Melbourne’s winter arts festival RISING (27 May to 8 June) has unveiled its 2026 program, one led by international artists spanning hip hop, experimental jazz, dub, indie rock and electronic music.

More than 100 events will take place in theatres, town halls, clubs, galleries and public spaces across Naarm/Melbourne.

Chunky Move: Glow. Photo supplied

A major hub will be Day Tripper, a multi-room live music marathon presented with Triple R that transforms venues including Max Watt’s and Melbourne Town Hall into a festival-within-a-festival. Headlining the event is British spoken-word artist and musician Kae Tempest, joined by genre-crossing poet-rapper Saul Williams and Chicago spiritual-jazz pioneer Kahil El’Zabar.

The eclectic lineup also includes Jamaican roots legends The Congos, New Zealand indie stalwarts The Bats and experimental rock-raga collective SAICOBAB (sitar master Yoshida Daikiti alongside avant-rock icons from Japan legends The Boredoms), reflecting what organisers describe as a collision of poetry, punk, reggae and avant-jazz.

Elsewhere in the music program, a world-premiere concert tribute to Gil Scott-Heron will be performed by longtime collaborator Brian Jackson alongside hip hop artist...