Music

Quirky urban cool, natural wonders, arty happenings and more than a few places to quench your thirst, Dunedin is full of contrasts and curiosities.

The Urban List guide to the absolute best things to do in Wellington. 

A rite of passage for many, we’ve got a tonne of descriptors for Gisbone’s Rhythm & Vines festival—namely, good vibes, good tunes and good company. This year we’re adding ‘healthy’ to that list (and we’re as surprised about it as you are). 

Get amped up for the most wonderful time of the year. We’re talkin’ New Zealand’s festival season. Across the country, lads and lasses will be locking in tickets to some of the best festivals our country has to offer, all promising an epic mash-up of beats, vibes and all round good times.

 Deck the halls with sounds of Michael Bublé and the Queen of Christmas—Mariah Carey.

It's about damn time.

A successful New Year’s Eve party—the kind people talk about for years to come—always has a few key ingredients; a rad crew of people, an endless grazing platter (preferably one that’s ‘gram-worthy), free-flowing booze and one seriously cracking playlist. While we can’t help with most of those things, we can ensure your party’s vibe remains high with our edit of the very best music out there.

Ever wanted to hear Calvin Harris' One Kiss in C Minor with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra? Yeah, us neither, come to think of it. But it does sound like one awesome mash-up.

Hot on the heels of Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa NZ Music Month we caught up with eight of Aotearoa's most exciting up-and-coming DJs to hear about life on the scene.

While your Spotify may be overflowing with a cracking collection of music, nothing beats the sweet, sweet sound of live music.

While we don’t like to play favourites here at Urban List, we can’t deny that when it ones to One Direction, Harry Styles has always been our number one! 

Here we are, deep into another lockdown, and many of us New Zealanders feeling all over the show—unable to shut off, to relax, to let go… without drugs or alcohol. Well, we're here to tell you, there really is another way. 

Auckland’s Smoke & Spice Festival will be bigger and better than ever with plenty of barbecues, booze, live music, demos and events on the agenda but this time spread over two days.

Interesting Places: The Subterranean Sessions is set to be an absolutely awesome series of musical matinee shows, as part of Elemental AKL, featuring performances by the best musicians in town. 

Ditch the booze and bust some moves at this epic morning rave. 

Winter is coming, and that means ski party season is too. So, dust off your boots and grab your warmest jackets, because things are about to get seriously cool.

Let’s be honest, we’re kinda terrible at keeping secrets here at Urban List. So, when we hear a rumour a hidden piano bar is coming to Auckland, we can't help but spill the beans.

It’s her first tour since 2017.

Just imagine the scene if Snoop Dogg or Dr. Dre picked up a trumpet and smashed out some good ol’ bangers. Well, New Zealand’s very own MC Slave, aka “The Logg Cabin'' is giving us all a chance to witness just what this may sound like, right here in Auckland.

There’s always that one friend that doesn’t vibe with your choice in music, isn’t there? Well, now you can dance to the beat of your own drum, quite literally, at this highly anticipated event coming to Auckland this weekend. 

Forget whatever you had planned for September 3rd, Galatos is the place to be.

Cross St. Music Festival is back, baby. After the March lockdown rained on its parade, a new date has been released, and it’s only a couple of weeks away! 

Ain’t no party like a street party—get ready for Parnell’s very own street party filled with groovy tunes, good vibes, and great food. As part of the Summernova line up, Parnell’s Faraday street festival will be pumping on 26 February.

It's going to be a big year for music.

For the swooners, the crooners and antics under the doonas.

We’re a sucker for a good playlist, allowing our favourite Netflix series to live on, way after the credits roll.

There’s no need to flee the city for New Year, everything you need is right on your doorstep  

This is not a drill! Despite blessing our ears back in July—AKA the epicentre of lockdown life—with her surprise album Folklore, Taylor Swift has gone and done us all a solid, gifting us yet another EP. And yes, she’s here to save 2020, one dreamy track at a time.

 Just like Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber, Six60 are sharing their story on the big screen. Till The Lights Go Out hits cinemas 26 November and trust me when I say the boys don’t hold anything back. From each member's origin story to internal struggles within the group, they give fans a true insight into their lives. 

With grim lockdown and border restriction news dropping on the daily, sometimes you just need to turn the telly off and plug into a good playlist. It’s amazing what a solid dance sesh around your lounge room can do for your soul, which is why our mates Boo Seeka decided to create a collection of absolute bangers for Urban List readers to take your day from a two to a 10.

Filmed around the world in the US, the UK, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Belgium—and featuring the likes of Naomi Campbell, Lupita Nyong’o and Pharrell Williams—this album is Beyoncé’s biggest triumph yet.

