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RISE is Henley Festival’s charitable programme, created in 2022 to champion up-and-coming creatives in visual arts, music and backstage, and provide opportunities where they’re increasingly hard to find.
RISE supports talented musicians and visual artists at the heart of the festival, while giving future backstage professionals paid, hands-on experience with internationally renowned lighting and sound companies.
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Early RISErs is Henley Festival’s programme for local, young musicians and artists. In 2026, we showcased three bands and singer/songwriters playing their original music and covers on the RISE stage during Playdate @ Henley Festival.
“Performing at Henley Festival was an absolutely incredible experience, it will be very hard to beat this experience. Programmes like RISE are vital for emerging artists. They provide opportunities to perform on stages we might never otherwise have access to, at festivals we may never have the chance to attend, while introducing us to new audiences that can genuinely be a game changer for our careers.”
“RISE is a great opportunity to gain experience in every aspect of live sound as you are involved in running the stage every step of the way, this amount of responsibility can be rare this early on but I find it to be a great way to learn and gain confidence especially when paired with the excellent support of other crew.”
“Exhibiting at Henley Festival gave my work visibility with new audiences and connected me with a supportive community of emerging artists. Opportunities like RISE are invaluable; they give young artists the platform, confidence, and recognition we need early in our careers.”
