RISING, Melbourne's rapturous winter festival, returns in 2025 with a bold, expansive program of new art, music and performance across the CBD.
Over 12 nights, the city will transform into a pulsating playground featuring 65 events, 327 artists, 15 new commissions, nine world premieres and a dazzling array of Australian exclusives. RISING will spill into Melbourne’s laneways, arcades, underground basements and grand theatres from Wednesday 4 to Sunday 15 June.
RISING 2025
- Melbourne’s major winter festival has revealed its 2025 program
- It contains 65 events, 327 artists, 15 new commissions, nine world premieres
- RISING will run from Wednesday 4 June to Sunday 15 June
Keep up with the latest music news, festivals, interviews and reviews here.
“RISING is about breaking conventions – bringing wild, intimate, and unexpected creativity into the heart of Melbourne,” said RISING Co-Artistic Directors Hannah Fox and Gideon Obarzanek. “We are a festival of art music and performance that is proudly challenging and uncompromisingly inclusive. This year, audiences are invited to navigate a storm of lasers in the prismatic fantasy of the Capitol Theatre, swim through a composition of tactile sound in the City Baths, join in an audio-visual experiment deep under the ground of our town square or compete in the defiant act of doing nothing.”
Minister for Creative Industries Colin Brooks says, “This winter RISING festival is set to dazzle and surprise us, transforming Melbourne’s iconic spaces with creativity – from a mini-golf inspired exhibition in the Flinders Street Station Ballroom to laser beams in the Capitol Theatre and a massive participatory music event at Melbourne Town Hall that will get the city singing and dancing. There’s also a huge offering of music, theatre, dance, showcasing our incredible local talent alongside a big line-up of international acts. There are plenty of ways to get involved and plenty of reasons to visit Melbourne this winter.”
Shohei Fujimoto: Intangible #form
- Free installation at The Capitol Theatre
- Former TeamLAB collective member’s Australian debut
- Precision-mapped red laser beams create an immersive light sculpture
The Capitol Theatre becomes ground zero for RISING’s largest installation to date with Japanese artist Shohei Fujimoto’s Australian debut, Intangible #form. The former TeamLAB collective member will transform the historic venue into a living sculpture of kinetic light, with precision-mapped red beams responding to movement and perception. Free to explore every night of the festival, visitors can step into darkness, lose themselves in light, and emerge directly into the energy of Night Trade.
Woopsyang’s Space Out Competition
- King’s Birthday holiday at QV Square
- 90-minute endurance challenge of doing absolutely nothing
- No sleeping, laughing or tech distractions allowed
QV Square hosts a unique challenge on the King’s Birthday holiday: the internationally acclaimed Space Out Competition by South Korean artist Woopsyang. Created in 2014 during the artist’s battle with ad agency burnout, this competition has since gone viral, bringing the art of stillness to the forefront of global work culture critiques. The rules are simple: sit for 90 minutes and maintain a state of calm – no sleeping, no laughing, no tech distractions. It’s a test of focus and control as participants aim to achieve the purest form of stillness, making it the perfect antidote to the constant pressures of modern life.
Day Tripper music marathon
- King’s Birthday weekend across multiple venues
- Single ticket grants access to Melbourne Town Hall, Max Watt’s and Night Trade
- Eight hours of continuous music and art
For the second time running, RISING’s festival-within-a-festival – Day Tripper – returns over the King’s Birthday weekend. One ticket grants access to multiple venues and eight hours of music performance and art spanning across Melbourne Town Hall, Max Watt’s and Night Trade.
DIIV and Arnhem Land’s Ripple Effect
- Part of Day Tripper lineup
- Brooklyn shoegazers meet saltwater rock with all-women firepower
- Featuring psychedelic flows from Atlanta’s Bktherula
As part of the sprawling Daytripper lineup, Brooklyn shoegazers DIIV will unleash their signature blend of feedback-drenched melodies while Mississippi’s Annie and the Caldwells inject disco-tinged gospel into the mix. Atlanta’s Bktherula warps reality with her jagged, psychedelic flow, and Arnhem Land’s Ripple Effect serves up saltwater rock with all-women firepower.
