Auckland’s PARK RD are carving their own path in pop-rock with festival-ready anthems and raw, heartfelt songwriting.
Straddling the gap between Spacey Jane’s sunlit indie and The 1975’s polished melodrama, their sound has already turned heads – Spacey Jane even tapped them to open for them in Aotearoa.
PARK RD’s debut album, The Novel, dropped last May, loaded with big hooks and youthful energy, proving they’ve got the chops. But recent tracks like “English Boy” show they’re not afraid to mix it up, revealing a grittier edge beneath the gloss.
Since The Novel’s release, PARK RD have been on fire, touring with The Rions, headlining shows across New Zealand and Australia, hitting BIGSOUND, and lighting up festivals like Le Currents and Electric Avenue. A co-headline tour with Foley only added fuel to the fire.
And they’re just getting started. 2025 is shaping up to be massive, with a tour supporting The Jungle Giants and new music ready to push their sound even further. —Sarah Downs
Read an exclusive interview with PARK RD below. Check out the full Future of Music 2025 list here.
Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How was 2024 for you? What were your biggest achievements and favourite moments?
PARK RD: 2024 was a crazy year for us. We released our debut album, The Novel, which was something we’d been working on for a few years, so to get that out was massive, and then released a new single, “English Boy”, just before the end of the year. We toured NZ a bunch of times, and played some sick shows in Australia with The Rions and Blusher and some of our own shows too which were epic in their own ways. We had a few fans who flew across the country to every show, which was incredible to feel that sort of love.
We finished the year playing at Rhythm and Vines in Gisborne, which is one of our favourite festivals to play. We’ve played it a few times before, but this time it felt like the perfect send off to a massive year.
Music is an increasingly crowded and competitive field. What’s one thing that makes you stand out from other artists?
I think we’re just trying to be true to ourselves and make music that we really enjoy making and are really proud of. In the past we’ve probably tried to make songs that have fit into a particular box or sound, which has worked to varying degrees of success. At the moment, we’re just trying to write stuff that excites us and that we’re really excited to play live, and it seems like people are into it, which is great. I think if you are putting your authentic self out there and being vulnerable on stage, people really appreciate and respond to that, so that’s a big driver for us at the moment – trying to be authentic.
What’s coming up for you in 2025 and beyond? Any big shows, notable releases?
We literally just finished recording a new bunch of songs that we’re really excited about, so we’ll have more new music out really soon. We’re playing a few shows in NZ with The Jungle Giants, which is crazy because we love them. And then we’re coming back to Australia in May, more touring through NZ, more writing, more new music. We’re going to be keeping busy!
