How a NZ music festival doubled in size: 'A whole lot of stars aligned'

A Christchurch event is growing as the global festival market shrinks. How'd they do it?

“It’s carnage,” says one promoter.

“This isn’t working anymore,” says another.

In the UK, 45 festivals were cancelled or postponed this summer, leading to headlines like this one from Sky News…

The same thing’s happening in Australia, where Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Harvest Moon and Falls Festival have all cancelled their 2024 events.

Some predict multi-day events might be over. “A large portion of the crowd are not interested in being fed 40 things at once,” a prominent promoter mourned recently.

Even Coachella struggled to sell out this year.

But, in Christchurch, a different vibe is brewing.

“There's a lot of caution and apprehension,” agrees Callam Mitchell, the Electric Avenue founder when I reference headlines like those above.

“You can pull stumps or try and pull back thinking that the current climate’s not good. The reality is, people still want to go to events.”

It’s that belief that led Mitchell do something unheard of in the current climate. This week, he announced Electric Avenue would celebrate its 10th birthday in 2025 by doubling in size, going from a one-day event to two.

That means up to 35,000 people a day will head through Mitchell’s Hagley Park gates next February, a number that makes Electric Avenue bigger than any other local festival currently on offer.

Australia’s shrinking festival scene means Electric Avenue is also bigger than anything happening over there too.

Yet, if you tell Mitchell he’s just become Australasia’s biggest music festival promoter, he demurs. “That won't last for long,” he says.

“I wouldn't say I'm risk averse but I certainly wouldn't be doing it if I didn't think we had enough content or momentum to be able to pull it off.”

For now, it’s true. So, across the weekend of February 21 and 22 next year, Electric Avenue’s punters will enjoy the festival’s biggest line-up yet, with up to 20 international artists locked in.

The bill’s not due out until September, but Mitchell promises “more than enough content [for] a really impressive two-day festival line-up. Some big names, some smaller names, some interesting stuff.

“Most of them will be playing exclusive New Zealand shows.”

Big Day Out: Fans enjoy this year’s Electric Avenue. (Image: Electric Avenue)

He did it by taking the slow and steady path. Electric Avenue began in 2015 with 8000 people enjoying an all-local line-up that included Fat Freddy’s Drop, Shapeshifter and Ladi6.

Since then, Mitchell’s festival has grown every year, attracting bigger crowds to see an expansive roster of local and international headliners, including Lorde, Flume, Future Islands and Orbital.

Last year’s event was its biggest yet, with local acts Six60, L.A.B and Shapeshifter performing on the same bill together for the first time, as well as hosting the first show here by UK electronic act The Chemical Brothers in more than 10 years.

It’s something Mitchell has been dreaming of since his festival began, and he made sure he savored it. “It was incredible … a whole audio-visual experience, a piece of theatre, that’s for sure,” he says.

Brothers in Arms: The Chemical Brothers at Electric Avenue. (Image: Electric Avenue)

It gave him confidence he can safely expand to a two-day event. So has pre-sale interest. “So far we've had close to 20,000 tickets pre-registered for, and 85-90% of those are for weekend passes,” he says. “That's an indication there's an appetite for two days – and no one's seen a line-up yet.”

But it hasn’t happened without a few hiccups along the way.

Mitchell was forced to cancel 2022’s festival at the last minute following Covid traffic light setting changes that also affected three other events he runs: Nostalgia Festival, the Great Kiwi Beer Festival and the South Island Wine & Food Festival.

“Devastating,” is how he described that decision at the time.

Yet, two years later, Mitchell’s main attraction is getting to celebrate its 10th birthday by hosting its biggest bash yet.

Even he isn’t quite sure how he’s managed to pull it off, but he believes the festival’s history, location and pulling power has something to do with it.

“We appeal to a broader crowd,” he says. “The model we've created is easily accessible. You hit a certain age and you don’t want to be camping at a festival for multiple days.”

Electric Energy: Hagley Park can host 35,000 people a day. (Image: Electric Avenue)

Then there’s the line-up, and with 20 international acts on their way, Mitchell says there’ll be more logistics than he’s ever had to deal with before. “We're almost there. We’re due to announce in 3/4 weeks. It's looking pretty good,” he says.

“It can often be pretty tough getting artists out here at the best of times. It's a long way to come. The timing's just worked really well. A whole lot of stars are aligning and falling into place. It's a nice piece of cosmic karma.”

(Is Electric Avenue now bigger than the Big Day Out? That festival’s biggest event was 45,000 people over one day in 2000, but next year’s Electric Avenue could host 35,000 on each of its two days, and Mitchell says 65% of fans will be going to both days. Ugh … math. Can someone smarter than me solve that equation?)

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Everything you need to know.

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