Mount Kimbie and Tikiman
- Deep, atmospheric electronic sets
- First Australian appearance in eleven years
- Sharing stage with hardcore and garage-punk acts
Electronic music pioneers Mount Kimbie will be on the decks for deep, atmospheric beats, while Paul St Hilaire resurrects his Tikiman-era digital dancehall experiments. Expect the raw fury of Bad Vacation’s New York hardcore, and Sydney’s Antenna, whose garage-punk is lifted by the soulful rasp of Royal Headache’s Shogun. Keep your eyes peeled for a dance performance from The Butterfly who Flew into the Rave, these rascals have a habit of storming in and pounding the floorboards into submission.
Chapter Music: End of an Era
- 33rd anniversary farewell celebration at Max Watt’s
- Featuring sets from Npcede, Ryan Davis, LUGs, Tenniscoats and more
- Special finale performance from co-label head Guy Blackman
Just across the road at Max Watt’s, Chapter Music is throwing its ‘End of an Era’ party in honour of its 33rd anniversary, one last night of indie spirit from one of Australia’s most revered independent labels. The lineup is pure Chapter: eclectic, fearless, and brimming with underground charm.
Expect sets from Npcede, Ryan Davis, LUGs, Tenniscoats, Andras & Oscar, Sidney Phillips, and Gregor, with a special farewell performance from co-label head and local music icon Guy Blackman. It’s the end of an era, but there’s no room for mourning – only celebration.
BLOCKBUSTER: South Asian celebration
- Free day-to-night festival at Federation Square
- Partnership with Fed Square and SalamFest
- Features Pakistani R&B, Punjabi rap and Sufi melodies
Federation Square ignites with BLOCKBUSTER, a massive free, day-to-night celebration of South Asian culture presented in partnership with and co-commissioned by Fed Square and SalamFest. Expect a stunning art truck bursting with colour and creativity, kaleidoscopic art, mouthwatering street food and hands-on experiences.
As night falls, the party continues with Pakistani R&B, high-octane Punjabi rap, hypnotic Sufi melodies, and deep 808 bass straight from Lahore.
Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf
- Flinders Street Station Ballroom transformation
- Nine playable mini golf holes created by female artists
- Features work by Miranda July, Kaylene Whiskey and Saeborg
The Flinders Street Station Ballroom transforms into Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf, a smashable, playable art exhibition featuring nine mini golf holes created by female artists. The lineup includes acclaimed filmmaker, writer, and artist Miranda July (USA), Kaylene Whiskey (AU) with a vibrant fusion of pop culture and Anangu traditions, and Tokyo’s Saeborg (JAP) unleashing a world of latex creatures with cartoonish menace.
Newly announced artists include experimental Australian duo Soda Jerk and prolific Hobart-based photographer and artist Pat Brassington. Expect more twists around every nook, cranny and bend.
Night Trade after dark
- Capitol Arcade and Howey Place late-night hub
- Features microbars, eateries and Mummy’s Plastic karaoke
- Nyege Nyege festival DJs bringing African electronic music
Night Trade returns, pulsing through the Capitol Arcade and spilling its neon-lit energy down Howey Place and beyond. From killer cocktails at microbars and feasts at local eateries to microphone-fueled karaoke sessions with Mummy’s Plastic, this is the late-night hub of RISING.
Party starters from Lake Victoria’s Nyege Nyege festival will be in charge of the aux chord, bringing the vanguard of African electronic music. This is just the beginning with more surprises to be revealed in the lead up to the festival. Whether you’re dropping in or riding the full wave of Night Trade’s chaos, the alleys are open for play.
Shouse: Communitas
- Expanded participatory music event at Melbourne Town Hall
- Returns after successful debut at last year’s festival
- Communal dance and music-making experience
After a successful debut in last year’s festival, participatory music event Communitas by Melbourne’s electronic duo Shouse returns to RISING, now with expanded space at Melbourne Town Hall for dancing and communal music-making.
Jason Maling: Diagrammatica
- Interactive installation beneath Fed Square
- Collaboration with sound artists Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey
- Live streaming in Fed Square’s Atrium
Beneath Fed Square, Diagrammatica by Jason Maling transforms the void into a space where time and sound bend, and systems of meaning shift and evolve. Inspired by the visual language of physics diagrams, astral photography, and graphic musical scores, this ever-evolving improvisation blurs the line between logic and abstraction.
