Homegrown: Blue skies, tears and history lessons

Sunday, 17 March 2024

REVIEW: Homegrown started with blue skies, excited crowds, and a small earthquake in the Capital to kick off the day.

The day started hot – rocked by a rolling 4.6 magnitude earthquake, while the sun was blaring down as people began trickling into the waterfront.

Horizontal rain had pelted Wellington the night before, so I had my fingers crossed we wouldn’t be flooded as soon as the sun went down.

People packed into Waitangi Park to see Home Brew, and for good reason, with the crowd going off as they played their classics.

Walking in, we heard Tom Scott tell the crowd, “the world is more f…ed up than when we wrote this”.

He led what could be described as a critical chant against certain politicians, and spoke about the cannabis legalisation referendum of 2020 losing by a whisker.

Between the stages, there was a rave in a container shed, what looked to be a pull up contest, and an arcade dance competition. Economist Brad Olsen was taking some time off from the numbers to volunteer for Take 10, which gives partygoers a safe space to take a break, get some help if they need it and have some water. Know Your Stuff drug testing was set up, giving people a private place to make sure what they were taking.

For people I spoke to at the festival, there was an unfortunate time clash with Alien Weaponry, Stan Walker, Savage and Avantdale Bowling Club.

Alien Weaponry had an incredible stage presence, with people from all walks of life enjoying themselves in the audience as the sun started to go down.

The audience also received lessons in significant New Zealand history, such as the pivotal Bastion Point (Takaparawhā) land confiscations, which which Alien Weaponry’s song Ahi Kā is about.

Bic Runga kicked her set off with a harmonica, pulling quite a few people over from the ‘Rock Stage’. Her voice was incredible live, with Visual Journalist Bruce Mackay spotting multiple people crying during her songs.

The night finished with Teeks, who was playing at his first Homegrown. He dedicated his song, ‘Wash over Me’ to the people of Palestine, calling for it to be free.

Teeks said as indigenous Māori, “the struggle in Gaza is our struggle”.

Teeks thanked the crowd for braving the weather (he himself was wearing a half-mesh top). Checking the temperature after, it had dropped to 11.8 degrees Celsius.