Now or Never at Royal Exhibition Building, Melbourne/Naarm
The City of Melbourne is presenting the second annual Now or Never festival over the final week of August 2024. Dance and experimental electronic musicians dominate the lineup, including Berlin-based selector DJ AYA, Italian minimal techno producer Donato Dozzy, New York house and techno producer Anthony Naples, Balinese electronic pair Gabber Modus Operandi, Danish R&B and breakbeat revivalist Erika de Casier, US outsider pop musician Eartheater, French club producer COUCOU CHLOE, and more.
Mutti Mutti, Yorta Yorta and Nari Nari man Kutcha Edwards will present the career retrospective performance, Wuigada – Gagada (To Sing – Loud), and Naarm favourites HTRK will team up with British techno deviant Actress for a one-night-only collaboration rooted in the artists’ mutual affection. The lineup’s local contingent also includes Sui Zhen, CORIN, Naretha Williams, DJ PGZ, Sleep D, and more.
Now or Never 2024 will launch with four consecutive gigs inside Carlton’s World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building from Thursday 22 to Sunday 25 August. The remainder of the music program is spread across Melbourne Recital Centre, the Capitol Theatre, Section 8 and Science Gallery.
In a statement, Melbourne Lord Mayor Sally Capp looked ahead to the event’s second instalment with confidence. “Now or Never is set to draw over 200,000 visitors to the city,” Capp said, “welcoming audiences with a variety of events across some of Melbourne’s most iconic venues, including the renowned Royal Exhibition Building.”
READ: Now or Never announces 2025 program: DJ Python, Marie Davidson, rRoxymore, Young Marco + more
COUCOU CHLOE - "NOBODY"
Now or Never 2024
Royal Exhibition Building:
Thurs 22 Aug – Ben Frost, CORIN, Eartheater, Gabber Modus Operandi
Fri 23 Aug – Clark, Naretha Williams, Sandwell District (Hybrid AV), Veronica Vasicka
Sat 24 Aug – DJ AYA, DJ PGZ, Donato Dozzy, Estella Boersma, François X
Sun 25 Aug – Anthony Naples, COUCOU CHLOE, Erika De Casier, Sleep D (Live)
Melbourne Recital Centre:
Sat 24 Aug – Clark x Melanie Lane
Thurs 29 Aug – Actress x HTRK
The Capitol Theatre:
Fri 30 Aug – Kutcha Edwards + Australian Art Orchestra (Wuigada – Gagada)
Science Gallery:
Fri 30 Aug – Sui Zhen, Blood Lotus, Xiaole Zhan and Morgan May
Section 8:
Sat 31 Aug – Brothaboy Dardy Vibez
Tickets via Now or Never
