“It is a fairly safe bet to say that no other group in the world sounds quite like The Necks... extraordinary empathy and discipline.”

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Wed 2—Thu 3 June, doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $50—$54 + booking fee. [Book here via Ticketmaster](https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/the-necks-tickets/artist/1615598) |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |

Event Information

ACCESSIBLE PARKING

Wilson Parking, Parkade, 34—60 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Parking must be
booked online in advance via www.bookabay.com.au
Enter codeword: MARRINER (case sensitive) in the Discount Voucher field.

ACCESSIBLE DROP OFF

Taxi rank on Exhibition Street, just north of Lonsdale Street.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Nearest accessible train station: Parliament Station, services all metro lines.

Nearest accessible tram stop: Stop 10, Parliment Station / Macarthur Street. Trams 109, 11, 12

DISTANCE COVERED BY PARTICIPANT

Under 200m.

ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE

The Comedy Theatre can provide a ramp into one of the front doors on Exhibition Street. A member of our security or front of house staff will be able to assist you on arrival at the theatre. At the doors facing on to Exhibition Street there is a small step, which as you move away from Lonsdale Street is reduced to a small lip. Doors are usually propped open during performances. The entrance opens directly into the foyer, which is small and can become quite congested.

ACCESSIBLE BATHROOMS

There is a unisex accessible toilet located in the Stalls inner foyer. Please go through the Stalls Foyer on the far right hand side, just before you enter the auditorium.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

For all wheelchair/accessible seating enquiries please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office on 03 9299 9800.

STEPS

Patrons with difficulty negotiating steps are advised to book seating in Stalls area, as there are several large sets of staircases leading to the Dress Circle.

Venue Access

Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over.

We are working with the Victorian Government and the Department of Health to deliver a COVID-Safe event for visitors, artists and staff. Find out what we're doing [here](https://rising.melbourne/covid-safe). 

COVID-Safe Information

“The greatest trio on Earth” is how the New York Times described The Necks—Australia’s improvisational conjurors. You could say The Necks play jazz, but just like that big swing from the NYT, that description would be too simple. Typically performing two extended and improvised pieces, their modal jazz prises open tectonic plates and unknown realms, before elevating the audience to a higher ground.  

As RISING’s band In Residency, The Necks perform across multiple venues and formats—their only shows in the world in over a year. As a unit, they send piano, drums, percussion and bass strings swirling around the Comedy Theatre; and provide an escalating, dramatic live score to Back to Back Theatre’s restaging of its seminal work *[Food Court](/festival-program/food-court)*. And in solo performances, band members [Chris Abrahams](/festival-program/chris-abrahams) and [Tony Buck](/festival-program/tony-buck) play the Melbourne Recital Centre.  

Post-genre, never still, always changing, The Necks are a world unto themselves. 

SET TIMES - Wednesday and Thursday

7PM — Doors open
8PM — The Necks (First set)
9.15PM — The Necks (Second set)


Midtown

Flinders Street Station Ballroom

Comedy Theatre 

Melbourne Town Hall

Chapter House

  Max Watts

The Capitol – RMIT

Artist Bar

Cult Australian improvisation icons—post jazz; beyond definition. Playing across multiple venues and formats, only at RISING.

The Necks

“[*How Much Works* is] a quiet demonstration of how Edquist might just be one of the best singer-songwriters in the country.” 

“[Gregor’s *Destiny*] is psych-pop for oddballs: strange and unabashed.” 

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Sat 29 May—doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $30—$34 + booking fee. [Book here](https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/gregor-tickets/artist/727486) |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |


ACCESSIBLE PARKING

Wilson Parking, Parkade, 34—60 Little Collins Street, Melbourne. Parking must be
booked online in advance via www.bookabay.com.au
Enter codeword: MARRINER (case sensitive) in the Discount Voucher field.

ACCESSIBLE DROP OFF

Taxi rank on Exhibition Street, just north of Lonsdale Street.

PUBLIC TRANSPORT

Nearest accessible train stop: Parliament Station, services all metro lines.

Nearest accessible tram stop: Stop 10, Parliment Station / Macarthur Street. Trams 109, 11, 12

DISTANCE COVERED BY PARTICIPANT

Under 200m.

ACCESSIBLE ENTRANCE

The Comedy Theatre can provide a ramp into one of the front doors on Exhibition Street. A member of our security or front of house staff will be able to assist you on arrival at the theatre. At the doors facing on to Exhibition Street there is a small step, which as you move away from Lonsdale Street is reduced to a small lip. Doors are usually propped open during performances. The entrance opens directly into the foyer, which is small and can become quite congested.

