One of the most exciting things about the lead up to Sydney Festival is the line-up announcements for Sydney's best pop-up venue, Beck's Festival Bar. Year after year the line-ups have oozed with quality and appeal to a wide audience, bringing together aspects of soul, funk, rock, house, electronica, hip hop, and jazz – this year is no exception, with one of the most promising nights being this excellent line-up of three very different acts.

The night was headlined by UK electronic producer Gold Panda, with support duties held by the much-hyped Aussie artist Djanimals, and Kyu, who have been making waves by being the first act ever to win Sydney Uni's traditional band comp unanimously.

First up was Kyu – two teenage girls who were easily the highlight of the night. Having never seen them before but hearing many many wonderful things, I didn't realy know what to expect. But as soon as they started harmonising I had to rush to the front to make sure it was just two girls on stage and not a full choir, their harmonies were breathtaking and their melodies hypnotising as they played their multitude of instruments on stage – which included taking turns beating the hell out of a floor tom, adding a tribal feel to their already melodic music. At times I was reminded of The XX, at times I was reminded of Bjork, but Kyu managed to sound unique and innovative all throughout their short set. You really have to see it for yourself, they truly are stunning live.

Last year, I heard the name Djanimals (formerly Danimals) thrown around so many times but have never had the opportunity to see them live so I was quite excited as they hit the stage. That excitement quickly turned to disappointment as their vocals immediately sounded awkward and very amateur over some decent experimental pop music. It was a shame because the production was impressive at times but the vocals ruined it for me – but maybe he was just a bit too drunk. Having been the only Australian artist to be signed to Peanut Butter Wolf's Stones Throw label (a predominantly hip-hop label) is impressive in itself, but knowing that, I expected a lot more from this artist.

After being bought down a notch by Djanimal's set, the night was quickly picked up again by headliner Gold Panda as the UK producer wasted no time showing off his glitchy-sounding productions. This man's record collection must be huge as you could pick various styles from his brilliantly layered beats which created an ever-changing soundscape with music that borrowed the best parts of hip-hop, electronica, house and a whole other variety of styles, throwing them all onto one track without sounding too chaotic.

Indeed the night ended on a high-note as Gold Panda finished off by juggling beautiful tracks like "Back Home" and dance-y electronica sounds which kept the crowd pleased and maintained the party vibe for the rest of the night.