Second Lineup Announced For CubaDupa 2021 Ft. JessB, Chantal Claret + More

The capital's mighty CubaDupa festival returns this summer to take over the avenues and alleyways of Cuba Street Precinct, featuring a vast variety of local sounds, cultural activities and tasty food options to tuck into over the weekend of March 27-28, 2021. A second wave of musical artists has been revealed to round out the family friendly, free street festival's already massive lineup, overflowing with "19+ hours of curated entertainment across 20 stages and creative zones," celebrating Te Whanganui-a-Tara's unique creative spirit with "470 performances and 20 parades with over 1700 artists from all over Aotearoa".

Joining the bill for CubaDupa 2021 are hip hop icon JessB, Aotearoa-based US songwriter / actor Chantal Claret (Netflix's Love, lead singer of Morningwood), Paekakariki-based French songwriter ​Franck Monnet will make his first NZ festival appearance, Tāmaki avant big band ​New Telepathics, and horn-infused North Shore groovers Molly and the Chromatics​. Pillar of our heavy music community, Valhalla will be putting a dark spin on the summer fun, offering "a unique experience for alternative music lovers; featuring thrash metal, metal inspired by science fiction and horror, and dungeon synth," while the hard-working Eyegum gang are teaming up with Hotel Bristol ​to showcase more than 13 local live faves, including ​French for Rabbits​, ​Grawlixes, Hummucide, Bored Housewives Club, Dartz, Spectre Collective ​and ​Goya.

All that on top of an already mega-stacked lineup including Taite Prize winner Troy Kingi, guitar-pop champs Hans Pucket (with full horn section), New Orleans brass band party starters Richter City Rebels, Christchurch indie rock / pop tunesmiths There’s a Tuesday, an all female fronted lineup on the ​Garage Project Wild Workshop Stage (​programmed by ​Gussie Larkin​ of ​Mermaidens​), the debut of the ​RadioActive​ ​Upper Cuba SoundSphere, and the Cubasonic "mass musical interruption" spearheaded by Aotearoa composer ​John Psathas — involving "over 300 musicians lining the street, twelve conductors above the crowd, [and] a custom-made overhead sound system."

Festival Director Gerry Paul shared his excitement for this year's CubaDupa festival: ​“We couldn’t be more excited about the second announcement of artists, vendors and external stages. The programme that has been pulled together by our creative community is astronomical. With only two months until the beautiful disruption of CubaDupa hits the streets, the team are buzzing and we feel privileged to be in a position to hold festivals. Aotearoa is the envy of the world right now - so join us on the last weekend of March and get ready for Wellington to turn it on!”

CubaDupa
Saturday 27th March and Sunday 28th March 2021 - Cuba Street Precinct, Wellington (free)
20 stages and creative zones featuring 470 performances and 20 parades with over 1700 artists from all over Aotearoa
Head along to www.cubadupa.co.nz for the full programme

You don't want to miss JessB, get amped with the summery clip for her 2019 anthem 'Mood'...

Press release:

CubaDupa, New Zealand's most diverse and creative street festival, has released its second wave of an additional 30 artists, 30 external stages and creative zones, and the first 40 Street Feast vendors for the festival which will be held on the weekend of March 27-28, 2021

Jess B,​ Aotearoa’s undeniable queen of hip hop graces the CubaDupa stage on the Saturday. NZ based American actress & songwriter ​Chantal Claret, k​nown for her role in the Netflix hit series ‘Love’ and as lead singer in the band Morningwood,​ ​will bring us her one-of-a-kind ​fusion of earthy soul and boot-scootin’ stomp. ​Renowned French Singer-Songwriter ​Franck Monnet,​ based in Paekakariki, will honor CubaDupa with his first ever New Zealand festival performance.

Auckland’s eleven-piece ​New Telepathics​ will bring an avant-garde explosion to the streets of Te Aro and to coincide with the CubaDupa appearance, they will be releasing a ‘best of’ vinyl featuring two new tracks. ​Molly and the Chromatics​ will fill the CubaDupa Sunday afternoon with their harmonies, horns and groovy tunes. Te Kairanga Wines​ is the newest partner of this juggernaut festival and will be presenting the ​Te Kairanga Street Feast. ​Enjoy over 100 local food stalls offering a diverse range of local vendors and culinary experiences; including the triumphant return of the ​Wellington Night Market ​who have been closed since the March lockdown.

New for 2021 is the ​Wellington Airport Ngā Taniwha Stage​, designed by Wellington wāhine toa artists; Miriama Grace-Smith​, ​Xoe Hall ​and ​Gina Kiel​. The design will feature the Whanganui-a-Tara taniwha Ngake and Whātaitai, as well as people woven throughout the taniwha representing the first iwi Ngai Tara that Te-Whanganui-a-Tara is named after, their descendants, mana whenua and people who live in the area today.

On the neighbourhood level, Cuba Street’s local businesses have been busy organising their own stages and programmes as part of the festival. ​Valhalla​ is offering a unique experience for alternative music lovers; featuring thrash metal, metal inspired by science fiction and horror, and dungeon synth. Wellington's favourite music collective ​Eyegum ​has teamed up with ​Hotel Bristol ​to bring you a whole weekend of free music with over 13 bands including ​French for Rabbits​, ​Grawlixes, HUMMUCIDE, Bored Housewives Club, Dartz, Spectre Collective ​and ​Goya,​ just to name a few.

‘The world’s smallest theatre’ ​Tiny Town​ will feature a wild and varying line up of tap dancing, DJs, Cabaret and sultry​ Jazz for five audience members at a time.​ ​Hugo Grrrl, Colossal, 3 Speed Crunch Box, Rollicking Entertainment​ and ​Humourous Arts​ will ignite your imagination and sense at The Mammoth​ as part of the Kāpura Circus & Cabaret Programme.

CubaDupa is held on the weekend of March 27-28, throughout the Cuba Street Precinct in Wellington. For latest details of artists, vendors and stages visit ​www.cubadupa.co.nz​.