NYE At Rhythm & Vines: The First Music Festival In The World To See 2015

While New Year’s Eve music festivals in Australia were eagerly anticipating the midnight countdown, there was one not far away already in after party mode.

The (usually) sleepy surf town of Gisborne on New Zealand’s north east coast plays host to one of the country’s top New Year’s events every year – Rhythm & Vines. It’s a three day, BYO, camping music festival on a stunningly picturesque site. In 2014 it featured Aussies Chet Faker, Ta-Ku, Jagwar Ma and Little May alongside headliners Bastille and Netsky.

It’s part holiday, part festival and part Schoolies celebration.

It’s part holiday, part festival and part Schoolies celebration.

Venturing from Australia to New Zealand for a change of scenery in order to usher in 2015, it was hard to know what to expect —  until the realities of flying set in. A meltdown of the check-in computers causes a few lines at this end, and delays in getting baggage in Auckland meant the ten minute walk between the domestic and international terminals is completed in a brisk and humid 3-minute-sprint to catch the connecting Gisborne flight. Fucking airports, huh? Regardless, the flights are comfortable.

There are actually two festivals that take place in Gisborne in the week leading up to New Year’s, BW Festival and Rhythm & Vines. New Zealand doesn’t really do ‘schoolies’, so BW – which takes place closer to town, by the beach – unofficially caters for those school leavers ready to blow off steam. Taking place on the 27th and 28th, it also had an Australian contingent lead by Flume and Sticky Fingers.

Most of the kids will do the five day stint, staying in their BW camping grounds and being shipped 15 minutes out of time to the second festival in buses. On the whole Rhythm & Vines is a young crowd, and it’s hard to ignore the large portion of school leavers.

With three hours to kill we take the opportunity to do a site walk. Luckily, Rhythm & Vines’ site is absolutely stunning.

Arriving on the 28th December theMusic.com.au has a chance to catch the last few acts of BW. The crowd have been going for a couple of days already and by the time local favourite David Dallas finishes (who has the profile of a New Zealand Hilltop Hoods) they're buggered. Nevertheless, they wait out the half an hour break in the cooling night to see Flume. His set is underwhelming for those used to it, but he has the crowd in the palm of his hand. Being able to drop a Lorde remix helps.

By midday the next day the town and main strip are buzzing – punters are stocking up on booze and the promo teams are hitting their first targets. It still feels like a quiet coastal town though, and the locals are incredibly welcoming. They know the value of the festival and they're not fighting it. There’s no sense of the town being overwhelmed or that the locals are merely tolerating the influx – which is still a sense you can get from a town like Byron Bay.

It’s not just the festival that’s attracting people to the region, either – these punters are on holiday with a music festival tagged on. Masses make their way to the beach, waterfalls or rock jumps, all of which are within 45 minutes drive from the site, during the day. Others sit in cafes and mill around the ‘Festival Village’, which hosts activities each day.

The immediate culture shock on day one of the festival is the realisation for an Australian here for the music is that it doesn’t start until 6pm, and you’ve got to find something else to do during the day. Putting off the wineries for the time being, a quick walk into the city and some motel and festival media room work leaves us ready to go at 3pm. The campgrounds are filling and buzzing, but the festival grounds are quiet, with the exception of various staff members, site managers and stall holders doing final checks and set ups. With three hours to kill we take the opportunity to do a site walk. Luckily, Rhythm & Vines’ site is absolutely stunning.

A panorama of the main stage valley from the hill

The campgrounds amongst the vines

Based on a working farm and ex-winery (the vines are still present, but by all accounts they’re no longer harvested), there’s a valley feel to the grounds – particularly the main stage. To one side tree-covered hills provide a comforting backdrop while to the other the distant mountains showcase majestic sunsets. Hammocks line the main stage arena, a natural amphitheatre leads to the spectacular Arcadia Afterburner stage (shipped over from Glastonbury) and the secret garden is waiting to be explored (and actually explored, not just along a track where the signs tell you to be).

Glastonbury's Arcadia Afterburner stage — an onslaught of fire, smoke and steel

One of the most unique aspects of the event is, given its location, the border of the property – which runs through the hills and forest – is hard to fence off and monitor. It needs mounted security guards patrol the boundary. It’s quite a site to look up from Chet Faker’s set to see horses trot across the ridge in the background.

