Aotearoa Rock Lottery Fundraiser Announced

An innovative and offbeat fundraiser has been announced in support of MusicHelps, starring a cavalcade of local artists forming brand new bands for the occasion. Including members of The Beths, Yoko Zuna, Being., Phoebe Rings, Babyteeth, Goodshirt, Skilaa, Ripship, Lips and many more, participants in the first ever Aotearoa Rock Lottery will "meet on the morning of 19 June to form five-person bands by lottery. The new groups then spend the day writing and rehearsing original material – and one cover – and reconvene that evening to perform their debut sets in front of a live audience." Made with support from APRA, based on an annual Tucson Arizona event and organised by Fen Ikner (Lips), the Rock Lottery looks to be a guaranteed win for attendees and a fun productive experience for all involved.

Organiser Fen Ikner says: “I did the Rock Lottery a few times when I lived in Tucson, AZ. It was always a blast and a great way for musicians to meet and collaborate, who might not have otherwise had the chance. I ended up producing a record for someone I met at a Rock Lottery, and a band that was formed at the same event has gone on to be a pretty successful internationally touring group. The more I got to know some of the musicians in the Auckland music scene, the more I began to think that this would be a great city for the event. So, here goes nothing!”

The Rock Lottery
Saturday 19th June - Whammy Bar, Auckland
Tickets available HERE via UTR

The current list of musicians (subject to change):

Jonathan Pearce (The Beths, many other things)
JY Lee (Yoko Zuna, various)
Jasmine Balmer (Being)
Fiona Campbell (Guardian Singles, Vivian Girls)
Simeon Kavanagh-Vincent (Phoebe Rings, Lucky Boy)
Sam Denne (Babyteeth)
Ben Locke (Phoebe Rings, The Naenae Express)
Swap Gomez (Yoko Zuna, various)
Sean Martin-Buss (various)
Abby Knudson (Singer-songwriter/composer)
Daniel Ward (Cate LeBon, Droor, Lawrence Arabia)
Christian Tjandrawinata (Producer/multi-instrumentalist @ Parachute)
Will Saunders (Singer/songwriter, the Quick and the Dead)
Kathleen Tomacruz (Eponymous quintet, various jazz)
Gareth Thomas (Goodshirt)
Chelsea Prastiti (Skilaa)
Maia Huia (Aunty's Garage)
Leea Lamatoa
Brayden Jeffery
Callum Lincoln (Ripship)
Steph Brown (Lips)

"Here’s how it works:
Gather 25 musicians of varying provenances in the morning, have them form five 5-person bands by lottery (with one drummer for each band, acting as "team captain")
Send the newly minted bands off to write and rehearse material for a 15-20 minute set. They must do three or four originals + one cover
Reconvene that night at Whammy Bar, for live performances by the all-new acts
There may be the occasional trainwreck, but getting there is lots of fun – and a great way to set up collaborations between artists that may otherwise not get a chance to meet and work together."