The Darwin amphitheatre will again be among the venues for this year’s Darwin Festival, with Missy Higgins one of the acts to take to the stage, organisers have said.

Darwin Festival chief executive officer James Gough said the amphitheatre, which sits in the George Brown Darwin Botanic Gardens, will host three different events, and was being used by the festival for the first time in two years.

“Re-introducing this iconic venue shows our commitment to celebrating music, culture and the arts to the community and visitors across Darwin. It’s venues like this, and other festival locations, that attract visitors to the unmatched experience of Darwin Festival year after year,” he said.

The Darwin Festival runs from August 7 to 25, with the amphitheatre series kicking it off for the first two nights with the Ilbijerri Theatre Company’s rock theatre show, Big Name, No Blankets, inspired by tales from Warumpi Band’s founding member Sammy Tjapanangka Butcher.

The National Indigenous Music Awards will be held on August 10, and Higgins will play on August 11.

Higgins said she was glad to return to the Top End to perform as part of her Second Act tour throughout Australia, having not preformed in Darwin since 2004.

“I have such a clear memory of playing outdoors in Darwin way back when The Sound Of White first came out. It was a really special night, so I’m so glad we’ve finally found a way to bring this tour to the NT,” she said.

“Thanks for everyone’s patience. We’ll do everything we can to make sure it’s well worth the wait.”

Darwin Festival artistic director Kate Fell said the amphitheatre provided a great open space for major music events.

“The amphitheatre has it all – picnic-style seating under starry night skies, brilliant acoustics, plenty of room to dance and lush tropical gardens,” she said.

“We are so thrilled to be able to present these acts in the opening week, in such a perfect location.”

Tickets are on sale from www.darwinfestival.org.au.