Locals ‘heartbroken’ by end of festival with ‘really good’ vibe

Thursday, 14 May 2026

The Karangahape Road community say they are heartbroken and disappointed in the end of the Others Way Festival after 11 years.

On Wednesday, festival promoters announced the end of the event, citing financial and funding pressures.

Businesses on Karangahape Road said the event brought a lot to the street financially and culturally.

“Heartbreaking” is how members of the Karangahape Road community are describing the end of the Others Way Festival, saying it could lead to a “boring and bland” landscape.

On Wednesday, Others Way organisers Banished Music announced the end of the festival after 11 years, saying the decision to finish up was down to years of mounting financial pressure, rising industry costs and an “increasingly unstable” live music and funding landscape.

They said this climate made the festival no longer sustainable to deliver, and that the “magnificent joy” received from delivering The Others Way was outweighed by the “sheer financial strain and emotional toll” of delivering it.

Taking place in venues along Karangahape Road, the Others Way was first held between 2015 and 2022, and then again between 2023 and 2025.

Over that time, the festival featured a who's who of music, including Bic Runga, Troy Kingi, Che Fu, Headless Chickens, The Chills, and, last year, American singer/songwriter Sharon Van Etten.

Banished Music admitted the news would make many people sad, calling the festival a “DIY love story” and a “K Road juggernaut” delivered “by and for a community of weirdos and wonders”.

This is the sentiment shared by many businesses that embraced the Others Way, including the co-owner of two venues who featured regularly on the festival lineup.

Lucy Macrae is the co-owner of Whammy Bar and Double Whammy, and she told Stuff it was “heartbreaking' the festival had to cancel, calling it an 'important highlight” for Karangahape Road every year.

“[The festival showcased] not only our incredibly talented artists but our beloved Karangahape Road itself to the world. Opportunities like The Others Way for local and emerging artists are already few and far between, which makes this an even bigger loss.”

Macrae said festivals such as the Others Way were “proven economic drivers”, mentioning CubaDupa in Wellington, which delivered “more than $1 million in increased spending” for the city.

“It’s telling when iconic independent festivals like The Others Way and Splore are struggling to survive while only monopolies can keep going. If that continues, what a bland and boring cultural landscape we’re heading towards,” Macrae said.

Restaurant Coco’s Cantina has been a stalwart of Karangahape Road for nearly 20 years, and owner Renee Coulter told Stuff she was “gutted” the festival was ending.

“It's a big night, the vibe is really good. People pop in and out of venues, and in and out of bars and restaurants.

“Robbie Williams gets funding but true grassroots festivals, which support so many, are left out to die. You need to give these events proper support and not only promote the 'big stars’,” she said.

Eatery Gemmayzee Street in St Kevin’s Arcade said events like the Others Way were “crucial” to keeping “creativity and diversity alive” in Auckland.

Kelsi Voyle told Stuff the festival was “important” to Karangahape Road in bringing “more people out” who would have supported “all of the small businesses that really need it right now”.

Meanwhile, General Manager of the Karangahape Road Business Association, Jamey Holloway, said Others Way was a “total highlight” of the year on the famous strip.

In a statement, he told Stuff he was “gutted” it was not going ahead this year, adding that “hopefully we haven’t heard the last of it”.

Auckland Central MP Chloe Swarbrick said the cancellation of the festival was “not good enough” and that it “can’t be the end”.

Swarbrick told Stuff she has been in talks with the promoters and other stakeholders, and said there were “options” to save the festival.

“I'm not going to take it lying down,” Swarbrick told Stuff. “I'm here and ready to help with the fight.”

Swarbrick said she will be doing “absolutely everything that we can to try to save” the festival, adding she was “loath to say” this was the end for the event.