Auckland’s most famous and influential nightclub, Box & Cause Célèbre, is reuniting for one night only! The Queen City’s original nightclub pioneers are getting back together for a Special 20th Anniversary Party. The promoters, the players, the DJs and the doormen will all be there. The line-up reads like a Who’s Who of Auckland Nightclubbing...
Nathan Haines Quartet featuring Joel Haines
Bluespeak featuring Greg Johnson
The Lawrence Quintet featuring Peter Urlich
Rob Salmon
Greg Churchill
Roger Perry
Bevan Keys
Manuel Bundy
Soane
Timmy Schumacher
Sam Hill and Sample Gee
Anthony Gold
James Chesterman
Gerhardt Pierard
For eight years, from 1989-1997, the Box & Cause Célèbre was the epicentre of the New Zealand nightclub scene. Twenty years later, its status is justifiably legendary, with a dedicated Facebook group and the number of folks who claim to have been there all those years back growing year by year.
The Box was a cultural hotbed for Auckland’s evolution as an international, cosmopolitan city. It was clubbing for adults – mixing art, fashion and a broader musical palette, from jazz and blues to hip hop and techno. It made the concept of nightclubbing accessible, being the first club to embrace Auckland’s multi-cultural diversity, as well as its colourful gay scene.
With a new attitude and new music, Box & Cause Célèbre became the showcase for Auckland after dark, and also won favour as the first choice destination for visiting international stars.
Many of the musicians and personalities who cut their teeth in the club – including Greg Churchill, Bevan Keys, Nathan Haines, Peter Urlich, Sam Hill, Sample Gee, Roger Perry, Manuel Bundy and Soane – still dominate Auckland’s nightlife today.
These seasoned performers, along with Sydney based Box legend Rob Salmon and Los Angeles based Célèbre crooner Greg Johnson, needed little encouragement to add their names to the line-up for the Box & Cause Célèbre 20th Reunion – titled “Take Me Back”, after Rhythmatic’s classic 12”, released in 1990.
Because, for many people, what made the Box & Célèbre special was that it was a family, with a sense of camaraderie and kinship that revolved around the people who worked there, the people who spent so many nights there, and the music.
General $75 tickets available through iTicket, Real Groovy, Conch Records, Marvel Menswear, Strangely Normal and selected outlets.
