Winter festival RISING is coming back to Melbourne, and today, they’ve revealed a stacked program of art, music and more. Over 12 spectacular nights, you can look forward to 65 events, 327 artists, 15 commissions and nine world premieres. Find the festival all across the city, in laneways, arcades, underground basements and more. RISING will run from Wednesday June 4 to Sunday June 15.
RISING festival
This winter festival will feature live music, theatre performances, public events, exhibitions, food and more. Day Tripper, the festival within a festival, will make a return to RISING. Taking place over the King’s Birthday weekend, one ticket will give you access to eight hours of music performances and art across multiple venues.
Night Trade will also make a return, and will wind through the Capitol Arcade, down Howey Place and beyond. Find plenty to see and eat at this social hub, with local eateries, cocktails, karaoke sessions and more surprises.
More RISING highlights:
Shohei Fujimoto’s intangible #form
Get ready for RISING’s largest installation to date. Free to explore every night of the festival, The Capitol will transform into a space filled with red beams, which will respond to your movement and perception. This immersive light piece is created by Shohei Fujimoto, formerly of the artist collective TeamLAB.
Swingers: The Art of Mini Golf
The mysterious ballroom in Flinders Street Station will host a playable art exhibition, featuring nine mini golf holes and a number of surprises and obstacles.
Suki Waterhouse
In an Australian exclusive, British singer Suki Waterhouse is coming to Melbourne for RISING. She will perform an intimate show at the Athenaeum, followed by an extravaganza at PICA the following night.
Heartbreak Hotel
In this hilarious and offbeat exploration of heartbreak, Karin McCracken will guide you through the aftermath of a breakup by venturing into famous novels, scientific studies, Berlin nightclubs and even her own cells. The show was a hit at Edinburgh Fringe, and will premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne.
BLOCKBUSTER
Head to Fed Square and celebrate South Asian culture at BLOCKBUSTER. Look forward to flavoursome street food, hands-on experiences, an art truck and an evening line-up of Pakistani R&B, Punjabi rap, Sufi melodies and 808 bass from Lahore.
Space Out Competition
Korean artist Woopsyang invites you to visit QV Square and do… nothing. Sit for 90 minutes and zone out. Ignore your phone, don’t fall asleep and aim to achieve the purest form of stillness, focus and control.
Saturate
Local sound artist Sara Retallick will transform The City Baths. Arrive at night, sink into the water and listen to an immersive auditory experience. Specialised speakers will transmit a composition that shifts through multi-zoned frequencies, so you can literally swim through layers of sound.
BLKDOG
This hop hop dance production by Botis Seva will take you on a wild ride. Follow seven dancers, cloaked in hooded caps, as they take you on a journey through haunting childhood memories and adult traumas. This masterpiece won an Olivier Award.
That’s just scratching the surface of all there is to see and do at RISING in 2025. To see the full program, click here.
For the full RISING program and more details, click here.