On New Year’s Eve around 4000 people made their way to the remote location of Canaan Downs, Tākaka, to take part in the first Gathering, a two-day festival for electronic dance music fans.
Music Festivals
Events In History
5 February 1994
The Big Day Out, an Australian franchise based on the successful Lollapalooza model, brought alternative, hard rock, hip hop and, more recently, dance acts together in a one-day festival in Auckland.
Articles
Rock music festivals
After a hesitant beginning in the early 1970s, rock festivals hit their stride with Nambassa, Sweetwaters and a string of smaller events in the early 1980s. Following a period of decline, festivals are today as popular as ever with Laneway, WOMAD and others catering to a wide range of musical taste. Read the full article
Page 1 - Rock music festivals
After a hesitant beginning in the early 1970s, rock festivals hit their stride with Nambassa, Sweetwaters and a string of smaller events in the early 1980s. Following a period of
Page 2 - Beginnings
The early rock music festivals held in Auckland and Ngaruawahia reflected the troubled emergence of teenagers as a distinctive group and economic force in the second half of the
Page 3 - Nambassa
No-one predicted the success of the 1979 Nambassa Festival which drew over 65,000
Page 4 - Sweetwaters and beyond
Sweetwaters - Festival of Music, Culture and Technology. There was a lot to that new tagline. It had the future in it. A modernity echoed by the band line-up. Having come
Page 5 - The lights go down
From the late 1980s into the 1990s small scale and sharply focused rock music festivals would be the norm, though there were some notable
Page 6 - Festivals galore
As the new century dawned it was clear music festivals were now a viable and often long-running proposition. WOMAD, the Big Day Out and others continue to attract huge crowds each
Page 7 - Rock music festivals 1970-2010
List of the main rock music festivals held in New Zealand between 1970 and
Page 8 - Further information
Links and books relating to New Zealand's rock music
Main image: Mountain Rock music festival
The third Mountain Rock festival was held at Ballance, near Woodville, in 1994