Created in collaboration with sound artists Madeleine Flynn and Tim Humphrey and filmmaker Rhian Hinkley, small groups can craft living diagrams while onlookers watch a livestream for free in Fed Square’s Atrium.
Sara Retallick: Saturate
- Underwater sound experience at The City Baths
- Aquatic deep listening ritual
- Specialised underwater loudspeakers create multi-zoned frequencies
The City Baths transform into a resonant chamber in Saturate, where sound artist Sara Retallick merges sound and water in a ritual of deep listening. Following the solo experiences of Flow State at RISING 2021, Rettallick returns to share the communal auditory soak experience in the CBD’s most historic public bathhouse.
Visitors arrive at night, don swimmers, and get submerged, surrendering to an immersive auditory experience only accessible underwater. Specialised loudspeakers transmit a generative composition that shifts through multi-zoned frequencies, inviting bathers to swim through layers of sound.
Melbourne Art Trams: First Peoples tribute
- Six trams showcasing century-spanning First Peoples women’s art
- Features works from Wiliam Barak and Kelly Koumalatsos
- Curated by Victorian First Peoples curators
The Melbourne Art Trams project returns, this time with a poignant and culturally rich tribute to First Peoples women. Curated by a selection of Victorian First Peoples curators, the 2025 edition showcases artworks drawn from archives and community art centres across Melbourne and regional Victoria. These vibrant pieces, spanning over a century, will be emblazoned on six trams journeying through the city, creating a moving canvas of history and heritage.
Moorina Bonini: Matha
- Large-scale projection on Hamer Hall’s facade
- Explores Yorta Yorta cultural knowledge and Dhungala (Murray) River connection
- Features family song and ceremony-making
Moorina Bonini’s new public artwork Matha will be splashed across the facade of Hamer Hall, expressing cultural regeneration and drawing from the deep, ancestral connection to Yorta Yorta lands and the Dhungala (Murray) River. This work shares how knowledge is held within Country and embodied through cultural practices passed down, renewed, and regenerated over time.
Visions of trees, waterways and the creation of cultural belongings are intertwined with song by Moorina’s family, focusing on new ways of making ceremony and helping language thrive in the present.
We Are Eagles: TarraWarra Biennial
- Yarra Valley exhibition curated by Kimberley Moulton
- Features 23 artists exploring regenerative practice
- Inspired by Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls’ 1938 speech
Stretching RISING’s festival footprint further than ever before, the TarraWarra Museum of Art in the Yarra Valley hosts its Biennial, titled We Are Eagles. Curated by Yorta Yorta woman and RISING Senior Curator Kimberley Moulton, the name is inspired by the First Peoples political event in 1938 called The Day Of Mourning and a speech Pastor Sir Doug Nicholls gave where he called for equal rights and an end to colonial oppression, stating, “we do not want chickenfeed … we are not chickens; we are eagles.”
His sentiments echo through the exhibition with works by 23 artists, each centring on regenerative practice and relational transcultural connections to land, object and memory.
Suki Waterhouse: Australian debut
- Two exclusive Melbourne shows at Athenaeum and PICA
- Performing new album Memoirs of a Sparklemuffin
- Model/actor turned indie-pop performer’s first Australian appearances
In an Australian exclusive, British cool girl Suki Waterhouse jets to RISING for her debut Australian performances, playing two very special shows in Melbourne. After runway shows, hits and heartbreaks, she’s leaning harder into the ephemeral punch of her music. Over two nights, she’ll light the mirror balls and showcase her new album Memoirs of a Sparklemuffin with her full band, starting with an intimate performance at the Athenaeum followed by an extravaganza at PICA, RISING’s new music hub, the next night.
Beth Gibbons: Lives Outgrown
- One night only at Hamer Hall
- Portishead vocalist’s first solo album in over 20 years
- Rare live appearance following collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and MF Doom
For one night only, the queen of yearning, Beth Gibbons (Portishead), graces RISING with LIVES OUTGROWN, her hauntingly beautiful, long-awaited solo debut. In the grandeur of Hamer Hall, her voice will unfurl like smoke, weaving a journey through darkness and dappled light.
