Armand Van Helden headlines NYE as Finely Tuned’s The Works returns to Sydney’s Carriageworks with Overmono, KI/KI and more
Sydney’s warehouse season just found its heavyweight. On Tuesday, September 8, promoter Finely Tuned confirmed that The Works, its multi-day electronic series at Carriageworks, returns for a 2026-27 run led by house pioneer Armand Van Helden on New Year’s Eve. The announcement stacks one of the deepest bills the young series has assembled, with Overmono, KI/KI, Jayda G, Ewan McVicar, salute, Sam Alfred, Job Jobse, and Rossi. all joining the program across December and January.
The series unfolds inside the cavernous halls of Carriageworks, the inner-Sydney arts venue on Gadigal land, and moves deliberately through the full spectrum of club sound, from house and techno to trance, UK garage, and rave. It opens with an already sold-out Pegassi all-night-long set on December 5, then stretches across New Year’s Eve and four separate January dates, giving each night its own distinct identity rather than a single festival blur.
A New Year’s Eve Built on House Royalty
December 31 is the centerpiece, and it belongs to Van Helden. The Boston-born, genre-spanning producer has spent more than three decades stamping his fingerprints across dance music, from his chart-conquering 1996 remix of Tori Amos’ “Professional Widow” to his own 1999 UK Number 1 “You Don’t Know Me.”
His Billboard résumé runs deep too: “You Don’t Know Me” hit No. 2 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs, and Duck Sauce‘s inescapable “Barbra Streisand,” his project with A-Trak, topped Dance Club Songs and cracked the Hot 100 at No. 89. In 2025, Billboard ranked “You Don’t Know Me” at No. 13 on its list of the 50 best house songs of all time, a reminder that Van Helden’s catalog is canon, not nostalgia.
He does not headline alone. The NYE bill pairs him with Ewan McVicar going back-to-back with salute, a combination that promises a restless dialogue between Scottish rave energy and salute’s UK garage and club instincts. Rounding out the night is Jayda G, whose pedigree adds real weight. The Canadian DJ and producer earned a Grammy nomination for best dance recording for her 2020 track “Both of Us,” and her sets carry the same warmth and disco-literate joy that made her a festival favorite.
The Works Cements Its Place in Sydney
The Works launched in 2025 as part of Finely Tuned’s Sydney calendar, and its debut edition set a high bar with Underworld, Ben Böhmer, Chris Stussy, CamelPhat, I Hate Models, Michael Bibi, and Pretty Girl. The 2026-27 program signals ambition rather than a repeat, leaning on European club heavyweights like Amsterdam’s Job Jobse and Dutch selector KI/KI alongside the widescreen electronic sound of Overmono, the UK duo who have become one of the most in-demand live acts in modern dance music.
For Finely Tuned, the series is another pillar in a portfolio built since 2006 across Australian festivals, club nights, tours, and brand activations, including Lost Paradise, Lost Sundays, Above, and Paradise Club. The Works represents the promoter’s play for the large-scale, credibility-first end of the market, the kind of programming that treats a warehouse as a cathedral rather than a novelty.
That matters in a moment when Australia’s dance scene has weathered festival cancellations and a bruising few years for large events. A curated, venue-anchored series like The Works offers a more sustainable model, concentrated nights with clear artistic identities rather than sprawling greenfield gambles. Booking a figure as foundational as Van Helden for the calendar’s marquee slot is a statement of intent about where Sydney clubbing goes next.
Presale for The Works begins September 15 at 10 a.m. AEST, with general onsale following September 16 at 10 a.m. AEST. With one night already sold out before the full lineup even dropped, the smart money says the rest will not linger.
