The Ten Best Things to do This Labour Weekend

As part of the month-long Southern Fork Americana Festival, L.A. based folk-rock band Dawes will take the stage at Vector Arena’s dedicated folk and roots venue The Great South Pacific Tuning Fork.

The group take their lead from the free-flowing and rich harmony stylings of the ‘Laurel Canyon sound’, though with their recently released fourth album they’ve managed to evolve beyond their Southern Californian counterparts and create some new genres in the process – glass half full optimism, minor-chord tension, soulful gospel, rock tongue-in-cheek, and epic, Dylan-esque.

Unleash your inner geek, the much-loved entertainment expo Armageddon will celebrate its twentieth anniversary this weekend, with talks, interviews, eating challenges, music performances, pro wrestling, and a rather large League Of Legends computer gaming area.

A truckload of special guests and performers from alternate realities far and wide are one of the main attractions. Appearing this year will be Keisha Castle-Hughes (Game of Thrones, Star Wars, The Almighty Johnsons), Bernie Kopell (Siegfried from Get Smart), Natalia Tena (Harry Potter films, Game of Thrones), Manu Bennett (Arrow, Shannara, The Hobbit), and WWF Wrestling legend Jake the Snake Roberts.

For 12 days, fans of music in its purest form have been rubbing their jazz hands together with excitement. The second annual Auckland Jazz Festival rounds out this long weekend with Berlin based pianist Benny Lackner and his solo project Morgenroth, improvisational quartet Ruckus, the community-based North Harbour Big Band, passive-aggressive easy listening band Spammerz, and Cuban charanga band Orquesta Amadeus.

Check out the full schedule for individual show details.

Russian Resurrection Film Festival is the largest screening of Russian films outside of the motherland. The festival returns to Auckland with a curated mix of box office hits, art house cinema and blend of new releases and revived classic titles.

Among the selection screening at Rialto Cinema is Teacha, wherein a history teacher tired of her morally bankrupt students takes a classroom hostage following the confiscation of a handgun; Battle For Sevastopol follows a young woman’s rise as a sniper in the Red Army, exploring the bravery of Soviet civilian volunteers in World War II; Once Upon A Time is a nostalgic portrayal of provincial Soviet life in the ’70s, seen though the eyes of three teenagers experiencing love, loss, deception and betrayal for the first time.

The man responsible for 2013’s most popular internet dance craze is taking a break from the studio to play a show at Auckland’s Powerstation. The Brooklyn-based trap producer is also known for his electro-trap style – noted as a combination of crunk beats, d-floor tempos, and samples ripped from video-sharing sites. You can also probably expect a spin of the song that triggered that aforementioned online phenomenon.

Ponsonby’s Street Food Collective will celebrate spring with a celebration of all things Americana. Hosted by Miss Charlotte Cake (vintage baker, blogger and pinup model), the event will include face painting, a mini fashion showcase, and mouth-watering offerings from travelling taquerias Coreano and The Lucky Taco, American style dessert pies from mother-daughter team The Pie Piper, and Sweet Val’s who serve up the smoothest, creamiest and freshest ice cream in town.

Supporting their new album BAYS, Fat Freddy’s Drop will set up inside Auckland’s Town Hall for a one-off show. Having been in the biz for 18 years now, and spending the majority of their time on the road, you can expect the seven-piece to execute a well-oiled set of reggae-fusion and extended jams. Local hip hop act Team Dynamite will kick off proceedings.

In an attempt to ease the pain of Soulfest being cancelled, Auckland’s purveyors of ‘party everything’, The Black Club, will present a Sunday session to rule them all. The event will be headlined by legendary musician Che-Fu, who will come out of hiding for a rare solo performance. Further acts taking the stage include hip hop trio Team Dynamite, neo-soul singer Bailey Wiley, observational hip hop producer Melodownz, Christchurch beat maker Haan808, Home Brew crew’s resident producer/beat maker Haz Beats, plus Not Much, Rei and Toru.

What better way to spend the long weekend than by slipping on a nice frock, securing a fascinator to your noggin and drinking a slurry of cool beverages; all while being entertained by a series of races performed by small men on large thoroughbreds. A highlight of the Auckland social calendar, Whips n Spurs is set to take place in Ellerslie’s swanky new Cuvee area. To round out the day of orderves, French champagne and strapping colts, DJ Karn Hall will play tunes into the evening.

Laura Marling will arrive in New Zealand on the back of releasing her fifth album, Short Movie. The much adored folk songwriter will perform tracks from her extensive back catalogue as well as some much freer and looser tunes from her more daring new album.

With support from by New Zealand’s own folk darling Tiny Ruins, it’s a unique chance to catch two very special songwriters at the peak of the their powers, performing at an iconic venue that should fit rather nicely.