Gibbons doesn’t rush – it’s been over 20 years since she last released anything close to a solo album, her Rustin Man collaboration with Talk Talk’s Paul Webb. Since then, she’s lent her unmistakable, aching voice to just two tracks: one with Kendrick Lamar, one with MF Doom. For the past decade, she’s been meticulously crafting LIVES OUTGROWN, a stunning, spellbinding work of sonic alchemy.
Japanese Breakfast: Michelle Zauner’s return
- First Melbourne performance in eight years at PICA
- Featuring material from new album For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women)
- Following success of memoir Crying in H Mart
Japanese Breakfast makes their long-awaited return to our shores, infusing their starry-eyed sound with a gothic edge. Between adapting her best-selling memoir, Crying in H Mart, for the screen and travelling to South Korea to write, Michelle Zauner found time to craft For Melancholy Brunettes (& Sad Women) – her fourth full-length as Japanese Breakfast due to be released on 21 March.
Now, she’s set to bring her cinematic indie sound to the grand stage at PICA, marking her first Naarm show in eight years.
Black Star: hip-hop reunion
- Yasiin Bey and Talib Kweli’s Melbourne debut at PICA
- First performance together since Bey’s solo RISING show last year
- Legendary conscious rap duo’s only Australian appearance
Brooklyn’s indie-rap icons Black Star make their long-awaited debut in Naarm/Melbourne. After Yasiin Bey (FKA Mos Def) delivered a spellbinding performance of The Ecstatic at RISING last year, he’s back – and this time, he’s bringing Talib Kweli with him.
The visionary duo that redefined conscious rap in 1998 will take the stage together at PICA for one night only, delivering razor-sharp lyricism, soulful beats, and an unshakable revolutionary spirit. From their roots in New York’s open-mic poetry nights to their seismic impact on hip-hop, Black Star has always been more than music, it’s a movement.
Marlon Williams: Te Whare Tīwekaweka
- Two nights at Melbourne Town Hall
- Performing with The Yarra Benders and Kapa Haka group
- Debut of Māori-language album five years in the making
From Aotearoa, the golden-voiced Marlon Williams debuts his sublime Māori-language album live at RISING for two nights at Melbourne Town Hall, with The Yarra Benders and Kapa Haka group. The Māori proverb “he waka eke noa” reminds us that we’re all in this boat together, but for Williams, that boat once felt adrift, leaving him to navigate solitude and self-reflection.
This reckoning with proverbial wisdom inspired Aua Atu Rā, the lilting, evocative newly released single from Te Whare Tīwekaweka, an album five years in the making, set to be released in April. With the guidance of fellow Māori artist and Lyttelton local KOMMI, and the ethereal harmonies of the He Waka Kōtuia singers, Williams found a new course. The result is a breathtaking fusion of country, bluegrass, and pop woven with traditional Māori rhythms.
Mount Kimbie: The Sunset Violent
- First Australian performance in eleven years at Forum Melbourne
- Supporting new album The Sunset Violent
- UK electronic duo known for collaborations with Travis Scott and James Blake
UK duo Mount Kimbie, Dominic Maker and Kai Campos, return to Australia for the first time in eleven years, taking the Forum Melbourne stage following the release of their latest record, The Sunset Violent. Emerging from the late-2000s dubstep scene with breakthrough tracks like William, crafted from field recordings, they quickly set themselves apart by blending raw textures with melody.
Over the years, they’ve mastered balancing hooks with abstraction across ambient and garage, as well as collaborations with Travis Scott and James Blake. With The Sunset Violent, they revisit post-punk electronica, dusting off their guitars to deliver a restless, razor-sharp sound that dares listeners to lean in.
Little Bands revival
- Recreation of North Fitzroy’s legendary ’70s and ’80s experimental scene
- Multi-venue program curated by Chapter Music, Liquid Architecture, and Cease + Desist
- Spans punk, indie, electronic, experimental, ambient, noise, and jazz
In 2025 RISING will revive the legendary Little Bands scene, reigniting the raw energy of late ’70s and early ’80s Melbourne when North Fitzroy pulsed with fearless synth-punk experimentation by groups like Primitive Calculators and Whirlywirld. Spontaneous 15-minute projects blurred the line between audience and performer, paving the way for giants such as Hunters and Collectors, Dead Can Dance, and Boom Crash Opera.
Now, local tastemakers including Chapter Music, Liquid Architecture, and Cease + Desist curate a multi-generational lineup spanning punk, indie, electronic, experimental, ambient, noise, and jazz across three iconic Melbourne venues, inviting you to witness history repeat itself unpredictably.
