Every summer music festival, ranked and reviewed
The winner is going to surprise you, promise...
Miraculously, we’ve nearly made it to the end of the year. So here’s a list of all of the music festivals you can attend over summer. I’ve ranked them according to my own set of criteria, including personal preferences, travel times from Auckland, and whether I need a flippin’ tent or not. Self-indulgent? Hells yes! I expect to cop some flack for this one, so give it to me in the comments below…
Six months ago, the thought of attending a summer music festival was terrifying. You didn’t think about it, you didn’t dream about it, you didn’t dare. It didn’t even cross your mind. We were all too busy making sure we had access to the important stuff. Like jobs. And toilet paper. And hand sanitiser.
And yet, here we are. We’re just a couple of weeks from the end of the year. Against all of the odds, we’ve nearly made it through 2020. Here in Auckland, the sun’s out, the beaches are getting full on weekends, they’ve just turned the taps back on, and thoughts are turning to holidays. It feels like summer.
To me, summer means music festivals. Incredibly, we have them. Unlike anywhere else in the world, we have quite a lot of them. After a year in which the entertainment industry was obliterated by a world-wide pandemic, here in New Zealand you can actually go and get sunburnt and smash sweatily into complete and utter strangers to loud music without a care in the world. Or even a mask.
Think about that for a second. Think about how lucky we are.
It’s actually a miracle that over the next few months, a dozen or so music festivals will be held around the country. There’s no Laneway, and Womad is looking iffy, but there are plenty of others, and I want to go to all of them.
So here’s my completely unscientific and totally biased list ranking and reviewing the 12 biggest music festivals being held this summer season.
If you’re already going, good on you. If you’re not, think about this: all of these people are risking their shirts to put these festivals on, to make life feel like normal again, to do what they were born to do.
If you’re making one of these festivals happen, please don’t take offence if you’re lower on the list than you think you should be.
I still think you’re awesome.
Let’s go…
(12.) Splore (Tapapakanga Regional Park, February 26-28)
The line-up is solid, the location is stunning, and I’m totally down with all of those beachy vibes. Who wouldn’t want waves lapping at their toes while standing in front of a main stage? But there’s one thing putting Splore in last place, and it’s this: I hate camping. I don’t like tents, and I don’t want to wake up in one. Ever. I said the same thing about Eden Park’s stupid “Staydium Camping” offering. I’m sure you’re great, Splore, and I know lots of people that love you. It’s just not for me. Ya dig?
(11.) One Love (Tauranga, February 6-7)
This one just screams summer. It’s in Tauranga, near some pristine beaches. It’s got the best roots and reggae line-up on offer, with Kora, Fat Freddy’s, L.A.B and Katchafire. Why’s it at No. 11? I need some variety in my music festival line-up. There’s only so much swaying from side-to-side that I can do before I need a tempo change. At the very least, I need the option of a moshpit, and a couple of hip-hop acts. I just don’t think another Sons of Zion show can give me that.
(10.) Earthbeat (Atiu Creek Regional Park, March 17-21)
With weird things happening at Womad, Earthbeat feels like its natural successor. About an hour north of Auckland, for an entire week, you can practice yoga, take wellness clinics and do juice cleanses during the day, then go wild dancing at night. Just 2000 attend, and organisers promise you’ll make friends, learn more about yourself and the planet, and leave feeling better than you did when you got there. For a music festival, that’s a novel ambition. I dig it.
(9.) Soundsplash (Raglan, January 22-24)
This Raglan festival has quietly but confidently been doing its thing for 20 years now, with a line-up that suits its laid-back, eco-friendly vibe. Ladi6, Troy Kingi and Montell2099 are included alongside the usual suspects of Katchafire and Fat Freddy’s Drop. The only thing putting me off are all those reports of traffic chaos for punters heading down there. If I’m leaving Auckland, the last thing I need is more traffic.
