Adelaide University’s pop-up Lumen Bar returns to North Terrace this winter, transforming Goodman Lawns into a glowing festival pitstop for live music, DJs, food and wine during Illuminate Adelaide.
Running from Friday 3 July to Sunday 19 July, Lumen Bar forms part of the University’s Illuminate Adelaide City Lights program, alongside large-scale installations, projections and interactive works from local and international artists across iconic sites in Adelaide.
This year, Lumen Bar takes on a nu jazz theme, inspired by London’s nu jazz movement of the 1990s, paired with a menu by National Wine Centre head chef Satoshi Kikuchi, Waite Chef in Residence Karena Armstrong and former Chef in Residence Kane Pollard.
Jukebox Sessions open each afternoon, inviting guests to request tracks through an interactive set, followed by nightly vinyl DJs. Lumen Bar will also host a rotating lineup of free Friday and Saturday night band gigs, including Elder Conservatorium alumni.
Acts include funk fusion band Duck Soup, jazz funk instrumental act 5 Sided Cube, Alexander Flood with live dance music, Jamiroquai tribute show A Funk Odyssey, UK street soul act Surahn, and Cargo Ago Go with acid jazz.
Professor Jessica Gallagher, Deputy Vice Chancellor International and External Engagement at Adelaide University, said the University greatly values its partnership with Illuminate Adelaide.
“We are delighted to welcome visitors to our Goodman Lawns and the City Lights installations across campus,” Professor Gallagher said.
“This year’s program brings together creativity, music, food, culture and community in the heart of North Terrace.
“Lumen Bar has become a much-loved part of Illuminate Adelaide, bringing people onto campus to experience the University in a different way.”
Illuminate Adelaide Co-Founders and Creative Directors Lee Cumberlidge and Rachael Azzopardi said Adelaide University continued to play an important role in the festival’s city-wide program.
“Adelaide University has been an important partner of Illuminate since the first year of the event, hosting some of the most memorable experiences for our audiences over the past six years,” Cumberlidge said.
“As a major partner, Adelaide University plays a pivotal role in supporting our activation of the city and hosting our free City Lights program.”
Azzopardi said Lumen Bar would again be a key stop along the North Terrace trail.
“Lumen is back on campus this year with a great menu, a killer wine list and a seamless blend of jazz, funk, soul, hip-hop and house inspired by London’s Nu Jazz movement,” she said.
“It is a great place to stop in, get warm and refuel on your Illuminate adventure.”
Armstrong, co-owner and chef of The Salopian Inn, said the menu is designed around bold, snackable dishes suited to the rhythm of a winter festival.
“I love meeting up with friends over a glass of wine and something good to eat. It might be a quick drink, or it might turn into a meandering few hours,” Armstrong said.
“The Lumen snacks are full of flavour, with the right amount of salt and umami. My work with Red Centre Enterprises during my Chef in Residence role has opened the door to a deeper understanding of First Nations ingredients, and those ingredients are represented across the menu.”
Snacks by Armstrong include fried fava beans with saltbush and mountain pepper, as well as Coffin Bay oysters with a choice of karkalla pickle or lilly pilly vinegar. Pollard’s tomato whipped hemp seed ricotta with spent brewers’ grain bark dish is another menu highlight.
The drinks list features classic cocktails alongside a curated selection of wines from Adelaide University alumni winemakers, who will also host midweek wine tastings.
The venue design continues Lumen Bar’s evolving exploration of music eras, following the 1960s and 1970s influence of Lumen Bar 2024 and the late 1970s and early 1980s influence of Lumen Bar 2025.
Adelaide University’s Director Events Ross Ganf said this year’s venue drew from early 1990s club culture.
“The look and feel took inspiration from early 90s clubs in London, and the way that sound found its own aesthetic in Adelaide through places like Cargo Club and Club Foote,” Ganf said.
“The spirit of this music has existed in Adelaide for more than three decades, and it is having its time in the light again at Lumen Bar.”
Across the University’s North Terrace campus, City Lights also bring major free installations to life.
At Bonython Hall, renowned French artist Miguel Chevalier presents Pixel Waves, an interactive work where glowing patterns ripple across the floor.
On Napier Lawns, Under Pressure by Pavol Truben features eight light and sound installations exploring society’s fascination with “healthy fixes” such as exercise and yoga.
Across the wider City Lights trail, UK studio Glow Art Creations presents Nocturnal, a series of giant glowing inflatable animals.
Find out more about Adelaide University and Illuminate Adelaide’s Lumen Bar and City Lights. Book a table at Lumen Bar here.
Photo credit: Juan Van Staden
Media contact:
Lara Pacillo, Media Officer, Adelaide University. Mobile: +61 403 659 154. Email: lara.pacillo@adelaide.edu.au