Naarm/Melbourne will host a new festival, Now Or Never, across 17 days this August and September, with the first line-up announcement featuring the likes of Kelela, Serpentwithfeet and Autechre.
The inaugural Now Or Never festival will run from Thursday August 17 to Saturday September 2, with a sprawling program of live music, art and culture. Most of the happenings will take place in the city’s iconic Royal Exhibition Centre, marking the first time it’s been used for concerts in more than two decades.
First up on the itinerary (so far) is an event called Never Permanent – scheduled for Thursday August 24 – which will be curated by team behind creative design and technology festival Semi Permanent. According to a press release, Never Permanent (the line-up for which is yet to be announced) will feature “thought-provoking keynote speakers and panel sessions featuring leading creative visionaries”.
Murray Bell, founder of Semi Permanent, said in a statement that his team’s new event “brings together the best creatives and innovators from around the globe, and we can’t wait to offer our platform to these world-renowned names in the industry.”
He added: “This line-up for Never Permanent is shaping up to be one of our best yet, and we’re thrilled for this to be a part of Now Or Never.”
Also slated for August 24 is an interpretation of Steve Reich’s production ‘Music For 18 Musicians’, hosted by Orchestra Victoria; it’ll be accompanied by a 16-metre-high video presentation developed multimedia artist Jesse Woolston.
Another audiovisual presentation will be shown the following night (August 25), with an event sporting live AV performances from Actress and Max Cooper – the latter of which will also be shown in 3D – as well as more traditional performances from Autechre and Giant Swan.
On Saturday August 26, the Untitled Group will co-host a show headlined by German house and techno producer Âme, with additional performances from Axel Bowman, Ayebatonye, CC:DISCO! and Dameeeela. Kelela’s show – billed as an exclusive for the Now Or Never program – rounds out the first announcement, scheduled for Sunday August 27 with support from Serpentwithfeet.
Tickets for all of the events announced thus far are available here. In a statement shared by Naarm’s lord mayor Sally Capp, she highlighted the significance of the festival’s residency at the Royal Exhibition Centre. She said “For the first time in more than two decades, Now Or Never will bring large-scale live music back to the [venue] with an unmissable line-up that celebrates our incredible homegrown talent, alongside ground-breaking work from international artists.
“Now Or Never will be an unmissable addition to our bustling events calendar this winter – cementing Melbourne’s reputation as Australia’s cultural capital, providing a boost to the local economy and supporting jobs.
“We’re excited to welcome Semi Permanent back to Melbourne with the addition of Never Permanent to our stacked Royal Exhibition Building line-up – where more than a thousand visitors will enjoy thought-providing discourse from leading innovations and visionaries from around the world.”
Roshena Campbell (lead councillor for Naarm’s City Activation portfolio) added to the sentiment: “Now Or Never will explore the intersection of art, ideas, sound and technology – and we’re so excited to announce the Royal Exhibition Building as one of our major event hosts.
“Set to attract more than 200,000 visitors to the city, this inaugural festival will add to our vibrant creative scene and invite even more visitors to explore the best of what our wonderful city has to offer.”
Also chiming in was Melbourne Museum CEO Lynley Crosswell, who said: “Melbourne Museum is thrilled to be part of the City of Melbourne’s Now or Never festival by hosting this incredible line-up of events at the Royal Exhibition Building. This festival will bring the Royal Exhibition Building to life with these eclectic musicians, cutting-edge performances and provocative talks.”