Homegrown rocks the capital one last time
Friday, 14 March 2025
Wellington’s last Homegrown kicked off in style on Friday with artists like Stan Walker, Ché Fu and Synthony taking centre stage.
The weather was sunny, relatively warm (summer, Wellington-style) with just enough wind to remind you which city you were in, and festival-goers were ready to enjoy it.
“We travelled eight hours by car to get here and arrived at 1am,” said one first-time attendee.
“But I Am Giant’s final reunion tour, Shihad’s final New Zealand tour, it was worth it.”
The move from Wellington was front of mind for many.
“I’m just trying to work out how you would replicate the waterfront vibe somewhere else,” said a Dunedin man who travelled up for the event. Here for his 15th Homegrown, he described himself as a “veteran”.
”I’d travel elsewhere for it, it’s always a great event for Kiwi music.”
He wasn’t too sure where the festival will end up, but some attendees had thoughts on the matter.
“Just not Auckland! Don’t send it to Auckland!” said one.
“Auckland would be quite nice,” said another. “But anywhere in the North Island would be OK.”
Speaking before the event kicked off, festival director Andrew Tuck said he was “so excited.”
Configuring five stages with enough capacity for 20,000 people into Wellington’s waterfront is like a tough game of tetris, and they have reached the ultimate layout, Tuck said, adding that any changes would likely detract, rather than enhance, the festival.
“It’s not necessarily about making it bigger with more people, but it’s important to change it up every year.”
Friday night’s performance took place at the Park Stage - this year, the biggest it has ever been, Tuck said.
Around 7000 people were expected to attend, with a whopping 20,000 tipped to go along for the full spectacle on Saturday.
Kicking off at 1pm, Saturday’s performances take place over five stages spread from Frank Kitts Park to Waitangi Park.
All the stops have been pulled out for the capital’s last chance to host, with the likes of Sir Dave Dobbyn, Shapeshifter and Shihad closing the show.
Other big names playing on Saturday include The Black Seeds, Elemeno P, Troy Kingi, Drax Project and Nesian Mystik.
It will be rock band Shihad’s final performance - the iconic group is retiring after nearly 40 years together. It ends a successful farewell tour and comes just one day after their record breaking show at Spark Arena, which sold the most tickets ever for a NZ-headlined hard rock concert.
The celebrations won’t end on the waterfront, with Wellington’s hospitality sector embracing the city’s last chance to host the event.
Several bars have organised unofficial after-parties featuring local artists, and hotels, restaurants and retail stores will also be feeling the love.
Homegrown weekend tends to bring in around $3 million for the capital, according to WellingtonNZ’s chief operating officer, Heidi Morton.
Within the fences, an impressive line up of food trucks were cooking up a storm. Co-owner of the Hungry Monkey, Lynn Wong, said they get “clobbered” at events like Homegrown.
“We are going to miss Homegrown so much, we have been here for 10 years.”
Homegrown is a particularly special event because the trucks are right among the activity, she added. Punters can keep enjoying the concert while they wait for their food to be ready, making Wong’s job a bit less stressful.
Wellington has been a brilliant host to Homegrown, Tuck said. The residents, businesses and council have done everything they can to support the event.
“Thank you, Wellington.”
The new location will be announced around late April.