From 15 - 17 February USU is hosting three huge days at USYD stacked with heaps of freebies, live music, over 180 club stalls, movie nights, parties and so much more.

This year, we're welcoming back students with a bang with three daily FREE gigs from some of the biggest Aussie artists live at the Main Stage.

Day 2 on Thursday 16 Feb we are super excited to be hosting the incredible Haiku Hands and Genesis Owusu!!!

Haiku Hands

Based across Melbourne and Sydney, the core of Haiku Hands is Beatrice Lewis, Claire Nakazawa and Mie Nakazawa. Together, they curate, perform and work as a collective of artists, engaging and exploring social norms with their lyrical and visual content. Their influences range from hip-hop to pop, electronic to dance, and everything beyond.

Haiku Hands brought their singular, rebellious, and outright fun sound across multiple continents over the past three years. On the heel of their breakthrough performances at the UK’s Great Escape, Haiku Hands has been touted by NME as “Australia’s most electrifying pop prospect” and “a thrilling pop hybrid” who combine the pure pop attitude of Charli XCX with the energy and swagger of The Beastie Boys.

Haiku Hands is eager to get back on stage to present to you their new material along with all of their old favourites. Their fun and ecstatic live shows are unlike anything you’ve seen before, Haiku Hands’ live performance is not one to be missed!

Genesis Owusu

Genesis Owusu is a Ghanaian-Australian songwriter and performer whose hard to categorize music draws from laid-back funk, hardcore rap, and the energy of alternative rock. Naming Frank Ocean, Kanye West, OutKast, and Jimi Hendrix as influences, his songs are both celebratory and introspective, while touching on relevant social issues such as cultural appropriation and police brutality. After earning attention throughout Australia with early releases such as the 2017 EP Cardrive and his highly energetic live shows, Owusu's single "Don't Need You" received airplay from U.K. and U.S. tastemakers in 2020. His debut album, Smiling with No Teeth, arrived in 2021.

Following the release of Owusu's Cardrive EP, his song "Sideways," produced by Perrin Moss and Simon Mavin of Hiatus Kaiyote, became a radio hit. Additional tracks such as "Wit' da Team" (2018) and "WUTD" (2019) attracted attention, and Owusu was awarded ACT Live Voice of the Year during the 2019 National Live Music Awards. His 2020 single "Don't Need You" became a number one hit on Triple J, additionally receiving airplay on BBC Radio 6 in the U.K. and American stations like KCRW and WXPN. He recorded his debut album, Smiling with No Teeth (2021), alongside notable Australian musicians such as Kirin J. Callinan, Touch Sensitive, and World Champion's Julian Sudek.

Register below to secure your spot and we'll see you at the Welcome Fest Main Stage!

Can't make it? We've got a jam-packed schedule so be sure to check out everything happening here.