Karangahape Road Block Party - Free Street Festival Announced

Ain't no party like a Karangahape Road Block Party! An entirely free festival activating Tāmaki Makaurau's iconic central city strip with a wow-inducing array of live music on 23rd May, the Karangahape Road Block Party celebrates NZ Music Month with performances happening "in, outside, and around" Crushes, Flying Nun, Flying Out, Neck of the Woods, Verona, Vixen and our much loved Rainbow Crossing.

As implied above, the lineup is straight up stonking, bringing together rising stars and community champions — including Codes (led by Supergroove’s Tim Stewart), Motte up from Lyttelton, Power Nap (aka myself), Créme Jéan, Babe Martin, Hasji, Michael Logie, Love Square, حلالاماما (Hafleh Collective), beth torrance, Lilly Carron, Heidi Simpson, Kendall Elise, Will Saunders, the legendary George Henderson's The New Existentialists and the SMALL RAVE crew.

The fun doesn't end at 9pm, there'll be the official Whammy Bar afterparty happening from that time, starring Samara Alofa with band, Elliot and Vincent and Vincent H.L keeping us bopping into the night. Find out who's playing where below, keep Thursday 23rd May fully free and scroll downwards for more info on each act playing (set times to be announced). All made possible thanks to Strange News Touring, Karangahape Road Business Association, Auckland Council and the City Centre Targeted Rate...

Karangahape Road Block Party - Thursday 23rd May, 5pm to 9pm (free)

Codes - Rainbow Crossing

Power Nap, Motte, Créme Jéan - Flying Out (80 Pitt Street)

Babe Martin, Hasji, Michael Logie - Flying Nun (202 Karangahape Road)

Love Square - Verona Cafe & Bar (169 Karangahape Road)

حلالاماما (Hafleh Collective) - Neck of the Woods

beth torrance, Lilly Carron, Heidi Simpson - Crushes (225 Karangahape Road)

Kendall Elise, Will Saunders, The New Existentialists - Vixen (191 Karangahape Road)

SMALL RAVE - running pop-up DJ lessons on the night

Samara Alofa, Elliot and Vincent, Vincent H.L - Whammy Bar afterparty from 9pm (R18)

Here's an incredibly handy playlist featuring most artists performing at the festival...

Playing at Verona Cafe & Bar, watch Love Square playing a Joe Zawinul composition at The Oven...

Hit play on beth torrance's new single 'Tiny Flowers'...

Press release:

Introducing the Karangahape Road Block Party! A street festival of free live music happening inside, outside, and around some of Karangahape Road’s favourite cultural hubs, Thursday 23 May from 5-9 PM. Come on down and celebrate New Zealand Music Month with some of Tāmaki Makaurau’s best and brightest, featuring an extraordinary line-up of local musical talent.

Kicking off proceedings at our beloved and iconic Rainbow Crossing will be quartet Codes, a new quartet led by Supergroove’s Tim Stewart whose groove-tinged tunes reflect on the queer experience.

Celebrate the area’s brilliant independent record stores with performances by solo synth-master Power Nap, the ethereal violin and vocals of Motte, and swooning crooning trash bag pop act Créme Jéan at Flying Out (80 Pitt Street), and songwriter du jour Babe Martin, the sublime sonic sounds of Hasji, and electronics wizard Michael Logie (ex-Mint Chicks) at Flying Nun (202 Karangahape Road).

Making some seriously jazztastic and funky noise at Verona Cafe & Bar (169 Karangahape Road) will be, also from the Supergroove stable, sax player Nick Atkinson’s trio Love Square, featuring Finn Scholes (Carnivorous Plant Society) and Alistair Deverick (Boy Crush). Note this venue is R18.

Local venue Neck Of The Woods plays host to all manner of music, on any given week they’ll be hosting hip hop, drum ‘n’ bass, and indie rock, but happening out front of their door this evening will be a DJ set from Hafleh Collective’s حلالاماما, playing tunes discovered while she was recently living in Iraq.

Purveyors of Aotearoa-made and vintage clothing Crushes (225 Karangahape Road) will be playing host to three of our finest emerging songwriters; beth torrance, whose new song Tiny Flowers arrived recently on Particle Recordings, Muriwai’s Lilly Carron, fresh from releasing her new anthem Keeping Our Bodies Warm, and Heidi Simpson, whose new tune Vampire has her on the list of ones to watch.

Mainstays of the Karangahape Road vintage clothing circuit, Vixen (191 Karangahape Road) will have their doors open while playing outside will be rousing country rebel Kendall Elise, the patron saint of K Road Will Saunders, and West Auckland gents The New Existentialists, led by Aotearoa songwriting dignitary George Henderson.

Finally, keep your eyes and ears peeled for the big-little soundsystem SMALL RAVE who will be running pop-up DJ lessons on the night.

But the fun doesn’t stop there, oh no! The music plays on into the night with a free Whammy Bar afterparty (R18) from 9pm, featuring Earth Punk and experimental artist Samara Alofa and her amazing band, hot topic rock ‘n’ roll duo Elliot and Vincent, and the country-tinged slacker Vincent H.L (1:12 Records)!