The sweaty, sexy season of festivals was well and truly in full swing on Friday, as Auckland’s Trusts Arena hosted Golden Lights 2025—a day defined by booming bass, sonic waves, sunburns, and a sea of youth getting sloshed.
Amid the ocean of jorts, spilled drinks, and beer-stained polos, the festival’s defining themes—inclusivity, diversity, and unyielding positivity—shone through, fueled by the DJs and producers who took the stage throughout the afternoon and evening.
Golden Lights’ lineup was refreshingly varied compared to similar events, showcasing indigenous performers, homegrown and international acts, and, despite the challenges of a male-dominated EDM scene, a near-majority of women artists.
Much like the mighty bass drops that shook the arena, the feral energy of the day gradually built as the mostly under-30 audience trickled in. What initially looked like a disappointing weekday event starting at 2:30 p.m. slowly but surely blossomed into a buzzing, electric sea of faces.
Early in the evening came Girls Don’t Sync, a UK-based all-female collective made up of DJs and producers Sophia Violet, Hannah Lynch, G33, and Matty Chiabi (the latter absent on the night).
The group wasted no time under pulsing lights and swirling fog, kicking off their set with UK garage- and house-inspired remixes of classics like Rihanna’s “Shut Up and Drive” and Technotronic’s “Pump Up the Jam.” Thunderous basslines shook the grassy clearing with barely a moment of downtime.
View this post on Instagram
As their set neared its end, the group paused to show solidarity with the Māori people, referencing the controversial Treaty Principles Bill, which has raised concerns about undermining decades of progress on Māori rights.
“We represent the indigenous, we represent the oppressed … Māori power to the world!” Violet belted, as the group waved a Māori flag and sent the final beats of their set pulsing through the intimate crowd.
Soon after came SACHI, the pairing of Kiwi DJs Will Thomas and Nick Chrisp and the most, who were received with the enthusiasm any artist would dream of from a local audience.
As the only homegrown act of the night, the excitement of the crowd was palpable well before the duo even took to the stage. Once SACHI’s white-clad selves finally bounded onstage, Chrisp’s clean vocals and Thomas’ smashing of drum pads were mere decibels louder than the cheers that greeted them.
Between NZ EDM festival staples like “No More” and “Shelter”, as well as bassy, on-brand twists of classics like New Radicals’ “You Get What You Give”, the pair even made time for a special treat just for their home team fans: guest vocals from Ella Monnery, another slice of Kiwi talent known for her time on The Voice Australia and her regular stage presence at Synthony.
London-based Jyoty stomped up to her set next, starting things out with her own gnarly spin on Pharaohe Monche’s Godzilla-inspired “Simon Says”. With a UK Garage and Big Beat-esque sound reminiscent of The Prodigy, Jyoty’s deep, guttural bass was so intense you could hear the metal rungs holding up the four-storey stage rattle under the pressure. The DnB-hungry audience, of course, couldn’t be happier about it.
Next up was British singer Becky Hill, the only solo singer of the night and perhaps the most infectious performer of the night. Hill’s ethereal, soaring vocals over hits like “True Colours”, “Last Time” and “Lose Control” kept festival goers captivated non-stop. Her grip on the audience peaked with 2013’s “Afterglow”, a track produced with Wilkinson which has since gone on to become one of Aotearoa’s most treasured DnB anthems. Hill’s first number one hit, she fondly introduced the song and highlighted how much it changed her life since releasing it 12 years ago.
“I was only 18 years old when I made this, I didn’t have a record deal and didn’t know what I was doing,” she shared, taking a moment to empathise with the struggling creatives watching her and exemplifying for them how a single moment, an unexpected catalyst like “Afterglow”, can turn any artist’s struggle into an immortal legacy.
Capping off the night was Tasmanian producer Luude, real name Christian Benson, who delivered a galvanising set sure to satisfy whatever electronic cravings the crowd had left.
With his entrancing production and trigger-happy nature around lasers and pyrotechnics, Benson’s audible and visual treats made for a satisfying and surely fitting Golden Lights finale.
Leaving Trusts Arena, amongst the usual drunken escapades you’d expect to see at the end of the festival, there was only boundless positivity to be felt from festival goers.
It was clear they were not only moved by the artists’ messaging – the vibrations filling the air for six straight hours massaged every mind, and just about everyone came away with more drive and optimism than when they walked in.
View this post on Instagram