Jessica Pratt: Here in the Pitch
- Two intimate shows at Melbourne Recital Centre
- Performing new album featuring expanded instrumentation
- California folk artist known for ethereal, timeless sound
California’s Jessica Pratt will cast a spell over the acoustically honed confines of Melbourne Recital Centre for two intimate shows, drawing audiences into the ethereal depths of her folk sound. Performing selections from her new album Here in the Pitch, Pratt expands her sonic palette with lush instrumental textures – timpani, glockenspiel, and baritone saxophone weaving seamlessly through her impressionistic lyrics.
RONA and DJ PGZ: First Nations dance takeover
- Late night Melbourne Town Hall event following Daytripper
- Kaytetye producer and DJ fusing Country soundscapes with dance music
- Joined by Gunai/Kurnai and Yorta Yorta artist DJ PGZ
On your next stop after Daytripper, Kaytetye producer and DJ RONA takes you into moonlight with an epic late night takeover of Melbourne Town Hall. Set to be RONA’s next major gig after touring Australia and New Zealand with Laneaway, her productions fuse the rich soundscapes of Country with lush, driving synths, grounding homegrown rhythms in global dancefloor traditions.
She’ll be joined by Gunai/Kurnai and Yorta Yorta artist DJ PGZ, who’ll be filling the hall with techno and global club styles honouring the Black and Brown pioneers of club music.
Pete & Bas: Grandad grime
- British septuagenarian rap duo at Max Watt’s
- First Australian performance since their 2018 debut
- TikTok sensations co-signed by Dizzee Rascal, Giggs, and Dave
South East London’s Pete & Bas, the unstoppable grime duo, are bringing their electrifying energy to Max Watt’s stage. British rappers and Tiktok icons Peter Bowditch and Basil Bellgrave, both in their 70s, debuted in January 2018 with the critically acclaimed track Shut Ya Mouth and haven’t looked back since.
Performing in Australia for the first time, Pete & Bas have earned respect from a who’s who of the British hip-hop scene. Co-signed by artists such as Jaykae, Mist, Dizzee Rascal, Giggs, Headie One, and Dave, this dynamic duo is redefining what it means to make music – showing that it’s never too late to break through.
New Rampant Optimism Roadshow
- One-night-only event at the Athenaeum featuring Ned Collette, Leah Senior and Michael Beach
- Special guests include Mick Turner (Dirty Three), Chris Abrahams (The Necks) and Thalia Zedek
- Folk revue bringing unexpected levity to traditionally intense genre
Ned Collette, with his smouldering songwriting style reminiscent of Nick Drake and Leonard Cohen, teams up with Leah Senior and Michael Beach, three artists whose haunting, late-night melodies could melt through the thickest of walls. Together, they’ve dreamed up the New Rampant Optimism Roadshow, a raw, shoot-from-the-hip revue that brings unexpected levity to the often intense, dark world of folk.
Joined by Naarm legends like Mick Turner of Dirty Three on guitar and Chris Abrahams of The Necks on piano, plus a special appearance by US underground rock icon Thalia Zedek, this one-night-only event at the Athenaeum promises a rollicking, unrepeatable experience.
Soccer Mommy: Evergreen
- Nashville indie artist at Forum Melbourne
- Performing from latest album featuring acoustic intimacy and pastoral soundscapes
- Known for balancing plainspoken intensity with unforgettable hooks
Soccer Mommy, Nashville’s lovelorn grunge-pop queen, is set to bring her captivating energy to the Forum stage. Sophie Allison, the voice behind Soccer Mommy, is a five-foot-four engine of emotion, poised to flood the venue with raw feeling beneath the night-blue ceiling.
Known for balancing plainspoken intensity with unforgettable hooks since her early home recordings, Allison’s latest album Evergreen dives deeper into acoustic intimacy and sweeping, pastoral soundscapes. Each track is richly melodic, yet always ready to deliver a sullen rock sucker-punch. Don’t miss this chance to experience Soccer Mommy’s unique blend of vulnerability and power.
