A grey, overcast Melbourne afternoon on 7 June 2025 turned into a vibrant party all over Swanston Street thanks to RISING’s annual Day Tripper festival. With only a single ticket needed for 25 acts, Melbourne Town Hall and Max Watt’s were home to eclectic soundwaves playing all day. People trickled in and out of each venue to catch as many of the multifarious genres on display, including shoegaze, disco-soul, techno, hip-hop and indie rock. I was a bit nervous at first, as I only recognised a few names on the lineup. However, travelling between the packed venues made the festival so thrilling—I stepped into many pleasant surprises.

My first stop was the historic Melbourne Town Hall, where British dubsteppers-turned-indie rockers Mount Kimbie were on the decks. Hot on the heels of their first Melbourne gig in 10 years just days before at the Forum, the set returned to their electronic roots with an hour of levitating deep house and dub techno to ease punters into dancing. The highlight was hearing their mellow hit ‘Made to Stray’ mixed among other minimal techno grooves.

Then, a trek down into the depths of Max Watt’s led me to the farewell and 33rd birthday party of Chapter Music, one of Australia’s longest-running and adventurous indie record labels sadly closing its doors, boasting a stacked lineup of auditory experimentation. When I arrived, I was welcomed by Little Ugly Girls’ abrasive noise rock. Frontwoman Linda Johnston’s fervent yelps pierced through walls of guitar feedback, carried by the momentum of steady post-punk melodies. Their roaring noise was a sonic 180 from Mount Kimbie, but that experimental twist sums up the magic of Day Tripper.

After catching a breath of fresh air, I ventured back into Max Watt’s to the folky indie pop of Japanese duo Saya and Ueno, aka Tenniscoats. The twinkly, psychedelic chords of Saya’s sweet voice soared across the venue. The standout moment was the two going unplugged, leaving the Max Watt’s stage to finish their set within the crowd, breaking the barrier between themselves as performers and their fans.

Next on stage was Sidney Phillips, a 20-something-year-old rapper from Brisbane, bringing the pluggnb and digicore sounds of Bladee to Aussie turf. She’s an underground star in the making who’s carving out a new scene, borrowing that same emotional, nostalgia-spun internet hip-hop popular in America. In a city where the live scene is dominated by rock bands, it was fascinating watching her unique artistry unfold in real time before more ears catch on.

I later returned to the Melbourne Town Hall to the closing spectacle: Brooklyn shoegazers DIIV, whose atmospheric, reverb-drenched guitar riffage shook the ornate interior to its foundations. The lighting, initially matching Day Tripper’s cool blue, shifted to blood-red as the four-piece band took centre stage, burning bright like the fervent energy each concertgoer amassed over the day. They looked insurmountable as they wielded their explosive guitars, all while staying lit by lo-fi projections alluding to the nostalgic setlist covering their entire oeuvre. DIIV’s long-awaited, cathartic return to Melbourne after their last show nearly a decade ago justified their enduring legacy in the shoegaze genre.

The electricity quickly wore off as I walked out to pouring rain, dawning on me that I had to return to normality. Still, my mental checklist of who I wanted to see the most was all checked off, and as a bonus, I’ve uncovered musical gems I’ll savour for months on end. Without a doubt, the spontaneity of it all will have me back at next year’s Day Tripper.

Photography credit: Thomas Breakwell