Electric Avenue 2026
Hagley Park, Christchurch, NZ
Friday, February 27th-Saturday, February 28th
Crowds surged, jaws swung, faces grinned, and elbows dug. It was another year at Australasia’s biggest party, Electric Avenue, in Ōtautahi Christchurch.
Celebrating its 11th year with a star-studded bill featuring Kiwi headliners Split Enz, Australian superstar DJ Dom Dolla, and beloved US sleaze princess Kesha, it was not surprising this edition sold out in a record 20 minutes.
While the crowd of 95,000 was chaotic, unhinged, and utter mayhem, the crisp, clear sound and new wraparound 750 sqm LED wall gave it the stamp of the ‘big multi-day festival experience’ it deserved. With 53 acts across five stages in two days, the Electric Avenue experience was full-blown intense.
Friday began with three emerging Aotearoa names taking to the stage, Tāmaki Makaurau artist Frankie Venter and locals Pool House and Mim Jensen. DJ heavyweight Frank Booker christened the Circo Disco stage, a literal red-and-white striped circus tent, with his distinctive get-up-and-boogie disco and house, and Corrella warmed the stage for an afternoon of sun-soaked reggae sound. It was a shame it was 15 degrees and unusually chilly, but the sun came out just in time. Jeunora, the festival’s sunscreen sponsor, had an SPF50 station set up, complete with a mirror so you could double-check it was rubbed in — a saviour as the weather forecast chopped and changed and the sun began to beat down into the park.
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By mid-afternoon, the vibes were up. LEISURE brought their feel-good, laid-back sound to the Cosmic Palace, a decked-out stage set up like the front of a palace, with windows reflecting emerald green and gold. Made up of award-winning songwriters, LEISURE proved they are a band so in tune with each other that the music cut like a hot knife through butter.
L.A.B, of a similar vein, surprised the crowd with their rendition of Simple Minds’ “Don’t You Forget About Me”, before launching cheekily into the festival’s namesake, Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue”. Drax Project’s hit single “Woke Up Late” could be heard wafting out of The Hangar, as the band finished up their set before Disco Lines would play to an estimated 25,000 people an hour and a half afterwards. The juxtaposition between local artists and some of the industry’s biggest names, on a global scale, proved the impressive duality of it all; there is space for everyone.
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As dinner time hit, the crowds had well and truly poured in. Booty shorts, ponchos, sequins, and boots were the gals’ uniform of choice, while Dom Dolla lookalikes could be spotted a mile off with that same moustache and pair of thrifted jorts.
Friday felt like it brought in Electric Avenue’s most diverse crowd yet, as fans from as young as 18 to as old as 80 anticipated the return of one of New Zealand’s most renowned bands, Split Enz. But as half the festival’s expected crowd surged towards The Hangar around 6.25pm, people’s behaviour got kind of… feral. People were rude, they were moving in packs, and the air was tight with tension. Outside The Hangar, as thousands spilled out, the air was sour with Red Bull and vomit; it was horrid.
Escaping to the Cosmic Palace for UK Afrobeat artist Obongjayar was a godsend, who quickly turned into the unexpected gem of the day. Wearing a floaty white shirt with tails and tight leather pants, his Prince-like energy on stage fired up the small but strong crowd that had gathered to get away from the mayhem.
Unarguably one of New Zealand’s most successful and influential bands, Split Enz returned after almost 20 years on hiatus, walking onto the stage together hidden under a red silk cloak, the pranksters wasting no time in unleashing their famous antics. Wearing dapper suits, undoubtedly inspired by their iconic band photo, it was everything I wanted and more as a young gal who had grown up listening to my parents’ Split Enz compilation CD on repeat.
Many in the crowd belted out the lyrics to “Six Months in a Leaky Boat”, a song ingrained in my brain since primary school. People my age were with their parents as festival veterans were right in front of the stage. Others, like the 80-year-old legend in my Uber Pool, were going just for the band. With so many different ages in the crowd, it felt nice to feel part of such a diverse collective as well as something quintessentially Kiwi.
Image: Split Enz Credit: Radlab
As the sun set, Split Enz played out to the high-energy “I See Red”. Tim Finn had revealed to the crowd earlier that it was their 1000th gig. As we made our way out, two young men, hands reaching towards the drum and bass, ran towards The Hangar for Basement Jaxx. Becky Hill, the people’s princess, as one friend called her, was tearing up the Park Stage with her liquid drum and bass. It’s a rookie’s mistake to go hard the first day, and as the crowd kicked on, my heart went out to the people who would be paying for that on Monday, after the adrenaline wore off and the comedown kicked in.
Walking through the gates just after 2pm on Saturday, the promise of an afternoon full of homegrown Christchurch talent filled my heart with happiness. It was fantastic to see the festival organisers prioritise local talent on their lineup as much as the international names — something I was interested to see after Live Nation bought a 51% stake in Team Event. Electric Avenue, thankfully, had not forgotten its roots.
Singer-songwriter Caitlin warmed up the Electric Stage with a beautiful full-band set, with close friends, supporters, and strangers singing along to the words of her indie-rock-meets-alt-pop tunes. Musician and producer Goodwill brought his gentle, mellow sound to tired minds at the Cosmic Palace, and There’s a Tuesday brought a playful set where everyone was dancing and singing full-tilt.
Image: Caitlin Credit: Radlab
In the Circo Disco stage, the groove-busting DJ duo Flamingo Pier and Christchurch’s own Corban Tupou and Dan Stewart from TWOMINDS, brought dance euphoria to those ready for a mid-afternoon trance. Back at the Cosmic Palace, the award-winning Fazerdaze and her full-band brought a touch of grunge to the festival’s afternoon. “Who feels lucky to be here?!” she yelled out, before the band launched into their upbeat, indie summer anthem, “Lucky Girl”. Between the Cosmic Palace, Circo Disco, and NO CIGAR on the Electric Stage, the energy felt wholesome, the crowds were manageable, and the stages remained spacious. Everyone could take a breather, catch up, and enjoy the music.
Bringing the performance, theatrics, and storytelling to her 60-minute set, 2010s pop icon Kesha began her show holding her own wax head, modelled after her iconic Animal and Cannibal era. Blinded by nostalgia, and reminded of my old Now That’s What I Call Music CD collection, I was rapt.
The night ended with Saturday headliner and Grammy-nominated Dom Dolla, who bookended the festival with an impressive set that had all the ravers in a chokehold. Highlights included his remix of New Zealand’s unofficial anthem “Slice of Heaven” by Dave Dobbyn with his own track “Rhyme Dust”, as well as teasing some unreleased tracks to the crowd of 45,000 people. Fireworks were then timed to a final call after lasers cut across the crowd during the 90-minute set; it was the final sprint to finish a back-to-back weekend.
For a festival as established as this one, Electric Avenue continues to deliver.
From back in the day when it was a small-scale O-Week event open to now, where it’s Australasia’s biggest festival to date, bringing in a sold-out crowd, it still balances the fine line between homegrown and global.
While crowd etiquette left much to be desired, I understand Electric Avenue had teams on the ground to help with that; but I did find the sheer scale of the festival made it hard to keep control of a collective ‘good vibe’. Survival mode, perhaps, is more of how I and others felt.
But once again, Electric Avenue, from the lineup to the activations to the food trucks, was thinking of everyone. It’s just a shame the crowd wasn’t.
