37,000 fans, five acts, one unforgettable night at Christchurch’s new stadium

Sunday, 17 May 2026

A capacity crowd at Te Kaha One NZ Stadium was entertained for five and a half hours during the Once in a Lifetime concert.

Dubbed as a Once in a Lifetime night to remember, the first ever concert at Christchurch’s One New Zealand Stadium was certainly that and for all the right reasons.

A sold out crowd of around 37,000 people were treated to a five and a half hour dance party with five different acts on an enormous stage.

The night was uniquely Canterbury and so very Kiwi, which made for a fitting opening concert.

The night began with a welcome from Ngāi Tūāhuriri before Christchurch five-piece rock/pop band Castaway took to the stage.

Christchurch band Castaway open the concert with some great vibes.

Boy, did they have stage presence. They were all showmen and left me wanting to hear more. I’ll definitely be adding their songs to my regular playlist. It was just a shame many people had yet to arrive and missed out on discovering their music.

Cassie Henderson, Christchurch-born pop singer and songwriter, produced two of the many unforgettable moments throughout the night. The first was when 12-year-old Annie from Palmerston North sung with Henderson on stage after winning a competition. That kid can sing.

We were also treated to Mike, a saxophonist, who only weeks earlier was busking on the streets of Christchurch when Henderson stumbled across him and asked if he would play at the gig.

Waimate-born Kaylee Bell made quite the entrance, flanked by current and former Crusaders, while the team’s theme song Conquest of Paradise played.

Kiwi country singer Kaylee Bell entertains with a set of well-known favourites and a new song as well.

Bell played favourites, including Cowboy Up, Good Things, Boots n’ All and Keith, during which she donned a rugby shirt and some of the Black Ferns women’s rugby team joined her on stage for some line dancing. It was yet another unexpected surprise.

Zed singer Nathan King also joined Bell for a duet that had me wishing Zed was performing too.

It was then almost time for one of two headliners Six60 to take the stage, but not before the entire stadium was told to turn off the flashing green Kiwibank bracelets that were given out in their thousands prior to the show starting. Apparently they were going to clash with Six60s performance and that of Synthony too. A bad case of miscommunication there and what a waste.

Matiu Walters and Six60 took the stage with Synthony.

It was also around this time, I had to nip off to the loo. Now, I normally would not mention this in a concert review, but given this is the first time the stadium has hosted 35,000 people at a concert, I thought it should get a mention.

I had around 20 minutes before Six60 was due on and thought if I left my seat now, I might just make it back in time, although I was doubtful, given there is usually an inherent lack of women’s toilets at these types of events.

I trudged downstairs, and found what I was looking for, the familiar long queue for the ladies. But thanks to a seemingly endless maze of cubicles, it took less than three minutes to get into one. (Yes, I timed it.) It took longer to negotiate the sea of people trying to get back up the stairs to the main concourse.

I was back in my seat in well under 10 minutes and that included grabbing a drink on the way. There were also no queues for the extensive food options.

Now back to the music.

Savage and Synthony get the crowd jumping with a rendition of Freaks.

Six60, a pop rock band that has been producing hit after hit since forming in Dunedin in 2008, kicked off with Don’t Forget Your Roots, and were joined on stage by a kapa haka group … what a sight.

The words to We Made It, seemed even more poignant given the night’s purpose.

“I know it’s been a bumpy road … but take a look around, it’s amazing, if we made it here, then we made it.”

The sound quality was excellent where we were sitting and there were no echoes, although there was a lag with the screen and the audio, which was a touch annoying and those sitting right up top reported the corrugated iron behind them rattled with the bass.

Lewis McCallum is suspended above the crowd playing the saxophone.

After Six60 belted out song after song for an excited crowd who sang along to each one, Synthony took to the stage and sent the night to an entirely new level.

The opening song, Fatboy Slim’s Right Here, Right Now, sent the crowd jumping with a laser light show that did not stop.

The electronic-orchestral outfit, featuring the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, was expertly led by conductor Sarah-Grace Williams. What a brilliant way to introduce the masses to the beauty and depth of an orchestra.

Matiu Walters, from Six60, is lifted above the stage as he sings “Rise Up” with Synthony.

With each song came a new performer including hip-hop artist Savage, Kiwi R&B vocalist Nyree, singer-songwriter Emily Williams, pop artist Prins and Nate Dousand, who belted out an unforgettable and powerful Bohemian Rhapsody.

At one point saxophonist Lewis McCallum was suspended from the roof while seamlessly performing.

To top the night off, Six60 made a return appearance to perform with Synthony. While singing Rise Up, frontman Matiu Walters literally rose up on a tiny pedestal metres into the air.

There were fireworks and flames and the night culminated with the Six60 classic The Greatest and another guest appearance, this time from Carlos Ulberg, the UFC light heavyweight champion.

The performance certainly capped off what was a Once in a Lifetime experience. It really does feel like Christchurch is a proper grown up city now.

Also, the time it took us to exit the stadium could be measured in seconds rather than minutes.