As is the new tradition, the end of summer sees the East Perth Substation fill out with music goers and some of the year’s most exciting acts at Perth Festival. On the surface, Rebel Rebel might not look like it should count among them— after all, we have plenty of orchestral events each year— but it’s the execution that makes it stand above the rest.

Done by an eclectic mix of local and international talent— from dancers to Freo singer songwriters to Meow Meow crowd surfing— Rebel Rebel embodied the spirit of Bowie, and there was never time to get bored, only to anticipate the next song. 

Setlist Highlights and Standout Moments from Rebel Rebel

As you’d expect, the setlist was Bowie favourites— literally the top ten songs on Spotify (minus Moonage Daydream)— but a couple rarer picks were included too (Lazarus, Young Americans, Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide, and Golden Years among them). The standouts we Space Oddity and Life on Mars, but ask another concert goer and they’d just as like say any of the other songs (the tenth anniversary of Bowie’s death was this January 10th, making Lazarus especially meaningful).

Inside the Crowd: Perth Fest’s Bowie Devotees

The crowd was made up of young and old alike, and though there was plenty of head bobbing, people broke out into dance more and more as the night went on (not to mention the fun people had bouncing around the giant beach-ball planets during ‘Ziggy Stardust’).

Technical Elements & How Rebel Rebel Reframes David Bowie for 2026

Projected on the side of the power station were abstract, AI-generated animations of Bowie à la music videos for each song. ‘Space Oddity’ had an astronaut exploring a Daliesque planet, ‘Golden Years’ had Bowie dancing in gold, glittering in film halation. Each was mesmerising and certainly a colourful addition to the event, but some will decry Perth Fest’s use of AI.

In a note from the creatives, art director Anna Reece eloquently reasons that it’s the fact that AI use is so provocative that we can expect Bowie would’ve tried it. The whole note is here, but to condense it: “To celebrate Bowie today is not to preserve him in amber, but to keep faith with his restlessness”. It’s a sentiment we’ve seen echoed as new mediums have emerged in the past— Beksinki adopted early photoshop while it was still considered cheating at art. More recently, director and art-world enfant terrible Harmony Korine said to THR 

“It’s like discussing the Internet. It already is. But I also think you should not even try to use it to imitate moves or traditional narratives or classic IP. It’s a losing battle. You use the instrument to create its own form, its own logic, its own world.”

Ultimately, Rebel Rebel asks you to question the execution of and potential for AI in art, rather than its seemingly inevitable usage.

Final Verdict: A Richly Entertaining, Loving Bowie Revival

If the best thing a revival concert can do is reignite your interest in the artist, to have you singing their songs and putting them on again in the car, Rebel Rebel is a success. More than that though, the concert was constantly adding new elements to the experience, making it an even richer, more engaging experience than many concerts— it was pushing the medium, challenging others to add more to live events. You might’ve seen similar abstract visuals projections, dancers, alternating soloists, and giant beach balls at different events, but having all these additions and more kept the event entertaining beyond just the music. 

And to say a little more on the acts of Rebel Rebel, they were all so uniquely exciting and excellent (supporting team too, from the presenter to the Auslan interpreters— so picking out favourites would just mean listing everyone involved, so here’s the credits:

Conductor Jessica Gethin MC Joe Louis Robinson

Soloists Justin Burford Matt Milford Abbe May Rachel Dease Meow Meow Noah Dillon Katy Steele

Backing vocals Amy Ehlers Jordan Anthony

Dancers K2Dance Pty Ltd Tyrone Robinson Georgia Kearny Ann-Marie Clifton-James Rebecca Hollier

Choreographer Bernie Bernard

Violin 1 Pascale Whiting Jasmine Skinner Sara Duhig Madeleine Antoine

Violin 2 Susannah Williams Luisa Theis Jason Chong Jude lddison

Viola Christian Read Erica Ketterer Heidi Parkinson 

Cello Emma Vanderwal Sacha McCulloch

Double bass Jonathan Chen

Flute, piccolo Emily Clements

Oboe Esther Lee

Saxophone Mark Turner

Trumpet Mark Underwood

Trombone Ewan Potter

Percussion Joshua Webster

Drumkit Mike Perkins

Electric guitar Mathew Fagan

Electric bass guitar Leigh Miller

Keys Joshua Webb

Projections Neil Mason from The Start

Auslan Interpreters Tahlicia Osei-poku & Christy Filipich

Photography Thomas Earnshaw

Disclosure: Branden was provided press tickets to review the event.