While the release of her last album, Lover, involved an international Easter egg hunt, in true 2020-style Swift has delivered the news of her surprise eighth studio album in the form of a mic drop. Simply posting a black and white pic of herself on Instagram, Swift informed her legion of adoring fans (ok we’re kinda one of them) that her new album Folklore, will be dropping in the US at midnight tonight—which fortunately is 2pm AEST for Australian and 4pm for NZ. 

Flights to New York might be off the table for now but here's your chance to see the ground-breaking hip hop musical, and you don’t even need to max out your credit card for it. Hype up, because Hamilton the movie is coming direct to your lounge.

Oh, queen Bey, how we have missed you! In news that the world truly needs right now, Beyoncé has announced she’s finally dropping a new visual album next month. Black Is King will premiere on 31 July on Disney+, right on the heels of the one-year anniversary of The Lion King reboot.

If you’ve spent lockdown mourning the loss of live music and having a damn good boogie fear not. The Good Vibes winter tour is locked and loaded and will be hitting major cities around New Zealand from July until August.

Here’s a list of awesome things to do in New Zealand this weekend.

Couch-ella at your service.

It’s not all doom and gloom thanks to the guys behind Isol-Aid Music Festival.

If you’re one of the many people who have started working from home, then welcome to our rad crew. By now there’s a chance the novelty of wearing pyjamas all day long is starting to wear off, but because we’re experts when it comes to nailing the WFH life, we’re here to help. 

We jumped at the chance to chat to talk to Milk & Honey Festival co-founder, Lani Purkis. Best known as the bassist in Elemenop, these days she’s working behind the scenes so other women in music can shine.

We’re just a little bit obsessed with Aussie songbird Jack River. The ARIA-nominated artist has been tearing up the charts since dropping her debut LP Sugar Mountain in May 2019. The track premiered on triple j Breakfast before quickly becoming the number one most played song and we have been digging her tunes ever since.

Yes you read that headline right, there is a festival that combines epic live music sets with pasta masterclasses and wine tastings—heaven is a place on earth, it’s true. Say hello to FLASH, a three-day sun-soaked festival serving up amazing beats and Tuscan eats in a truly breath-taking setting. 

We’ve got some seriously epic news for your Monday. Following legendary performances at Coachella, Glastonbury, Primavera, and Splendour in the Grass, homegrown hero Tame Impala is headed back to our sandy shores for their biggest ever Australian and New Zealand tour. 

When we listen to the mixtape of the 2010s, what does it actually sound like?

Fact: the noughties served up some of the best damn music of all time. Don’t fight us on it. 

Fire up, guys. The FOMO 2020 is around the corner, and freaking Lizzo is headlining. There’s no denying it, 2019 was Lizzo’s year. The flute-playing queen has been ripping up the charts (if you haven’t belted out Truth Hurts in the shower you’re lying!) and now you’ve got the chance to witness her magic live.

From casual day dates to the more formal evening affairs, read on for the most romantic things to do in Dunedin. 

If you loved the glitz and glam of The Great Gatsby, then get excited because for three months, Speakeasy Thursdays is taking you back to the 1920s.

Ever wanted to hear Darude’s Sandstorm in G Minor with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra? Yeah, us neither, come to think of it. But it does sound like one awesome mash-up.

​If there’s one thing we can’t get enough of right now, it’s all things horoscope related. We’re more than happy to live our lives according to our zodiac—but maybe that’s just the Gemini in us. Either way when Spotify announced they were releasing Cosmic Playlists today we lost our collective minds.

Who revolutionised the charts for EDM DJs, genre-bending music and women?

If you ask us, Post Malone can do no wrong, except when he makes us wait for his new album to drop. Well praise the hip hop lords because the Sunflower singer has revealed he’s officially completed work on his latest album.

It’s been three long years since Kid Cudi graced our playlists with a fresh album and thankfully the wait is now over… sort of. The Grammy-winning artist just announced Entergalatic, his first solo album since 2016’s Passion, Pain & Demon Slayin’, is in the pipeline but even better, it will soundtrack a new adult animated series coming to Netflix.

While Christchurch isn’t exactly a 24-hour city like say, Tokyo or London, we still have plenty of options for evening entertainment. Whether it’s catching a live gig, heading to a local restaurant or something more active, we’ve done the research and discovered the best things to do at night in Christchurch. 

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, we’re starting the get amped up for the most wonderful time of the year. We’re talkin’ New Zealand’s summer festival season. Across the country, lads and lasses will be locking in tickets to some of the best summer festivals our country has to offer, all promising an epic mash-up of beats, vibes and all round good times in the sunshine.