Around this time tomorrow evening, the nerves will finally be gone. The band will be backstage, perhaps chilling with a beer (or two), just enjoying the rest of the music. But for now, the five members of Castaway are facing up to the biggest gig of their lives: opening for Six60 and Synthony at the first-ever concert at Ōtautahi Christchurch’s One NZ Stadium. “Historic” doesn’t even begin to cut it.
“We’re so excited to get out there as five best mates, give the crowd 150% of our energy and passion, and let this music take on the life it was designed to have!” Castaway tell us ahead of the concert.
What makes it extra special is that it’s a hometown show for the up-and-coming Kiwi band.
“Ōtautahi Christchurch has a special place in our hearts — it’s the city where we all came from five different towns across the country and started this thing called Castaway,” they reveal. “It’s the city that’s held us as we’ve grown from mates jamming in each other’s rooms at university halls, to mates jamming at the biggest show Christchurch has ever seen!
“It’s taken a lot of time to sink in that this is more than just a big gig, it’s a part of history for this city. And Christchurch is such a part of our history that it feels all the more beautiful we get to be part of it.”
Castaway are, crucially, more than ready for this major platform.
“In a funny way, we naturally wrote our songs with the biggest of stages in mind — we love writing expansive, high energy stuff that’s served best when it’s played loud and with the energy of a community around it,” they say.
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The fast-rising pop-rock outfit — imagine Drax Project if they came from Canterbury — will arrive at One NZ Stadium armed with several appealing songs, including recent single “Heart Attack”, an energetic song with one of the catchiest choruses of 2026 so far.
That single was the ideal way to build upon the success of last year’s Nondual EP, which brought Castaway to more listeners than ever before in Aotearoa. The Drax Project comparison rings true again: Castaway feel primed to take the next step to bigger stages in Aotearoa and beyond.
But first, casually helping to herald a new era of Ōtautahi live music. No pressure.
Ahead of the biggest show of their lives (yet), we caught up with the Castaway members to find out more about their background, music, and future.
Read the full chat below, and remember to check Rolling Stone AU/NZ on Sunday (May 17th) for our review of the One NZ Stadium concert!
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How much did music influence you in your early life?
Castaway: Even though we all grew up in different towns and cities across Aotearoa, music was kind of the common thread in all our childhoods. All of our whānau are big music people, so it was always just around — playing in the house, in the car, at family gatherings.
A lot of our earliest memories are honestly just long car trips where our parents would throw on whatever they were obsessed with at the time, and we’d end up dissecting the songs, or have our fathers going “Mate, listen to this!” And like most kids who end up in a band, we also had those rag-tag “bands” with our siblings or school mates. Suppose that was where our love for playing music with other people came from — we’ve all always wanted to be in a band, rather than pursue individual careers in music.
Music was always this steady, comforting presence, and it shaped so much of who we are now — as people first, and later as musicians.
What artists influenced you growing up?
Our tastes have always been changing, and we all come from slightly different musical backgrounds, but once we started figuring out what Castaway sounded like, the pop-rock world really clicked for us. Artists like The 1975, Coldplay, The Killers, 5SOS, and Sam Fender felt like they were doing something we wanted to be able to do — channel big emotions, catchy choruses, and high energy while still saying something real.
On Nondual, some childhood favourites came out in unexpected ways too. Austen’s favourite band growing up was The Strokes, and that rubbed off on the guitar approach in “It’s Not Your Fault” — that tight, interlocking, slightly gritty melodic thing. Jackson was obsessed with “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” as a kid, so when we were building “Move On”, that classic ’80s energy naturally crept into the production and the groove. It’d be cool to hear if fans listening to the songs hear any of their own favourites in our music too — maybe there’s some influences we never consciously realised were there!
What are some career highlights so far?
Honestly, one of our biggest highlights is still the moment we met each other in first year of uni. Coming from five parts of the country and ending up living in the same building really was one of those things you just have to put down to fate. None of us could’ve guessed that a few years later we’d still be here doing this together, with all these experiences behind us.
