A recap of NZ's recent music festival drama.
Organisers hoped for a smooth start to summer. Some aren't getting it.
I’m choosing my words carefully.
I take no delight in writing this post.
After the past three years, New Zealand’s music festival organisers desperately needed a smooth start to summer to help offset the losses caused by two years of Covid cancellations and another of extreme weather.
Some of those losses are up to $1 million, I have been told.
Alas, sitting here on January 3, with a record-breaking 100+ separate events planned before the end of March, that has not been the case – for some.
It’s been hectic, with uncooperative weather forcing extreme measures, artists cancelling or delaying at the last-minute, and one new festival pulling the plug completely.
Here’s what’s happened so far…
Auckland’s new festival Love Your Ways gets axed.
It was billed as a boutique dance event, a pre-New Year’s Eve party for a few thousand people at the picturesque Hunting Lodge venue north of Auckland. If you’ve been there, you know the set up: manicured grass lawns, picnic tables, pizza ovens and outdoor bars serving IPAs and hazys. Add in a serve of big-name DJs – including UK dance veterans Basement Jaxx – and you’ve got yourself a good time.
None of this works if the weather doesn’t play ball. Unfortunately, Auckland decided to get wet and wild at the end of December. “While initially forecast to clear in time for the event, the rain is not letting up, is predicted to get worse and thunder and lighting is predicted,” promoters told punters. “The event has been deemed unsafe to proceed by the venue and the promoters.”
Auckland desperately needs more music festivals, especially over the New Year’s holidays, so that really sucks for everyone involved. Let’s hope Golden Lights gets to go ahead as planned.
At Northern Bass, the rain ‘just kept coming’.
Rain also hit Mangawhai, affecting all three days of drum n bass festival Northern Bass. Now into its 11th year, promoter Gareth Popham told RNZ this was his most challenging event yet and he pulled out all the stops to make the site safe after a deluge of rainfall.
He and his team raised footpaths and trucked in mulch and gravel. Even that wasn’t enough. “That only does so much if the rain just keeps coming,” Popham admitted.
RNZ’s account of this situation is concise and includes a thorough interview with Popham.
NZ Herald, on the other hand, did the festival dirty. Its homepage headline was completely different to the one inside the story.
The phrase ‘drowned out’ gives the impression Northern Bass was called off, which wasn’t the case at all. That’s what happens when you base a story on just two interviews with irked festival-goers and don’t add balance. The Herald didn’t talk to Popham. It hasn’t since.
At no point over the past few months has NZ Herald covered the festival, or many of the others. Yet, as soon as something’s gone slightly wrong, it puts the boot in with a scandalous headline and unbalanced story.
You can, if you want to go see for yourself, find copious amounts of social media posts from the 11,000 punters and artists in Mangawhai making the most of a soggy situation and having an absolute blast.
One of the Herald’s own photos shows someone boogie boarding through a puddle. Looks like fun to me?
This, I guess, is the result of what I’ve been banging on about for the past couple of months: get rid of your music journalists and you end up with shitty clickbait.
Do better.
The headlines out of Rhythm & Vines are concerning.
Gisborne’s annual event attracts more than 20,000 revellers to the region and those that went this year definitely got the best of the country’s weather, with bright sunshine for what seemed like most of its record-breaking 21st event.
The footage coming out of the country’s most picturesque festival site is typically stunning...
Maybe too good a time was had by all?
Drink driving is not cool.
Breaking into a festival is also not cool.
An alleged sexual assault is definitively not cool.
The Game isn’t going to make it – once again.
Today, the R&B throwback festival Juicyfest gets underway in Christchurch, the first of four events around the country, and another four in Australia, featuring T-Pain, Trey Songz, Mase, Ashanti and Bone Thugz N Harmony, among many others.
Honestly, this line-up’s pretty good – if they all make it here!
Spoiler alert: they won’t. After her sexual assault allegations against Diddy dropped, Cassie understandably pulled out of the festival, as did Krayzie Bone over health issues, leaving Bizzy Bone to perform Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s catalogue of hits on his own.
Making matters worse is today’s weather report: overcast and drizzly. (I’m here: it’s pretty bleak.)
That isn’t the only issue.
I have reported on The Game’s sketchy relationship with New Zealand for more than 15 years, and it’s a fascinating example of an artist consistently over-promising and under-delivering.
Over that time the Compton rapper’s only made it down under for two of eight planned shows. Most recently he pulled out of last April’s Ice Cube and Cypress Hill show in West Auckland.
Today, sadly, marks another New Zealand performance that The Game looks like he won’t make.
That’s right: he’s late for the first Juicyfest.
In response, Juicyfest has added YG to its line-up. Great move!
Will The Game make it for any Juicyfests at all? Watch this space…
There are, of course, many music festivals going ahead without these kinds of dramas.
Friends attending South Island festival Rhythm & Alps report having a great time.
Hidden Lakes was apparently a blast.
Despite Sublime with Rome leaving seven events without a headliner at the last minute, a good time was had by all at Taupō’s Le Currents.
After several years of festival woes, it’s brilliant to see the majority are going well.
I can’t wait to get into my own summer festival itinerary, which kicks off soon.
If you’ve been at a festival, big or small, rainy or sunny, good or bad, I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks for reading Boiler Room. I’ve got a big 2024 planned, kicking off with a two-part feature running next week. I can’t wait to share it. So, here’s my plea: if you like what I’m doing and want to support me, consider upgrading your subscription…
On 'music fest' dramas - is it just me, or is the media coverage of the 'carnage' at Jucy Fest being reported in a more inflammatory way than any of the troubles and SA issues at other fests like RnV? Am I reading into things or does a hip hop fest get an more negative coverage because of their clientele?