In 2016, it felt like the music died. David Bowie. Prince. George Michael. Leonard Cohen. Sharon Jones. Maurice White. Leon Russell. It was a year of cultural aftershocks. Add Brexit and the election of Donald Trump and the mood darkened further. Ten years on, Twenty Sixteen dares to step back into that year and ask: what did we lose, and what remains?

From the creators of the hit live rockumentary 27 Club, Amplified House return with a deep dive into a year that reshaped the soundtrack of our lives. If 27 Club was about tragic youth, Twenty Sixteen is about legacy. And it hits just as hard.

The show opens with Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker. It’s a bold choice. It sets the tone. This is not simply a jukebox concert. It is remembrance. Reflection. Led by a killer band.

Eight pieces. Tight. Precise. Driven. Flik Freeman’s bass anchors everything with warmth and muscle. Nic Jeffries’ saxophone weaves through arrangements, before he later steps forward on vocals for a Leon Russell tribute that will delight music nerds who can’t fault a note.

Front and centre is Kylie Auldist. Dressed in gold. Gold sneakers. Golden tonsils. Known as Australia’s Queen of Soul and frontwoman of The Bamboos, Auldist commands the stage with authority. Her tribute to Sharon Jones is electric. Her This Land Is Your Land lands with grit and heart. Then she delivers Cohen’s Hallelujah. It’s a song that has been covered so many times, you think you don’t need another version. Until you hear hers.

Auldist shares a story about 2016. She had tickets to see Prince. Her father was dying. She thought she could see Prince another time. Both her father and Prince passed away. She imagines them partying together in heaven. The Fantail tent goes still. That story gives Hallelujah new weight.

Dusty Lee Stephensen, in a Bowie-red suit, channels chameleon energy. He is a human jukebox. Bowie. Cohen. Don Henley. You believe every one. He recalls taping ABC’s Rage onto VHS and discovering Bowie as a formative influence. By the end of the show, he is dancing through the crowd to Let’s Dance, fully embodying rock star abandon.

Jaron Jay arrives in a sleeveless black vest and cosmic pants. Guitar slung low. Frontman confidence. He admits he never truly understood Prince until he realised Prince inspired the artists who inspired him, from Bruno Mars to modern pop royalty. When he launches into Purple Rain, the Fantail becomes a stadium.

The show smartly threads personal stories between the songs. It gives context without becoming heavy. It honours grief without wallowing. And it ends with George Michael’s Freedom. The message is clear. The year may have felt like an ending. The music still gives hope.

There are inventive medleys that mash Bowie and Prince in ways that feel fresh. The band locks in as if they’ve been playing together for decades. For a brand-new show, it is remarkably cohesive.

If there is a quibble, it’s this: the patter between songs is still finding its rhythm. Timing and phrasing will sharpen as the run continues. And the show is a true grab bag of genres. Fans of Leonard Cohen may not love Status Quo. But that is also the point. 2016 was sprawling. So is this setlist.

Not every name here carries the headline mystique of Hendrix or Cobain from 27 Club. But by the end of Twenty Sixteen, you suspect audiences will remember two new names: Dusty Lee Stephensen and Jaron Jay. They deserve to be household.

Amelia Ryan and Zac Tyler’s Amplified House have built a reputation for polished, high-impact live productions. This one continues that streak. It is both celebration and catharsis.

In 2016, the world darkened. Ten years later, these songs still shine.

Twenty Sixteen runs to 9 March at The Fantail at Gluttony as part of Adelaide Fringe. Rymill Park Adelaide SA 5000.