In the past couple years, sharing the stage with Mitch James and Drax Project at our city’s town hall was a massive moment for us. Those are artists we grew up listening to and watching, so having that chance felt pretty surreal.
Finishing Nondual and taking it on our first proper 5-stop tour around the country was another huge one. Playing to rooms full of people — some who’ve been with us since day one, and some who had never heard of us until that night. You can’t really prepare for how it feels when people from completely different places connect with something you made in your flat at 2am.
And of course, touring with your best mates means non-stop antics. Half the memories are the shows… the other half are the stupid things that happen in karaoke bars, kebab shops, late-night servos, and the flights home after it all.
Tell us about one of your latest releases.
Nondual is based around the philosophical idea of “nondualism” — the idea that things that feel separate on the surface are actually deeply connected. People, emotions, memories, experiences that are all tied together in ways we don’t always see.
Austen brought the idea to the band and it instantly resonated with us. The more we worked on these songs, the more that idea kept coming up. We were going through a lot at the time — grief, love, heartbreak, big life changes — and we were trying to figure out how all those things relate and overlap.
So Nondual became this space where we could process all of that together. It’s about the moments you think you’re completely alone only to realise you’re not. It’s about the people you carry with you. It’s about trying to understand yourself in the middle of everything shifting. It’s the most honest snapshot of who we have been as a band, growing up in this part of our lives.
Tom Grut
What kind of personality traits and values does it take to succeed in the music industry?
When we first started the band, we took a little trip out to Le Bons Bay — no phones, no reception, just us — and we spent hours talking about what we wanted Castaway to stand for. That’s where we set our core values: authenticity, inclusion, camaraderie, and respect.
The music industry can feel like it’s constantly changing underneath your feet, so we’ve always believed that what actually keeps you going isn’t the algorithm or the trends, it’s the people you’re doing it with and the values you hold onto. For us, that’s supporting each other, communicating openly, staying grounded, and showing love to the people around us whether they’re industry, fans, or parents picking us up from the airport as we do our first show in a new city.
At the end of the day, even if everything else changes — the platforms, the style, the opportunities — we’ll always be five mates first. That unity is what helps us stay together through the highs, lows, and uncertainty that comes in this space. We are figuring it out every day and are by no means experts, but our experience tell us that whether you’re in a band or running it solo, looking after the personal side is what keeps the whole thing alive.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
Castaway tell real, meaningful stories and deliver them with energy, colour, and a sense of fun. Our music sits somewhere in the sweet spot between pop and rock — catchy hooks, emotional lyrics, and that live-band punch that gets you moving. Kind of like if The 1975, Coldplay, The Killers, and 5SOS had a jam, but with the personality of five best mates from a tiny corner of the Pacific Ocean.
But honestly, the best way to “get” what we do is to come to a show. That’s where Castaway really makes sense. We jump around, swap instruments, hype each other up, and connect with the crowd. It’s chaotic in the best way and the camaraderie formed in those early (and very late) jam sessions in each other’s rooms at uni still form the basis of the energy we aim to channel.
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What are your goals for 2026 and beyond?
Next year, we want to keep growing the connection we’ve built by taking the songs around the country, playing more shows, and meeting more of the people who’ve been supporting us.
The next massive thing on our horizon is our debut album. That’s been a dream for all of us since we first met, and we want to give it everything. On a practical level, we’re trying to get to a point where music can become a sustainable career – mostly because we’re passionate, but also because being able to hang out every day and call it “work” is kind of the dream.
We want to play bigger shows, collaborate more with artists across Aotearoa, and get across the ditch to play in Australia (which is definitely calling our name). And beyond that, we just want to keep having fun. One of our mantras is “the journey is the success”, so whatever happens, we want to make sure we’re still holding those mates who met in first year in our hearts.
