Arguably the most fun to be had during Melbourne’s winter RISING is once again ascending and this year we’re incredibly proud to be spirits partner serving Archie Rose whisky, gin, vodka and rum at a suite of venues across town. Best of all, we’ll also be serving Negronis from a giant tank at Night Trade at St Paul’s Cathedral car park after slicing up the ice at The Rink on the banks of Birrarung Marr on the banks of the Yarra.

With RISING just a week away, we are more than ready to start eating, drinking, learning and dancin’ in the moonlight in the heart of Naarm (Melbourne). 11 nights of visual art, installations, performance, live music and unique food events is a lot to get your head around, but never fear. As their proud partners and exclusive spirits suppliers, we’re here to lay down the what’s what of RISING 2023.

Dance & Play

Slice up the ice under a constellation of lights at the magic new skate spot on the banks of Birrarung Marr, The Rink (Thu 1 June - Sat 8 July), then rest riverside by the open fire with a coffee, a oozy Hot Chocolate with Archie Rose Triple Molasses Rum & Mork Hot Chocolate or a canned cocktail (also by us).

Kids will love A Call to Echo (Thu 8 - Sun 18 June), a 15-minute video installation where through a series of call-and-response choreography, artist, dancer and choreographer Amrita Hepi invites us to follow her prompts to dance.

And, if it’s a night of Archie Rose cocktails and dancing til you drop that you’re craving, Forum and Max Watt’s are the two places you need to be. Everyone from Ichiko Aoba (Wed 7 & Thu 8 June) to Desire Marea (Thu 8 June), Black Mass (Sun 11 June) and many, many more will be popping up to help you boogie down.

Eat & Drink

Right in the heart of RISING, the St Paul’s Cathedral grounds will become Night Trade (Wed 7 - Sun 18 June) where you can grab a snack, sip something delicious or simply take a pause and plan your next move. Think: a giant Archie Rose Negroni tank, BBQ cooking on custom woodfire grills, DJs, Karaoke and so much more.

Pop in for a quick bite at some of Melbourne’s best restaurants including Cumulus Inc., Nomad, Hazel, Eau de Vie and more, with special offers from 5-6pm nightly thanks to Rising: Moon Bites (Wed 7 - Sun 18 June).

For those looking for something a little more substantial, Rising: Dine At Dusk (Sun 11 - Wed 14 June) delivers conceptual set menus at premium venues including Kisumé, Mabu Mabu, Hazel Atrium, and Victoria by Farmer’s Daughters.

Watch & Listen

Prefer to sit back and watch others do the dancing? RISING’s got you! For the Australian Ballet’s diamond anniversary, the company has commissioned two ambitious, unique takes on the meaning of Identity (Fri 16 - Sat 24 June). The legendary story of director-choreographer Daniel Riley’s great-great-uncle brought to life in Tracker (Wed 7 - Sun 18 June), and The Dan Daw Show (Thu 15 - Sun 18 June) bringing the candid, kinky and captivating.

For a deep belly laugh, check out Masterclass (Thu 15 - Sat 17 June), a sharp comedy from internationally renowned Brokentalkers and acclaimed New York artist, Adrienne Truscott. Or, sail the high seas through the swashbuckling First Nations comedy Hide the Dog (Fri 16 - Sat 17 June).

Music and performance lovers are well taken care of with Anthem by Wu Tsang (Wed 7 - Sun 18 June) which combines billowing visuals and lush acoustics; Ghetto Biennale (Wed 7 - Sun 18 June), a metamorphic celebration of Haitian street culture, spirit guardians and revolution; and Jacky (Mon 22 May - Sat 24 June), a sharp-witted play from a fresh Aboriginal voice that deals with the cost of balancing family, work and culture in today’s Australia.

The visual arts are heroed at Federation Square with Tin & Ed’s Multitudes (Mon 5 June - Wed 5 July), and over at Hamer Hall, its iconic façade will play host to our First Peoples’ spirit stories in a large-scale projection work, Electric (Wed 7 June - Sun 9 July).

Anything else? Pop into an ‘in conversation’ session to discover how some of your favourite installations and events came to be.

Find Out More

Believe it or not, this is just the tip of the iceberg. Discover absolutely everything on offer, plan your night and get all the need-to-knows at https://rising.melbourne/. See you there.