ACCESSIBLE BATHROOMS

There is a unisex accessible toilet located in the Stalls inner foyer. Please go through the Stalls Foyer on the far right hand side, just before you enter the auditorium.

WHEELCHAIR ACCESS

For all wheelchair/accessible seating enquiries please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office on 03 9299 9800.

STEPS

Patrons with difficulty negotiating steps are advised to book seating in Stalls area, as there are several large sets of staircases leading to the Dress Circle.

We are working with the Victorian Government and the Department of Health to
deliver a COVID-Safe event for visitors, artists and staff. Find out what we're doing [here](https://rising.melbourne/covid-safe).

When travelling on the trams, please follow Public Transport Victoria's[ COVID-Safe Information](https://www.ptv.vic.gov.au/more/coronavirus-covid-19/). 

In 2020 Melbourne artists Gregor and Sweet Whirl each released the acclaimed albums *Destiny* and *How Much Works*. In the grand surrounds of the Comedy Theatre, on a double headlining bill, they finally get to launch these accomplished bodies of work—each with an expanded backing band put together specifically for these shows.   

Gregor is one of Australia’s true pop eccentrics. Destiny’s full of left-field observations and intimate confessions, which draw you into its epic and engrossing psychedelic world. On *How Much Works*, Sweet Whirl’s Esther Edquist stakes her claim as one of the country’s best songwriters, delivering elating and effortless compositions, track after track.    

The two work so well together, they even put together a special RISING: SINGLES CLUB release for us. Listen to their radically reworked cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival’s ['Have You Ever Seen the Rain'](https://rising.melbourne/wormhole/gregor-and-sweet-whirl).

SET TIMES

7PM — Doors open
8PM — Sweet Whirl
9PM — Gregor


Gregor

Sweet Whirl 

Get swept away by psychedelic and superlative jams. A long-awaited, double album launch, from two Melbourne songwriters of the moment.

Gregor and Sweet Whirl

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Fri 4—Sat 5 June, doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $50—$54 + booking fee |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |

Connan Mockasin is something of a mystery, even in his home country of New Zealand. Tales abound of him wandering Wellington’s streets in shoes cobbled together from motorcycle tyres and sheepskin (hence the name); and projects with backstories about immunodeficient lounge lizards and human-dolphin love affairs. Then there’s his legion of famous fans and collaborators—including Radiohead’s Thom Yorke, Charlotte Gainsbourg, James Blake, Dev Hynes aka Blood Orange, MGMT and Mac DeMarco—who’ve been drawn to his snail’s pace R&B, dulcet falsetto, woozy psychedelia and disregard for recording industry release schedules. 

For his RISING appearance, Connan Mockasin will screen two new, never-seen-before episodes of his TV “melodrama” *Bost'n 'n Dobs'n* followed by an unplugged solo set.

SET TIMES - Friday and Saturday

7PM — Doors open
8PM — Film screening (approx. 15 mins)
8.15PM — Connan Mockasin


Step into the idiosyncratic world of a true musical enigma. R&B from an alternate timeline. 

Connan Mockasin

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Sun 6 June—doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $30—$34 + booking fee. [Book here](https://www.ticketmaster.com.au/grand-salvo-tickets/artist/2776197) |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |

Over one night of lush instrumentation and songwriting, Melbourne’s Grand Salvo and The Orbweavers join forces for the first time since 2006 to mark career milestones with their RISING performances.  

Grand Salvo’s Paddy Mann celebrates the project’s 21st anniversary, during which he’s released seven albums that jump between sparse allegory and ornate, heavily orchestrated baroque-folk. Along with a full band, Mann plays tracks from the simple guitar-based songs heard on his first album *1642–1747*, all the way through increasingly complex compositions, culminating with 2018’s *Sea Glass*—a rumination on memory, loss and the passing of time. 

Opening the evening are The Orbweavers, who 10 years ago released *Loom*—a celebrated collection of dark folk music, inspired by the human and natural history of the Merri Creek region. They play a selection of the album’s songs which, in examining our relationship to nature, are only becoming more relevant a decade on. 

SET TIMES

7PM — Doors open
7.30PM — The Orbweavers
8.30PM — Grand Salvo

Orbweavers

Baroque folk and textural song. Two career milestones celebrated in the gilded surrounds of the Comedy Theatre. 

The Orbweavers 

Grand Salvo

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Thu 27—Fri 28 May, doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $50—$54 + booking fee |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |

## Show update

Due to current travel restrictions, Marlon Williams and Luluc will no longer be performing at the Comedy Theatre as part of RISING. If you’ve purchased a ticket to the show, you will automatically receive a refund, so there’s no need to contact us. We’ll get in touch if there are any issues processing your refund.