Twilight is a photographer’s dream.

The grounds open at 5pm but by the time the music starts at 6pm there’s still only a handful of people in front of stages. There’s a pool, food and BYO alcohol in the camping grounds after all. On day two Chet Faker plays an early 8.50pm set (just after the sun disappears behind the mountains) in an apparent move by programmers to coax punters out of their tents. It works, but it’s a gradually growing crowd throughout his hour-long set, which he completes solo.

On top of the comfort of a campground, there’s something to be said for the laid-back attitude of New Zealanders. The ‘Oh, Chet’s just started, we’ll head over in 20’ sentiment makes for a great festival community, but not a great crowd for Sydney’s Little May – who opened the main stage at 6pm that same day.

It might have something to do with theMusic.com.au enjoying Little May’s set from a hammock under a tree, overlooking the stage with a gentle breeze, but they proved the highlight for the Australian contingency. Harmonies and indie pop hooks wash over the few early arrivals.

It may have become a victim of its own success

At other points on the main stage Jagwar Ma were not as crisp or as vital as we’ve seen them before, Chet Faker’s crowd were only really hitting their stride towards the end of the set and Ta-Ku brought the party atmosphere you’d expect from the Perth artist's DJ set.

New Zealand loves its drum’n’bass and opening night headliner Netsky was arguably the biggest party all week. Local DJ Dick Johnson was also a standout with one of the most energetic sets and Bastille welcomed in 2015 with typical aplomb.

A completely cashless festival, you load up a wristband with money at festival ‘banks’ and scan it with every purchase. Lines were short throughout (apart from the odd toilet queue) and there’s was always enough space to move around the site. These are all good thing for punters, but maybe not for the promoters.

According to people behind the scenes and in the crowd who attended the 2013/14 event, crowd numbers were noticeably down. Definitely, there were less stages in 2014/15.

Rhythm & Vines has enjoyed festival 'utopia' – selling tickets on its name alone – but it may have become a victim of its own success. For many it’s an institution, a right of passage, and that may be changing the festival’s clientele quicker than the promoters can mould it themselves. Festival Bros exist over here as well – but the locals swear to traveling Australians that they’re divided into ‘fuck boys’, ‘dude bros’ and ‘basics’. (We’re still not sure of the differences, but it has something to do with having shirts off. Or the type of footwear. Or whether you'd take them home to meet mum.)

In theMusic.com.au’s own experience everyone we encountered at the festival was approachable, agreeable and welcoming — be they new friends on the dance floor, a high-five in between stages or someone asking for St John’s ambulance help. But you can’t ignore the New Year’s Eve riot back in town at the BW camp grounds, where 63 were arrested and 83 injured. As they’re located on the other side of the city, news filtered through to the Rhythm & Vines media room in the evening, but it wasn’t until the local media reports the next morning that the full extent was revealed.

The fall out will surely create a focus on the two events’ BYO policy for future events. Indeed, BW had intended to revoke BYO privileges for 2014 until outrage and a petition allowed organisers to convince authorities to reinstate their license. How many times they’ll receive that leniency is yet to be seen, but it will be a real shame when BYO is no longer an option.

Rhythm & Vines’ sister-event Rhythm & Alps, an event on the South Island which shares many of the same acts across the same New Year’s period, does not have a BYO policy and there are whispers that Rhythm & Vines could follow suit. It's looking like a case of a few ruining it for the majority.

However, unlike the Australian festivals that have suffered from the same festival ‘utopia’ Rhythm & Vines appears to have a way out. The relaxed approach from the promoters – and indeed the picturesque site itself – helps foster a community and atmosphere that most Australian events would sell their second headliner for. This past event could well be seen as a consolidation year, a conscious decision to reign in the event and make sure that it keeps the ethos that has built it into one of the country’s premier events over the course of a decade.

Like all adventures, the quality of the company you keep is going to define the experience. And unlike Coachella, Glastonbury and other world renowned events it’s also far more achievable. That’s perhaps the most important aspect of all – this ‘utopian’ escape from Australia is right on our doorstep.  

TheMusic.com.au attended Rhythm & Vines as a guest of Air New Zealand

All photos by Scott Fitzsimons