mayhem

Mona Foma Announces Spectacular 2018 Lineup

Mona Foma, the summery sister festival to Hobart’s beloved Dark Mofo, is back to kick off 2018 with another incredibly eclectic lineup. Dark Mofo and Mona Foma have proved themselves as alternative powerhouses in the Australian festival scene, and have helped putting Hobart on the map as a hub for the interesting, the cool, and the downright weird (in a good way).

The 2018 festival will be bigger than ever, with evens not only taking place at Hobart’s MONA, but a mini-MOFO will also take place up in Launceston. The festival has announced this will be the final festival at MONA for a long time, as construction will soon begin for a major new hotel in the area. As such, they’re going out in serious style.

Headlining the festival is Canadian post-rock legends Godspeed You! Black Emperor, an act who need almost no introduction. The experimental group inhabit an artistic fervour like no other, and will be performing in support of new album Luciferian Towers. They are also set to team up with Canadian contemporary dance pioneers The Holy Body Tattoo, who will perform an Australian exclusive show soundtracked, live, by GY!BE.

Norwegian black metal icons Mayhem will also play at Mona. No strangers to controversy, their aggressive, often terrifying music can be a challenge, sure, but that’s what they’re all about. They will be playing their groundbreaking debut album De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas from start to finish, with help from Sunn o))) vocalist Attila Csihar.

On the musical flip side, we’ll be treated to Moor Mother, an American powerhouse of Afro-beat punk-poetry. He will perform alongside Rasheedah Phillips, aiming to reconstruct the protest song from the ground up, and Argentinean folk-hip-hop trio Fémina. Another not-to-be-missed performance will be from Chicago native Jamila Woods, a close collaborator of Chance the Rapper, whose 2016 album Heavn was, in a word, stunning.

Our very own Gotye will perform a stunning tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey in Launceston. The French synth expert was famous for pioneering electronic music in the early days of the genre, and Gotye will use an Ondioline—one of the earliest electronic instruments—to pay tribute to the legend.

Other highlights of the festival include: a performance by Alessandra GarosiAdam Simmons & David Jones inspired by the music of Frank Zappa, as well as solo shows by each of the trio; Iraqi classical authorities Rahim Alhaj & Karim Wasfi; Avant-garde industrial trailblazers Genesis Breyer P-Orridge & Edley Odowd; and the voice of the Arab Spring, Emel Mathlouthi. Peep the full lineup below, and head to the official website for tickets and a tonne more details, including information about art, radio programs and other non-musical events.

Mona Foma takes place from January 12-22, 2018. Tickets are on sea from the 12th to the 22nd of January 2018. Tickets are on sale now.

Mona Foma 2018 Lineup

Brian Jackson with the Southern Gospel Choir (AUS/USA)
Emel Mathlouthi (TUN)
Genesis Breyer P-Orridge (UK/USA)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor (CAN)
Gotye Presents a Tribute to Jean-Jacques Perrey (AUS/USA)
Launceston Block Party
Mayhem (NOR)
Monumental – The Holy Body Tattoo (CAN) with live music by Godspeed You! Black Emperor (CAN)
Moor Mother featuring Rasheedah Phillips (USA)
Violent Femmes + the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (USA/AUS)

Adam Simmons
Ajak Kwai
Alessandra Garosi (ITA)
Andrew Bainbridge
Austin Buckett and Martin Ng
Black Quantum Futurism Collective (USA)
Black Rock Band
Blaise Garza and John Sparrow (USA)
Breadwoman Variations (USA)
Chakam Ensemble (IRN/AUS)
Cinemofo
David Jones
Edley ODowd
Eve Klein
Evil Goat
Faux Mo
Fémina (ARG)
Filastine and Nova (USA/IDN)
Gordon Gano (USA)
Hobart Liberation Orchestra featuring Petra Haden (AUS/USA)
Hobart + Music = Yeah: Re/cognition
Jamila Woods (USA)
Jim Denley and Rosalind Hall

Joseph Nolan and Brent Grapes
Kardajala Kirridarra
Martin Blackwell
Maxine Beneba Clarke
Michael Candy and Rosalind Hall
Michael Kieran Harvey, Arjun von Caemmerer and Brigita Ozolins
Military Position
MoMa
Rahim AlHaj and Karim Wasfi (IRQ)
Rod Thomson
SAAKA
Silver Space
Sisters Akousmatica
Sonya Lifschitz
Tannery: Tasmanian Taiko and Leather Orchestra
The Daemons of Dissent
The Ghosts of Nothing featuring Laura Purcell
The Museum of Everything
Thembi Soddell
TSO Chorus extreme
Unconscious Collective