---

From humble beginnings in Lyttleton, a tiny town on New Zealand’s South Island, Marlon Williams’ sonorous voice rings out like a beacon. It has the power of his home country’s rugged landscape and the fragility of its lonely heart. Williams draws on American folk and country traditions for sure—somewhere between Leonard Cohen, Roy Orbison and Chris Isaak (he even showed up in *A Star Is Born*)—but he can also sing in te reo Māori about a tiny, yellow-eyed penguin and make you cry. A once-in-a-generation talent with a voice that crosses continents.

Co-headlining the night are Melbourne dream folk duo Luluc. Across four acclaimed albums, Zoe Randell's exquisite alto and Steve Hassett's intimate harmonies have been celebrated, along with their poetic songwriting. Luluc released 'Dreamboat' in late 2020, which features collaborations with members of The National and Arcade Fire among many others. Listen to their RISING: SINGLES CLUB entry [here](/wormhole/luluc). 

A once-in-a-generation voice, direct from New Zealand’s rugged South Island. Antipodean country music without borders, here to break your heart and make it whole over and again.

Luluc

Marlon Williams

"Jacklin has an ability to mine minuscule details from immensely complex situations and package them in searing couplets."

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Dates | Sun 30—Mon 31 May, doors open 7PM; set times TBC |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $50—$54 + booking fee |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |


Two years have passed since its release, but we’re still crushing on *Crushing*—Julia Jacklin’s critically acclaimed 2019 album, and one of the year’s best.  

The Blue Mountains born, Melbourne based songwriter's record is full of introspection about relationships in crisis and the strength and fragility of her own body. *Crushing*’s themes feel particularly relevant during a year which has tested the ties which hold us all together, both inside and out.  

Jacklin’s world tour on the back of the album sold out, but she’s back with us for a series of rare solo performances, in which she’ll draw on songs from across her entire catalogue. Feel the full weight of her talents as she distills her craft to its most profound, majestic and empowering self.

Julia will be supported by Kulin Nations-based singer Kee’ahn. Listen to her cover of [Moses Sumney's ‘Man on the Moon’](/wormhole/keeahn) for RISING: SINGLES CLUB.

SET TIMES - Sunday

7PM — Doors open
7.30PM — Kee'Ahn
8.30PM — Julia Jacklin

SET TIMES — Monday

6PM — Doors open
8PM — Kee'Ahn
9PM — Julia Jacklin

Julia Jacklin 

Kee'ahn

A rare and intimate solo performance from a master of majestic introspection.


Julia Jacklin

| Venue | Comedy Theatre |
| --- | --- |
| Date | Wed 26 May—doors open 7PM; set times TBC  |
| Accessibility Services | The Comedy Theatre has a hearing loop within the Stalls seating. People with a hearing aid will need a ‘T switch’. Please contact the Comedy Theatre Box Office directly for more information on 03 9299 9800. |
| Price | $50—$54 + booking fee |
| Note | Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over |


Venue access

Face masks are now required for patrons 12 years and older at RISING indoor venues. By entering a RISING venue you agree to wear a mask, if you refuse to do so you may be denied entry or asked to leave. As announced by the Victorian Government, face masks are mandatory in indoor settings for all patrons 12 years and over.

We are working with the Victorian Government and the Department of Health to deliver a COVID-Safe event for visitors, artists and staff. Find out what we're doing [here](https://rising.melbourne/covid-safe). 

[Public Event Attestation](https://exhibitionist-rising.s3-ap-southeast-2.amazonaws.com/PDFs/COVID/RedactedVersion_COVIDSafe-Low-Risk-Tier-2-Public-Event-Attestation_DeepThroatDriveIn_Redacted.pdf)


Guitarist and songwriter Ed Kuepper’s influence on Australian music is profound and unquantifiable. Playing live for the first time with master drummer Jim White, Kuepper will perform songs from across his 45-year career. 

Opening the night is Mess Esque, a new collaboration between Dirty Three’s Mick Turner and Helen Franzmann of McKisko. 

SET TIMES

7PM — Doors Open
8PM — Mess Esque
9PM — Ed Kuepper with Jim White


.css-ksgdz4{opacity:1;-webkit-transition:opacity 0.5s;transition:opacity 0.5s;}Comedy Theatre

The Necks

Gregor and Sweet Whirl

Connan Mockasin

Grand Salvo

The Orbweavers

Marlon Williams

Luluc

Julia Jacklin

Kee'ahn

Ed Kuepper with Jim White

Mess Esque

Comedy Theatre