat Street Car Park, where the Bossman Experiences takeover puts food, culture, shopping and entertainment across three levels.

Make time for The Great Putty Pop-Up: Art Mini Golf, and turn a round of putt-putt into an art adventure. Explore the Art Car Boot Sale, then keep an eye out for OURO, the giant sausage-dog installation by Samuel Kim and Lawrence Liang.

Mini golf and the Art Car Boot Sale are scheduled until 10pm, but an early visit leaves your evening free for the headline performances.

A bearded man in sunglasses stands amid colorful hanging balls, striped poles, plants, and floor props in a playful, whimsical art installation.

Choose your opening soundtrack

Levins plays Ngurra Gunya from 5.15pm to 6.30pm, giving you an early reason to head towards the stage.

More in the mood for jazz? Head to Lanes Jazz Bar at Riverside Live at PHIVE, presented by the University of Sydney. The William Kiss Trio plays from 5pm to 5.45pm, followed by Alexander Collective from 6.15pm to 7pm.

Or start at Centenary Square, where Inbraza brings Baile Funk and DJ sets into a celebration of Afro-Latinx expression. CELINITA is scheduled from 6pm to 7pm, followed by BINTA from 7pm to 8pm.

Choose your first stop, then let the night build from there.

A jubilant DJ raises one arm behind the decks, headphones around his neck, amid vivid red and pink lights and glowing bokeh at a lively music event.

Fuel the finale

This is a good moment to tick off a food wish list item. Watch Bianco’s spaghetti get tossed inside a cheese wheel, try Firepop’s charcoal-cooked lamb or wagyu, or follow the Latin Quarter’s open-fire barbecue to Phillip Street.

If dessert is your priority, MIX MIX CO.’s halo-halo layers shaved ice with creamy ube ice cream, while Chimnutz brings together Hungarian chimney cake, crème brûlée custard and soft serve.

Festival planning should always leave room for dessert.

Close-up of marinated meat kebabs on wooden skewers grilling over glowing charcoal, smoke rising in a warm, appetizing barbecue scene.

Catch the final-night flavour at Wingstop WRLD

Saturday’s music shortlist just got longer. The 046 and Nerve headline Wingstop WRLD’s final night, with Planet Vegeta also on the lineup.

Presented by Wingstop and music partner 92WRLD, the block party pairs Aussie hip hop with a nightly 1v1 street basketball tournament, live graffiti, custom T-shirts and merch giveaways. Bring your crew, grab some chicken and catch the action between performances. Check the set times once announced to work this stop around your other Saturday must sees.

A woman DJ mixes on Pioneer decks in a dark club, surrounded by green lighting and glowing screens; the scene feels energetic and futuristic.

Stop and listen to aja monet

Head to Erby Stage for aja monet, performing from 7.30pm to 8.30pm.

The surrealist jazz-blues poet performs with her jazz quartet, bringing work from the color of rain into an evening of poetry, emotion and music. This is a set to give your attention to, with words and sound unfolding together.

Afterwards, allow time to make your way to Ngurra Gunya for the night’s headline performance.

A thoughtful Black woman with vivid blue braided hair, long lavender earrings, and a patterned top gazes to the side against a textured teal backdrop.

Prefer Punk? Make Beatdisc Lane your destination

For an alternative route, Bennetts Grove plays Beatdisc Stage from 7pm to 7.45pm, bringing raw post-punk energy ahead of Shady Nasty, from 8pm to 9pm.

The Sydney trio pushes its jazz and classical training into a distinctly left-field breed of punk, drawing on modified cars, immigrant heritage and digital obsessions.

Three men in dark streetwear stand beside a bright green car on a city street, with parked cars and stone buildings behind them; the mood is serious.

Catch Genesis Owusu at Ngurra Gunya

Genesis Owusu performs from 9pm to 10.15pm, putting one of Australian music’s most distinctive voices at the centre of the festival’s final night.

The Ghanaian-Australian artist has earned acclaim for a sound and creative world entirely his own. Make this your Saturday anchor, get there before the set starts and settle in for the finale.

This project has been assisted by the Australian Government through Creative Australia, its principal arts investment and advisory body.

Portrait of a smiling man with dreadlocks, glasses, a red beret, white shirt, and dark tie against a clear blue sky; the image feels bright and upbeat.

Choose your final night detour

For those building a different Saturday, Pass the Mic Grand Finale runs at Bodega Lane from 7pm to 10.30pm, while Horatio Luna plays Lanes Jazz Bar from 9pm to 10pm.

Prefer to stay on the dance floor? Blend Theory continues on Eat Street Rooftop, with CABU, PatD and Baby Oliv scheduled from 9.30pm to 10.30pm.

Choose the finish that feels like you. One final night, and plenty of ways to find that feeling.

A cap-wearing performer raises his arms toward a packed nighttime street crowd as a dancer points beside him under vivid red and blue stage lights.