Marina Otero: Kill Me
- Australian premiere at The Sumner, Melbourne Theatre Company
- Raw Argentinian choreographic work exploring mental health, mortality, and artistic survival
- Part of her ongoing Remember to Live documentary performance series
Argentine choreographer Marina Otero smashes the boundaries between art and life in Kill Me, a raw performance that unravels the artist with fearless honesty and theatrical mayhem. Premiering in Melbourne at The Sumner, Melbourne Theatre Company, mental health, mortality, and artistic survival all collide in a spectacle that swings between grand dance sequences and moments of aching vulnerability.
Part of her ongoing Remember to Live series – a lifelong commitment to documenting her own existence through performance – Kill Me is both deeply personal and wildly unpredictable.
Complete Works: Tabletop Shakespeare
- 36 of Shakespeare’s works over nine nights
- Household objects stand in for characters at University of Melbourne’s Guild Theatre
- Created by experimental theatre company Forced Entertainment
Shakespeare’s timeless tales get a playful, kitchen-table makeover in Complete Works: Tabletop Shakespeare, where six performers condense most of his plays using nothing but wit, imagination, and household objects. A vase becomes a prince, a jar transforms into Juliet, and a bottle of Dettol stands in for the nurse.
Covering 36 of Shakespeare’s works over nine days and nights of the festival, a new story unfolds, proving that the heart of Shakespeare’s work isn’t in grand sets or elaborate costumes but in the sheer power of storytelling. Created by the acclaimed experimental theatre company Forced Entertainment and presented at the University of Melbourne Arts and Culture’s Guild Theatre, this inventive retelling strips Shakespeare down as you’ve never seen it before.
Heartbreak Hotel by EBKM
- Edinburgh Fringe hit making Australian premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne
- Hilariously offbeat exploration of heartbreak featuring Karin McCracken and Simon Leary
- Created by award-winning Aotearoa New Zealand theatre company
Check into Heartbreak Hotel, a hilariously offbeat exploration of heartbreak by acclaimed Aotearoa New Zealand company EBKM. Dressed in lavender tassels and backed by the ultimate breakup soundtrack, think Elvis, Celine, and the greats, Karin McCracken guides us through the messy, absurd, and all-too-relatable aftermath of a serious split.
Alongside the virtuosic Simon Leary, who morphs into every ex, Karin dives into famous novels, scientific studies, Berlin nightclubs, and even the depths of her own cells in an attempt to clinically dissect heartache. From the award-winning creative duo Eleanor Bishop and McCracken, this Edinburgh Fringe hit premiering at Arts Centre Melbourne is a love letter to the lovesick and a balm for the bruised.
BLKDOG: Botis Seva’s hip hop masterpiece
- Olivier Award-winning work direct from London’s West End
- Australian premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne
- Features seven hooded dancers and score by Torben Lars
Direct from the West End – BLKDOG – London-born Botis Seva’s Olivier Award-winning hip hop masterpiece arrives in Melbourne for the first time at Arts Centre Melbourne, ready to take audiences on a wild and transformative ride. With a pounding score by longtime collaborator Torben Lars, a squadron of seven dancers, cloaked in hooded caps, immerse the audience in a hallucinatory journey marked by violence and an unsettling, dead-eyed fascination.
Hamlet by Teatro La Plaza
- Peruvian theatre company’s neurodiverse reimagining
- Eight performers with Down Syndrome tackle Shakespeare’s tragedy
- Blends live performance with film at University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre
In another Shakespearean remake, catch the dazzling reimagining of Hamlet, as a neurodiverse cast brings fresh energy to Shakespeare’s iconic tragedy, turning “to be or not to be?” into a life-affirming question. Featuring eight performers with Down Syndrome, this vibrant adaptation from Peruvian theatre company Teatro La Plaza joyously deconstructs the prince’s existential struggle.
Presented at the University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre, see the performers bring their own frustrations, desires, and perspectives to the stage, delivering Hamlet’s iconic soliloquy all at once in a rap, adding a contemporary twist to the age-old words. Melding live performance with film, Hamlet turns the question of madness back on itself, inviting the audience to reflect on how society defines normality.