(8.) Bay Dreams (The Mount, January 3, Nelson, January 5)
Previous Bay Dreams festivals have been an absolute blast. Cardi B? Stunning. Tyler, the Creator? The highlight of last summer, and one of the best performances I’ve seen, hands down. That won’t be happening this year. Why? Bay Dreams is missing the big name international headliners of previous years. Despite persuading rappers Earthgang to sit in quarantine for two weeks, next year’s line-up just doesn’t have the same Big-Day-Out-on-steroids appeal without its superstar acts. Hopefully it will rage again properly in 2022. Travis Scott, please.
(7.) Rhythm & Alps (Wanaka, December 29-31)
The smaller southern cousin of Rhythm & Vines does a solid job of recreating the Gisborne OG, piggybacking the same big-name headliners and a similar kind of vibe. That means you can see Shihad, Benee, Six60 and Fat Freddy’s Drop in picturesque Wanaka. It’s just so far to go. Too far. Way too far. For me anyway.
(6.) Homegrown (Wellington, March 21)
Thanks to our closed borders, every New Zealand music festival looks a lot like each other this year. But Homegrown has been celebrating 100 per cent Kiwi music for far longer than all the others, and next year’s line-up is just insane. Everyone is there, and I mean everyone, even oldschoolers Zed, Goodshirt, The feelers, Dragon and OpShop. Nostalgia! Get into it! It can’t be beat!
(5.) Northern Bass (Mangawhai, December 29-31)
The little festival that could. Every year, a committed group of 10,000 bassheads drive up to Mangawhai and settle in for a head-rattling few days of music. Northern Bass’ 10th anniversary includes Shapeshifter, The Upbeats, Dimension and Earthgang, as well as Chaii, Bailey Wiley and Aroha & Tali. That’s a great line-up, so if you really want to party, there’s nowhere else to go.
(4.) The Other Side (Whangamata, December 30-31)
I’ve been to several new Year’s festivals in Whangamata, and they’ve never been good. At one, the beer sold out and there was nearly a riot. At another, it rained, there were no toilets and we had to help rescue people who fell into a stream while doing wees on a riverbank. The Other Side promises to be different with some cool, experienced cats behind the scenes and a nicely composed line-up of Shapeshifter, David Dallas, Jordan Luck and Avantdale Bowling Club. Expect this one to run and run.
(3.) Outerfields (Auckland, Western Springs, March 6)
What’s a brand new, untested music festival doing debuting at No. 3? I know! It’s crazy! But I’m putting Outerfields, which is happening on that grassy area besides Western Springs Stadium, here for one reason only: Aldous Harding. I’d travel to the ends of the earth to see her perform again. She was the last thing I saw before lockdown, and she’s a phenomenon. It’s her only summer performance, and she’s playing alongside a solid-as line-up that includes Benee, Ladyhawke, The Beths and Church & AP. I’m in.
(2.) Rhythm & Vines (Gisborne, December 29-31)
The granddaddy, the OG, the leader of the pack. Call it what you want but Rhythm & Vines could soon become New Zealand’s longest-running music festival, topping the Big Day Out’s record. Hosting 20,000 at Waiohika Estate, tickets sell out months in advance even before the line-up gets announced, so at this point, R&V doesn’t really have anything left to prove. It’s even got its own freaking movie. And we’ve forgotten about that time Kim Dotcom headlined the thing. Haven’t we? Haven’t we? Oh…
(1.) Electric Avenue (Christchurch, February 27)
A one-day festival in New Zealand’s second-biggest city in just its seventh year wasn’t what I was expecting to top this list. But Electric Avenue’s line-up is impressively wide-ranging: from Benee to JessB, Fat Freddy’s to Kora, as well as old schoolers P-Money + Scribe and Salmonella Dub + Tiki Taane. It’s even got a couple of Aussie acts on there, with promised performances by Tash Sultana and Ocean Alley. Organisers say they’ll pay for a separate free event for ticketholders if they can’t get them through isolation in time. All in all, it’s well worth booking flights and accommodation - Electric Avenue is the summer party I don’t want to miss. It’s just the thing to shake off any lingering 2020 vibes.