Experience music with all of your senses from 21-31 August at the visionary immersion of space, time and sound that is Now or Never.
Safe to say, you’ve never experienced music like this before. Now or Never is back for another extraordinary year of immersive art, experimental performance and transcendental tunes from 21-31 August.
From after-hours parties in the Science Gallery and State Library to packed lineups at Melbourne Town Hall and live AV experiences and art installations at the Royal Exhibition Building, this 11-day program of music is the kind that will engage every single one of your senses.
Now or Never 2025
- When: 21-31 August
- Where: various venues across Melbourne
- Find out more info here
Check out our gig guide, our festival guide, our live music venue guide and our nightclub guide. Follow us on Instagram here.
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Take a walk on the wild side this winter with a journey into the unknown of sonic experimentation. Artists across the world will be congregating in Naarm to guide you on this journey of futuristic exploration, slingshotting you into a sonic cosmos you didn’t know existed.
Read on below to discover which musicians and artists are hitting up Now or Never for a foray into musical dreaming.
Alex Zhang Hungtai x MATRIA
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- Thursday 21 August
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Tickets here
Saxophonist-composer Alex Zhang Hungtai will be transforming the Royal Exhibition Building – not just alongside Now or Never’s sensational installation of MATRIA, but inside it. This combination of sound, movement, visuals and texture is the kind of live set you don’t want to miss.
rRoxymore x MATRIA
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- Friday 22 August
- Royal Exhibition Building
- Tickets here
In a world premiere on the Now or Never program, Berlin-based rRoxymore will also be working with the Royal Exhibition Building’s installation of MATRIA, for a show of sublime sensory experimentation. Step inside this world of texture and music and prepare to be wrapped up in a whirlwind of otherworldly experience.
Library Up Late
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- Friday 22 August
- State Library Victoria
- Tickets here
Library Up Late is here to prove the importance of third places – albeit with a twist. If you’ve ever wondered what it’d be like to attend a party in the resplendent State Library, we have just the event for you. This after-hours playground of music, colour, light and movement may be the one time you won’t have to keep quiet while shuffling through the bookshelves, as DJs light up the iconic dome with sound.
Laurel Halo live with Leila Bordreuil
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- Friday 22 August
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- Tickets here
Melbourne Recital Centre has seen nothing yet – not until Laurel Halo arrives. This live performance will feature a plethora of new work that shape-shifts as fluently as the artist’s discography. Joining Halo will be cellist Leila Bordreuil, a master of her craft, who is sure to leave a mark on the venue.
Listening Acts | Performance
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- Friday 22 August and Saturday 23 August
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- Tickets here
The Chamber Made project is providing attendees a space to explore the distance between the making and hearing of sound in a series of live music performances at Melbourne Recital Centre. Each work is its own immersive sound journey, meaning no two experiences will be the same. See one or see all – you’ll no doubt be coming back for more.
Moritz von Oswald presents Silencio
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- Saturday 23 August
- Melbourne Recital Centre
- Tickets here
Electronic music fans unite – this exclusive Now or Never performance will see the legendary Mortiz von Oswald present his acclaimed work Silencio in a show for the history books. In the hands of Oswald, the capabilities of music know no limits. The innovator of sound will be playing alongside Consort of Melbourne’s 16-voice ensemble. Don’t sleep on this one.
Ryoji Ikeda ultratronics [live set] / CORIN presents DIWA [live AV]
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- Thursday 28 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
While this explosion of live AV and sensory transcendence may be Ryoji Ikeda’s Australian debut, CORIN is no stranger to the Now or Never stage. This side-by-side presentation will see the two artists create a symbiotic whirlwind of sound, light, space and time as they take over Town Hall in a futuristic journey.
DJ Python / DJ Plead B2B rRoxymore / Yarra
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- Friday 29 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
The sound of dancefloors the world over are meeting in the middle at Town Hall for a lineup of epic international proportions. Expect Latin club currents, house, breakbeat and bass that will send your body vibrating with non-stop rhythm and intoxicating beats. In other words, a highly sensory club night like no other.
Friday Night Social: DISTRACTION
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- With STATHIS//DAVEY//KIM and Nū
- Live visuals by Mel Huang, noom, Melody Woodnutt and ButohOUT!
- Friday 29 August
- Science Gallery Melbourne
- Free entry
- More info here
This free party sees the Science Gallery transform into a club night of immersive art and transcendental tunes. A beloved space that encourages its attendees to explore the workings of our world, the Science Gallery might just be the perfect place to host this after-hours foray into music and colour. The spectacular live visuals on show are thanks to Mel Huang, noom, Melody Woodnutt and ButohOUT!, and you can expect a swirling cosmos of music from STATHIS//DAVEY//KIM and Nū.
Young Marco / Logic1000 / Big Ever / KDV Performance Group with Hamill Industries & Tayhana
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- Saturday 30 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
If you’re looking for a night out on the town to heal your soul with the medicine of music and movement, look no further. Logic1000 is back on Aussie shores, joined by Amsterdam’s Young Marco and Berlin-based Big Ever. Plus, attendees with be treated with a performance by the prolific KDV Performance Group.
Marie Davidson / OK EG / KDV Performance Group with Hamill Industries & Tayhana
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- Sunday 31 August
- Melbourne Town Hall
- Tickets here
Closing out the festival’s residency at Melbourne Town Hall, Now or Never is throwing an all-consuming club night-cum-musical concoction. Featuring Québécois chart-topping artist Marie Davidson to dish out her exceptional techno-pop, OK EG to splash in a dash of synth mayhem, and the Kianí del Valle Performance Group to round it all out with immersive explorations of mortality, this isn’t one to miss.
For more information and the full Now or Never program, head here.
Beat is a proud media partner of Now or Never.