The Butterfly Who Flew into the Rave
- One-hour rave condensation at Buxton Contemporary
- Created by New Zealand-Aotearoa’s club legends Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch, and Sharvon Mortimer
- High-energy LED-lit performance celebrating club culture
Moving across town to a new RISING venue Buxton Contemporary, get ready to lose yourself in the pleasure and pain of a 3-day rave, condensed into one electrifying hour. The Butterfly Who Flew into the Rave is a dance work created by New Zealand-Aotearoa’s club legends Oli Mathiesen, Lucy Lynch, and Sharvon Mortimer taking you deep into the underground, as the trio brings club styles to life in a relentless, candy-fueled spectacle.
As the bass drops and the lights flicker, you’ll be transported into an LED-lit world where dance and euphoria blur together in one transcendent experience. This isn’t just a dance performance; it’s a high-energy celebration of music, movement, and the transcendent power of collective joy.
Hedwig and The Angry Inch
- Cult rock musical at The Athenaeum Theatre
- Stars Filipino-Australian singer Seann Miley Moore from The Voice
- Bold new Australian production of the glam-punk classic
The cult-favourite rock musical, known for its boundary-pushing storytelling and glam-punk attitude, Hedwig and The Angry Inch, will make its return in a bold new Australian production at RISING, bringing the raw, glitter-soaked energy of the original to The Athenaeum Theatre.
Filipino-Australian singer Seann Miley Moore, discovered on The Voice, takes on the iconic role as a “slip of a girly boy” Berliner who goes to marry an American soldier but ends up abandoned in Kansas, on the cusp of another doomed romance. Torn between an idealistic vision of love and the urge to burn it all down. Hedwig is poised with a battered mic and a rhythm section full of Korean-born military wives, ready to test the limits of self-creation.
POV: Unrehearsed family drama
- Live docu-drama at Arts Centre Melbourne
- Features 14 unrehearsed actors and one 11-year-old filmmaker
- Created by Malcolm Whittaker and re:group performance collective
Also coming to Arts Centre Melbourne is the innovative live docu-drama POV involving fourteen unrehearsed actors and one camera-wielding kid. Created by artist Malcolm Whittaker and performance collective re:group performance collective, the story is centred around Bub, an 11-year-old girl obsessed with documentary filmmaking and on a mission to understand her fractured family.
Each night, two new unrehearsed actors play the parents, while Bub (played with precocious verve by Edith Whitehead or Mabelle Rose) directs the action. The script is playful, heartfelt and funny but the picture shifts with the whims of human impulse as actors respond live and unprepared.
The Act: Dance meets sex work
- Chunky Move performance by Amrita Hepi and Tilly Lawless
- Explores intersections of dance and sex work
- Examines body as vehicle for both professional service and personal expression
For a dance work with a more intimate lean, head to Chunky Move for The Act by choreographer and dancer Amrita Hepi and sex worker and writer Tilly Lawless. The new work explores the intersections of dance and sex work, examining the body as a vessel for both professional service and personal expression, challenging conventional perceptions of labour, authenticity, and representation.
Framed by Daniel Janatch’s baroque sound design and directed by Mish Grigor, each performer speaks and moves within charged ambiguities – the body as a vehicle for desire and for expression.
Stephanie Lake Company: The Chronicles
- Victorian premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne
- Features 12 dancers, The Yarra Voices Children’s Choir and baritone Oliver Mann
- Final installment in Lake’s triptych of large-scale works
Stephanie Lake Company’s The Chronicles is a sweeping meditation on time, change, and collective resilience, brought to life through a fusion of dance, choral music, and electrifying soundscapes. Premiering in Victoria for RISING at Arts Centre Melbourne, Lake’s new work comes home to Melbourne after receiving rave reviews during its Sydney Festival run in January.
With 12 dancers embodying the fluid passage of time, their movements are intertwined with the celestial voices of The Yarra Voices Children’s Choir and the resonant baritone of Oliver Mann. Long time collaborator Robin Fox’s electro-acoustic composition pulses beneath it all, propelling the work forward with both urgency and grace.
As the final installment in Lake’s triptych of large-scale works – following Colossus (MIAF, 2019) and Manifesto (RISING, 2022) – The Chronicles offers a deeply moving exploration of transformation, blending precision, power, and poetic beauty into an immersive, communal experience.
