RISING: ARTIST BAR

Your pre- and post-show epicentre for night owls and festival fiends. Need a drink and a debrief after a RISING event? Want a central spot to meet before the next show? Keen to party into the wee hours? Head downstairs to Wax Music Lounge. The entry is free, the lighting is warm, the beverages are cold, and the pool table beckons. Nights are curated by Liam Barton and Simone Page Jones. Happy hour is from 5pm until 7pm, and Il Tempo are doing a special menu, serving pizza, pasta and more, delivered to your table until 12.30am. Warming things up most nights will be the RISING Blue Lobster Band, featuring some of the country’s finest jazz-leaning musicians and performers. Then wild and wilful artists from Naarm and beyond take to the stage. Live bands are playing everything from classic rock’n’roll and dark expansive pop, to anarchic punk and delicate folk. The late-night DJ program covers disco, pop, indie sleaze, techno and more. Plus pop-up markets, performances and a few surprises al