Really looking forward to Homegrown in Hamilton this weekend! This will be sacrilegious to some people, but I can't help but hope that one day it becomes ANZAC grown. Would love to see bands like Karnivool, Parkway Drive, Make Them Suffer, Playlunch etc. amongst the Kiwi talent. It would help keep the lineup interesting each year if we pulled from a bigger pool of artists.
Or just bring back the BDO, and have it in Hamilton!
Thanks for answering all the questions we have wondered about. Andrew sounds like a legend.
I used to live in Wellington and I know the locals are not happy about it moving. But they had a good run. Im excited to see what Homegrown Hamilton looks like!
This is terrible news. Byron Bay music festival Bluesfest has entered liquidation and organisers have axed the event weeks ahead of its scheduled opening, blaming the cancellation on rising costs.
Headliners for the five-day event in northern NSW from April 2 to April 5 were to include Split Enz, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sublime, 19-Twenty, The Wailers and Erykah Badu. Organisers confirmed the event’s cancellation in a statement on the festival’s website on Friday afternoon, saying ticket holders would be contacted by liquidators about how to get a refund. The NSW government, which has provided funding for the event since 2009, described the cancellation as “deeply disappointing”.
“After 36 years as Australia’s most awarded music festival, Byron Bay Bluesfest has made the difficult decision not to proceed with the 2026 event,” festival organisers said in the statement.
Really looking forward to Homegrown in Hamilton this weekend! This will be sacrilegious to some people, but I can't help but hope that one day it becomes ANZAC grown. Would love to see bands like Karnivool, Parkway Drive, Make Them Suffer, Playlunch etc. amongst the Kiwi talent. It would help keep the lineup interesting each year if we pulled from a bigger pool of artists.
Or just bring back the BDO, and have it in Hamilton!
Gosh Homegrown in Oz would go really well I reckon. What a great idea! I’m sure Andrew’s thinking about it…
Agree a hundy with your BDO sentiment. Closet thing at the moment is Electric Ave but obviously not as band focused
Thanks for answering all the questions we have wondered about. Andrew sounds like a legend.
I used to live in Wellington and I know the locals are not happy about it moving. But they had a good run. Im excited to see what Homegrown Hamilton looks like!
Some good stuff is coming to Wellington! Ultra Fest plus I’m hearing rumours of some really great winter content … they’ll be OK.
This is terrible news. Byron Bay music festival Bluesfest has entered liquidation and organisers have axed the event weeks ahead of its scheduled opening, blaming the cancellation on rising costs.
Headliners for the five-day event in northern NSW from April 2 to April 5 were to include Split Enz, Earth, Wind and Fire, Sublime, 19-Twenty, The Wailers and Erykah Badu. Organisers confirmed the event’s cancellation in a statement on the festival’s website on Friday afternoon, saying ticket holders would be contacted by liquidators about how to get a refund. The NSW government, which has provided funding for the event since 2009, described the cancellation as “deeply disappointing”.
“After 36 years as Australia’s most awarded music festival, Byron Bay Bluesfest has made the difficult decision not to proceed with the 2026 event,” festival organisers said in the statement.
Yeah it’s pretty shocking because that line-up is so good! I’ve got something in tomorrow’s newsletter about it…
Massive respect for the success of Homegrown. What a massive kog in the growth and appreciation of local music and its culture.
I don’t think he gets enough respect for what he’s achieved here - all NZ all the time. The scale is unprecedented now.
He tots deserves his flowers along with his crew and of course the artists! So good to have these success stories.