Now! Here! This! Ōtepoti Festival Lineup Announced

The first ever Now! Here! This! Ōtepoti festival has been announced by Audio Foundation for late August, hot on the heels of June's debut Ōtautahi edition of the multi-venue (and now multi-city) experimental music / sound extravaganza. Curated by Sewage's Ro Rushton-Green and Gabriel Griffin (also of The Bus Shelter Boys), the kaupapa of the festival is collaboration, inviting artists from throughout Aotearoa to participate in "unique first time meetings between local artists and visitors". The three day fest will take place at New Athenaeum Theatre and Māori Lodge, bringing together such sonically diverse and uncompromising figures as Riki Gooch, Samara Alofa, Citacsy, L$D Fundraiser, Crude, Murdabike and many more — scope out the full bill and programme details for each date below...

Now! Here! This! – Ōtepoti
Thursday 26th August to Saturday 28th August
New Athenaeum Theatre & Māori Lodge
More info + artist bios available on the Audio Foundation website here

Thursday 26th August, 7.30pm
– Crude + L$D Fundraiser
– Riki Gooch – Flesh of the Womb + Bodyache
– Ghost Bells
– Wailing Wind Ensemble
Visuals by Chris Schmelz

Friday 27th August, 7.30pm
– Dante + Kolya
– Vow Cave + Mud Death
– Samara Alofa
– Blue Cheese + Reuben Derrick + Motoko Kikkawa
– Drum Power Ensemble
Visuals by Beth Hilton

Saturday 28th August, 2pm to 6pm
– L$D Fundraiser + GRVDGGR + Jim-S
– Citacsy-D + Beth Hilton
– GRVDGGR + Crude + Paul Blanchard
– Reuben Derrick
– Bodyache

Saturday 28th August, 7.30pm
– Citacsy – Ava Mahoney + Samara Alofa + Kate Reid + Flesh of the Womb
– Murdabike + E-Kare
– William Henry Meung + Riki Gooch + Aaron Lovich + Scott Kendall
– Guardians Visuals by Leben Young

Tickets available HERE via UTR

Hear 'I Te Rā Ki Te Pō' from Riki Gooch's 2020 collaborative album with Alistair Fraser Rangatira...

Check out vibey handheld footage from L$D Fundraiser's 2019 record release show at YYY...

Press release:

The Audio Foundation is thrilled to present Now! Here! This! – Ōtepoti.

Now! Here! This! Festival is making its way down the country, with the latest installment held in the depths of Ōtepoti from August 26 - 28. The 3 day festival is part of the re-invention of the popular Altmusic programme, which has seen regular tours by legendary artists of experimental music and sound art tour Aotearoa over the past decade. With the advent of Covid 19 and the impossibility of international visitors the Altmusic programme has been transformed to present 3 day festivals in Christchurch, Dunedin and Wellington in addition to the regular festival in Auckland.

Curated by local dastardly duo Sewage (Ro Rushton-Green & Gabriel Griffin), Ōtepoti will be blessed across 3 nights and one day with experimental sound and adventurous music by a huge roster of visiting and local artists, hosted at the New Athenaeum Theatre and Lodge Maori.

Visiting Ōtepoti for the festival is legendary founding Trinity Roots drummer Ricki Gooch, sinister sound-sermonizers Vow Cave, eclectic multi-instrumentalist & composer Reuben Derrick, grindcore hotshot Bodyache, enchanting experimenter Samara Alofa, mysterious sound-sculptor Citacsy, and ambient maestro Jim-S.

The kaupapa of the festival is collaboration and the lineup features a full roster of unique first time meetings between local artists and visitors, including local superstars such as L.$.D Fundraiser, Crude and Ghost Bells, musical mischief-makers Blue Cheese, E-Kare and William Henry Meung, heavy hitters Mud Death and Kolya, and much more.