For Kiwis searching for great music festivals in their own country, the scene has been a little bleak for some time, especially after it was announced that Big Day Out would not be returning to Auckland in 2015. But a ray of hope is glimmering for festival fans, and its name is McLaren Valley Festival. Slated to come to McLaren Falls Park near Tauranga in January 2016, organisers have said that they want to bring “a taste of Glastonbury and Coachella to the Pacific”. Since that ambitious claim was made, many music lovers across the country and around the world have been waiting for the line-up to see if McLaren Valley Festival could put its money where its mouth is. Today, the all new fest made its first line-up announcement.
There’s certainly a lot to get excited about in the initial announcement, and the organisers are promising many more to come. Headline names include English electronic music duo Disclosure and American psychedelic rock band The Flaming Lips. Disclosure started making waves in 2012 and have since added a Grammy nomination and acclaimed shows at Glastonbury, Lollapalooza and Coachella to their list of achievements. The Flaming Lips have been around since the 80’s but they’re still going strong, continuing their tradition of mashing space opera storylines with love song themes, all tied together with the 60’s inspired instrumentation that made them famous. With a trio of Grammys to their name and a strong cult following, there will be many who can’t wait to see them live at the McLaren Valley Festival.
Kiwi offerings include chart-topping Avalanche City, folk-favourite The Phoenix Foundation and The Datsuns, known nationwide for their hard rock sets.
McLaren Valley Festival director Paxton Talbot says more artists will be announced over the coming months as the line-up grows to present a festival ‘unique and special to New Zealand’. “We’ve picked these artists with excellence in mind. Bands and performers who, no matter what their genre, will be able to speak to any member of the audience on some level, just due to their sheer calibre.”
The venue for the event, McLaren Falls Park, is an idyllic patchwork of fields, hills, a river and waterfalls, and the organisers are putting a strong focus on creating a sustainable, eco-friendly festival to ensure that the Park remains a picturesque place where people can continue to come to relax and bask in nature’s beauty.
Tickets for the event go on sale this coming on Monday 24th of August 9:00 AM (NZT). The first 100 will be at a special earlybird rate, so those who get in quick will be able to make significant savings.
As to how you can get to the venue itself: for those flying in to the country specially for the event, McLaren Falls Park is a comfortable two and a half hour drive from Auckland Airport. Picking up an Auckland car rental is the easiest and cheapest way to get to the festival, plus it allows you the flexibility to travel where you please after the fest is over. If you’d rather cut down on driving time, take a connecting flight from Auckland to Tauranga Airport and jump in a Tauranga car rental for a short half hour drive to your destination. Just remember, this is going to be a huge event so book early to make sure you don’t miss out. Car parks will be available at McLaren Falls Park, just check the festival website to find out if they’re included with your ticket.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for further line-up announcements and grab your ticket and bookings as soon as possible to save big! We at Airport Rentals have unbeatable car rental deals for you, from the likes of Hokitika, from Dunedin, from Whangarei, or from Wanganui, and all NZ territories.
