The City of Ballarat’s Summer Sundays sessions are back for January 8 and January 22, in its sixth incarnation.

The sessions have been cut back to two from last year’s four, due to the other high-profile gigs taking place at the gardens this month including Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Bernard Fanning and Kasey Chambers, the Red Hot Summer Tour featuring John Farnham and The Cat Empire with Xavier Rudd.

This Sunday, Anna Oliphant Wright, The Sugarcanes, Liana and the Petite Mort and The Pigs will take to the stage in the first of the two free Summer Sundays concerts.

Ballarat’s Liana and the Petite Mort is a duo performing James Bond themes, jazz standards and “songs of old Hollywood glamour”, with covers of classics like Bang Bang by Nancy Sinatra.

Liana said her act, known for its sultry style, would normally be heard in intimate wine bars.

“The band started with the idea of playing James Bond theme songs, so it’s kind of Bond and Bond girl, then we expanded to Lana del Rey and Amy Winehouse,” she said.

On January 22, the Summer Sundays lineup will feature Elvis Presently, John McNamara, Leah Senior and Olympia.

McNamara said he performed last year as a solo artist, but would return this year with an eight-piece band with a powerful rhythm and blues-soul sound.

The Ballarat artist said he performed locally from time-to-time, but kept busy on the interstate and international blues festival circuit.

“Something like this (Summer Sundays) is a crossover gig and it helps us reach a whole new audience,” he said.

City of Ballarat mayor Samantha McIntosh said Summer Sundays were a fantastic opportunity for Ballarat residents to become reacquainted with the Botanical Gardens and to activate the “magnificent” space.

The free gig will be held this Sunday from 3pm to 7pm. A range of food vans will be available including Round the Way Bagels, Mexican street food Dos Diablos and The Forge woodfired pizza.