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Vinyl enthusiasts of Melbourne, we’ve got news. This winter, Rising and ACMI are joining forces for a blockbuster exhibition that promises to shake the walls of Fed Square. Opening on May 22 as part of Rising 2026 (and running until August 31), The Vinyl Factory: Reverb is a multi-sensory deep dive into the way music reverberates into our lives, far beyond the headphones.
Originally staged at London’s 180 Studios – where it pulled more than 50,000 visitors across an extended season – Reverb arrives in Melbourne as a sprawling celebration of vinyl culture and its influence on art, fashion, film and social movements.
Across ACMI’s galleries, you’ll find large-scale moving image works, immersive installations and hands-on vinyl experiences drawn from The Vinyl Factory’s 20-year archive of collaborations.
The exhibition traverses eras and energies: from the roots of techno and the haze of the late-’80s Second Summer of Love to Kingston’s dancehall scene and a reconstruction of Columbia’s legendary 30th Street Studio. Elsewhere, you can get hands-on with Technics turntables and endlessly remixable vinyl loops, explore a 100-record archive spanning genres and generations, and step inside installations that treat sound as something sculptural and alive.
But the jewel in Reverb’s crown might just be ‘The Listening Room’ – an acoustically optimised sanctuary designed for proper, spine-tingling deep listening. By day, visitors can select a record and sink into the soundscape. After hours, the space will transform into an intimate performance setting, hosting one-off sessions from Rising artists curated by Triple R’s underground music specialist Yasmine Sharaf. Attendance is capped at just 50 per event, making these sessions some of the most exclusive tickets of the festival.
For Rising Artistic Director Hannah Fox, Reverb captures music as “a cultural engine” – a force that shapes identity, movements and community. And there’s perhaps no better home for it than Melbs, which recently claimed the title as the world’s record store capital.
Presale is on now, with general tickets on sale from March 16. The full Rising 2026 program – including the Listening Room line-up – will drop in March. Stay tuned (excuse the pun) over here.
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