CAPTAIN FANTASTIC

Deep Hard N Funky has been part of Auckland's dance music scene for years and continues

Snow Machine takes the classic festival mission and throws it onto a mountain. Ski or

South Island bassheads get their turn when DnB Allstars rolls into Wolfbrook Arena. Six

A long weekend in Te Arai with camping, electronic music and enough room to settle

Auckland's Albert Park is glorious in summer. Located in the green heart of the central

If Christmas with the family leaves you needing to dance it out, Hidden Valley arrives at

Independent, proudly homegrown and just far enough out of Auckland to feel like

Twisted is one of those festivals that has built a whole world around itself rather than

Mount Maunganui on New Year's Eve already has plenty going for it before anyone builds

Tucked away at Blue Hole near Tākaka, Oasis looks like the kind of long-weekend festival

Big, polished and firmly established on the summer festival calendar, Electric Avenue take

SYNTHONY is what happens when dance music gets dressed up for the orchestra. Huge

This is exactly the kind of nonsense winter needs. Ski or snowboard under the lights

Some events are about discovering something new; this one is gloriously about remembering

If you're like me and drum & bass is your happy place, this one's self-explanatory. DnB

Wellington knows how to make the most of its waterfront, and Waitangi Park is a pretty goo

This grassroots Central Hawke's Bay festival celebrates an impressive 20 20 years in 2026.

Practically a Kiwi NYE rite of passage at this point, Rhythm and Vines is legendary. Four

AUM has become my New Year's home. I've been attending as a punter or vendor since

Northern Bass has earned its place as one of New Zealand's iconic New Year's festivals.

8th Wonder celebrates Kiwi music with a lineup packed full of familiar names and homegrown

There’s something special about a festival that’s so connected its whenua. Taniwha’s Den

Deep in Cobb Valley near Tākaka, Yatra sits firmly at the more immersive end of the

Sequins, superheroes and Sweet Mix Kids in Martinborough? You had me at sequins.

Dunedin bassheads don't always get the same touring love as Auckland and Christchurch,

Beyond Aotearoa is one I'm keeping on the Captain's radar. Victoria Park makes for an easy

One for the magnificent dressers. Thames goes wonderfully off-script for four days of

Indie bands, disco and a lakeside Taupō summer setting is a pretty convincing combination.

Hagley Park gets another summer workout, this time with ten hours of music and a lineup

Christchurch gets a serious end-of-year workout with three days at Bottle Lake and a

New Year's Eve in Cardrona Valley is hard to argue with. Rhythm and and Alps brings the

Dimension isn't for the faint-hearted. I know because I've survived the 72-hour

Hidden amongst the bush in Te Arai, Shipwrecked is less about racing between headline acts

WOMAD reminds me just how universal music really is. One minute you're discovering rhythms