Speak Percussion: Pigeons
- Melbourne Recital Centre performance
- Three robotic trap machines hurl clay targets at percussion instruments
- Musicians dodge projectiles while creating music
Pigeons is a thrilling, chaotic collision of music, technology, and performance, where percussionists face off against mechanical forces in an explosive battle of sound and survival at Melbourne Recital Centre. Created by the audacious Speak Percussion, three robotic trap machines take centre stage hurling hundreds of fluorescent clay targets at a wall of suspended, resonant percussive objects.
The musicians duck, flap, glide and slide among the projectiles, in a frantic search for safety while glorious music rings out. It’s percussionist vs pigeon, human vs machine in one of the festival’s most visually spectacular and sonically adventurous performances.
LEGENDS (of the Golden Arches)
- Co-created by Joe Paradise Lui and Merlynn Tong at Lawler Theatre
- Bold buddy comedy exploring Chinese hell through fast food
- Heart-filled adventure that “bends reality and serves extra pickles”
LEGENDS (of the Golden Arches) is a bold and witty two-hander that takes us on a bogus adventure through the Golden Arches and into Chinese hell. Co-created by emerging playwrights Joe Paradise Lui and Merlynn Tong, the Lawler Theatre will play host to this heart-filled buddy comedy that bends reality and serves extra pickles.
S. Shakthidharan: The Wrong Gods
- Follow-up to acclaimed Counting and Cracking
- Mother-daughter character study at Fairfax Theatre
- Explores complexities of tradition, progress, and self-discovery
Visionary playwright S. Shakthidharan returns to RISING with another story of hope, betrayal, tradition and self-discovery. His Sri Lankan-Australian epic Counting and Cracking played to standing ovations at RISING 2024 and went on to triumphantly tour the UK and New York.
Now the playwright brings us The Wrong Gods to Fairfax Theatre at Arts Centre Melbourne, a gripping mother-daughter character study that delves into the complexities of tradition, progress, and self-discovery.
Joel Bray: Monolith
- Wiradjuri artist’s premiere at Arts House in North Melbourne
- Features five fierce Brown women as “obstacle and resistance”
- Honors generations of protest against colonisation and deforestation
Across the city at Arts House in North Melbourne, acclaimed dancer Joel Bray premieres his latest major dance work Monolith. Muscular and sinewy, five fierce Brown women present themselves as an obstacle and as resistance – they are a monolith, an enormous ancient rock formation, coming together and apart.
Sitting strong in the landscape, defying waves of colonisation, urbanisation and deforestation. This is an undeniable new work from Wiradjuri artist Bray, who echoes and honours generations of protest and rebellion.
Brooke Stamp: Mickey
- Transforming Buxton Contemporary into dancer’s subconscious
- Exposes hidden rehearsal rituals and fleeting moments
- Each performance unfolds uniquely based on present moment
Mickey, the premiere work from Brooke Stamp, is a visceral plunge into the subconscious of a dancer, where movement becomes an unfiltered expression of raw impulse. In this ever-evolving performance, Stamp transforms her rehearsal space – Buxton Contemporary – into a living, breathing entity exposing the hidden rituals and fleeting moments that typically remain unseen.
Each show unfolds uniquely, shaped by the present moment, as the dancer navigates a fluid landscape of instinct, memory, and transformation.
Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett
- High-voltage cabaret at University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre
- Stars Sheridan Harbridge (Prima Facie) and directed by Sarah Goodes (Julia)
- Celebrates the legacy of Divinyls’ iconic frontwoman
Amplified: The Exquisite Rock and Rage of Chrissy Amphlett presented by UMAC is a high-voltage cabaret igniting the untamed legacy of the rebel queen of Australian rock. Led by the powerhouse performer Sheridan Harbridge (Prima Facie) and directed by the acclaimed Sarah Goodes (Julia), this electrifying production, taking place at University of Melbourne’s Union Theatre, plunges into the raw, unfiltered world of the Divinyls’ frontwoman.
This year, American Express will join RISING as the Music presale partner, and American Express Card Members will get exclusive first access to all music program tickets before the general public from Thursday 13 March, 9:30am to Saturday 15 March, 9:30am.
General public tickets go on sale Monday 17 March, 10am. Book tickets to three or more eligible events in one transaction via the RISING website and automatically get 15% off the standard ticket price with the Multi Pass.
RISING subscriber presale begins Friday 14 March, 10am. Subscribe for presale access here. For more information, head here.
Beat is an official media partner of RISING.
