Auckland City Limits

Overview

The year the Big Day Out was axed in New Zealand, the cries of one-hundred-thousand music lovers could be heard across the nation. The festival had just pulled off one of the most successful events in its history, and in the perfect inner city location, Western Springs Park.

After much speculation about what would happen with the festival, an entirely new one is here to take its place. The inaugural Auckland City Limits Music Festival will take place on Saturday 19 March 2016, across Western Springs stadium, and the surrounding fields and lakeside park. The event is inspired by and aligned with the Austin City Limits Music Festival in Austin, Texas, a three-day, dual-weekend experience, featuring more than 130 acts and attracting over 75,000 concert-goers. The Auckland event has been promised to fuse the best elements of Austin’s festival with a New Zealand flavour.

The new king of West Coast hip hop, Kendrick Lamar, is rolling down under to headline the inaugural outing. He’ll be joined by Ohio indie-rock band The National, larger than life Queens rapper Action Bronson, Californian indie-rock act Cold War Kids, Los Angeles-based pop group The Naked & Famous, homegrown favourites Fat Freddy’s Drop, Portland indie-band Modest Mouse, lauded jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, and indie-pop songwriter Ladyhawke for her first show in New Zealand in almost four years. Plus plenty of others.

Food will also be a central part of the festival experience with a selection of five-star chefs creating unique dishes for the Auckland Eats food village. The culinary lineup includes Che Barrington of oriental smokehouse Woodpecker Hill, Javier Carmona of contemporary Middle Eastern restaurant Beirut and popular Mexican eatery Mexico, Darish Lolaiy of wild food restaurant Cazador, Kyle Street of Americana and street food staple Federal Delicatessen, and Tom Hishon of offbeat Ponsonby bistro Orphans Kitchen.