Review by Markus Hamence – Twenty Sixteen – Performance date: Tuesday 03 March 2026. Gluttony, Adelaide, South Australia. Lead photo: Gemini Foto
Featuring an all star 8-piece band including Kylie Auldist (The Bamboos), Jaron Jay and Dusty Lee Stephensen (27 Club), this new live rockumentary (from the creators of 27 CLUB) will reclaim the year the music died.
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There are tribute shows… and then there are full-throttle, spine-tingling, memory-activating live experiences that grab you by the collar and remind you exactly where you were when the world shifted. Twenty Sixteen by Amplified House is absolutely, hands-down, the latter.
Staged at the open-air The Fantail in Gluttony, this live rockumentary revisits the seismic year that was 2016 – a year that felt like a cultural landslide. The concept is razor sharp: honour the icons we lost, but do it with power, punch and a whole lot of heart. This isn’t a quiet memorial. It’s a celebration turned up loud by full-force talent.
2016: It was the year we lost George Michael, David Bowie, Prince, Pete Burns (Dead Or Alive), George Martin (The fifth Beatle), Leonard Cohen, Glenn Frey, Maurice White (Earth, Wind & Fire) and it kept on going, including the movie stars; Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia), her mum Debbie Reynolds, Alan Rickman and Gene Wilder. PLUS Muhammad Ali and Nancy Reagan. It was a shocker of a year.
But it was the music that we came for…
From the first note (Leonard Cohen’s ‘You Want It Darker’), the band makes it clear this is about musicianship. Tight. Polished. Electric. The arrangements don’t lazily copy; they re-energise. Songs you’ve heard a thousand times suddenly feel urgent again. The setlist moves with pumping intention, weaving between artists and genres while never losing momentum. It’s crafted like a proper arena show, just delivered in the electric chaos that only Fringe can provide.
“The setlist moves with pumping intention, weaving between artists and genres while never losing momentum…”
Markus Hamence
Vocally, it’s a knockout. Each performer steps into legendary material with respect but also confidence. No karaoke vibes here. These artists inhabit the songs. There are goosebump moments – the kind where the audience collectively stills – followed by explosive, on-your-feet singalongs. You can feel the crowd leaning in, then letting go.
Kylie Auldist, Jaron Jay and Dusty Lee Stephensen are powerful singularly and, hell, together they punch hard. A few cameo lead spots by Nick Jeffries on vocals and also on killer sax and more flavour to the already swell mix.
What makes Twenty Sixteen smack you differently is its emotional architecture. It understands that 2016 wasn’t just about losing musicians. It was about losing eras. It was about cultural anchors disappearing. The show captures that undercurrent without becoming heavy. Instead, it reframes grief as gratitude. We had them. We still have the music. And tonight, we’re all sharing it.
Production-wise, it’s slick. Lighting punches when it needs to (albeit while the sun was still going down). The vast staging allows the performers space to own their moments. There’s a rock-star confidence in the pacing – no filler, no awkward transitions, just a tight, driving set that respects the audience’s energy. Dusty’s walk through the audience was the extra connection, showcasing the show’s up-close, connecting, engaging vibe.
And that’s the real magic here: connection. This isn’t passive viewing. It’s communal. Strangers become choir members. Heads nod in sync. You catch people smiling at each other mid-song because they’re remembering something – a first dance, a teenage bedroom anthem, a late-night drive soundtrack.
“It feels big. It feels significant. And it reminds you why live performance matters…”
Markus Hamence
HITS? They kept coming, Prince’s Purple Rain & Let’s Go Crazy, Bowie’s Ziggy Period & Let’s Dance, George Michael’s BIG Wham hit & Freedom, it was one after another, with some very cool surprise tracks thrown in for good measure.
At a festival overflowing with cabaret, comedy and chaos, Twenty Sixteen carves out its lane as a premium live music experience. It feels big. It feels significant. And it reminds you why live performance matters.
If you’re chasing a Fringe night that delivers nostalgia without getting stuck in it, musicianship without ego, and emotion without melodrama, this is the one.
Amplified House have created more than a tribute. They’ve built a time machine with amplifiers – and for ninety electric minutes, Adelaide is right back in the year that changed everything. Congrats on an epic show my friends. Bravo!
Twenty Sixteen
Thursday 19 February – Monday 09 March 2026
The Fantail (open-air) at Gluttony – Rymill Park
Tickets
