Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Entertainment
Sian Cain

The rise of Dom Dolla: what the DJ’s record-breaking stadium show for 60,000 fans tells us about music today

Dom Dolla performs in Marvel Stadium on Thursday 24 September 2026.
‘A local boy done good’ … Dom Dolla performs in Marvel Stadium on Thursday 24 September 2026. Photograph: Sam Verbisky

“Abandon all hope, ye who enter,” it says on the wall – no, my mistake, that is just the sign for the Johnnie Walker bar at Marvel Stadium. I have a theory that what everyone is drinking at a show can tell you a lot about the mood of a crowd, and based on the stacks of Hard Solo and Walker cans strewn on the streets outside Dom Dolla’s biggest ever show, 60,000 people are in for an intense, sticky night.

And a significant one. That 60,000 people have turned out to see a DJ play in a stadium, the biggest electronic dance music (EDM) concert by a solo artist ever staged in Australia’s history, tells us something about the way music is changing – both in Australia and outside it.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.