The big benefits of Jim Beam Homegrown in Hamilton
Tuesday, 6 May 2025
Hamilton can expect an economic boost of around $3 million from 15,000 out-of-town concert goers when Homegrown rolls into the city.
On Tuesday morning, the music festival’s co-director Andrew Tuck ended months of speculation by confirming that after 18 years of calling the capital city home, Homegrown would be returning to Claudelands Oval.
Tuck also alluded to the festival expanding in size, attracting more punters from Auckland, Tauranga and the central North Island.
“We want as many people as possible to experience this celebration of Aotearoa’s talent and culture.
“Being close to such a large population makes this dream even more achievable,” he told the Waikato Times.
Waikato Chamber of Commerce chief executive Don Good said it was a “significant win for our city”.
“The economic benefits for Hamilton and the wider Waikato region are substantial.
“Large-scale events like Homegrown attract thousands of visitors, driving increased spending across our hospitality, accommodation, and retail sectors.
“With the festival’s reputation for selling out and drawing crowds of over 20,000, local businesses can expect a surge in foot traffic and revenue, both in the lead-up to and during the event.”
Good said the festival will further boost the city’s profile as a vibrant destination for live music and cultural experiences.
“The region’s creative industry is really starting to flourish, and the upcoming opening of the regional theatre is further evidence of this exciting momentum.
“Homegrown’s returning to the Waikato will only reinforce the region’s reputation as a hub for creativity and entertainment.”
According to independent reporting by WellingtonNZ, in 2024 Homegrown provided a $2.8m benefit to the Wellington region, with 14,400 out-of-region visitors.
Tuck said early bird tickets, which went on sale Tuesday morning, were half sold by lunchtime, “and I expect those will be all gone by the end of the day”.
“We’ve never done early bird sales before, so this is a pretty good sign.”
Tuck said a number of other cities presented compelling proposals, but “Hamilton’s unique charm and cultural significance made it the clear choice”.
Hamilton city councillor and chairperson of the council’s economic development committee Ewan Wilson said events like Homegrown were more than just entertainment, “they’re economic enablers”.
He said his Airbnb property was booked for Homegrown 2026, set for the weekend of March 14, on Tuesday morning, just hours after the announcement was made on the Waikato Times website.
“That's economic development unfolding in a very dynamic way.
“Events like this bring direct benefits to accommodation, hospitality, transport, retail and the wider service sector.
“This is a significant win for Hamilton’s visitor economy.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Homegrown to Hamilton. It strengthens our creative economy and showcases our city as a place where big ideas, bold experiences, and national talent come together.”
Hamilton's got a bigger venue, he said, “and to be candid, much broader and easily accessible populations”.
“From a council perspective what's great is the fact that the long-suffering ratepayer, who has invested in critical infrastructure like Claudelands, is this is a practical example of significant, economic activity flowing as a direct result of generations of ratepayers investing in this critical infrastructure.”
Wilson said he’d be heading along as well.
“I absolutely wouldn't miss it. I'm a city dweller so I will be able to walk from my downtown apartment in Hamilton across to Claudelands, it’s brilliant.”
However, leading Hamilton hospitality provider and owner of multiple city bars, John Lawrenson said bureaucrats should be bending over backwards to accommodate the festival, which was a huge coup for Hamilton, “and not f… it up … otherwise it will go the same way as the Beerfest and the Sevens - out of Hamilton for good”.
He said the first Homegrown in Hamilton “will be massive, and we’re very grateful to Andrew [Tuck] for bringing it here”.
“It will be huge, everyone will want to go.
“But the bars will be busy for two nights, the hotels will be full for two nights - and we have to remember there’s 51 other weekends in a year.
“It’s now one weekend that will be busy that was previously not busy.”
He said festivals like Homegrown were expensive to run, “probably in the five to six million-dollar mark” and made most of their profit from food and drinks.
“Let’s prove Hamilton can have the nice things. We need to be rolling out the red carpet for them because there are plenty of other cities who will do that.”
While there’s no indication Homegrown would feature any of the following, he said early closing hours, drink limits for punters, restricted crowd numbers, and the general over-policing of festivals, would eventually turn people off.
“Things like only being able to buy one low alcohol beer at a time … and people waiting 45 minutes to get a drink.
“After two or three years, people stop buying tickets … they go there and they feel like they've been treated like a bunch of six-year-olds.”
He said Hamilton needed to prove itself “as a place that can hold events” and “make life easy for the people that are bringing this stuff here”.
“Woo hoo,” were the first words out of Devilskin bass player Paul Martin’s lips when spoken to by the Waikato Times, and he hopes the Hamilton-based hard rockers will be on the bill for Homegrown 2026.
'We’ve had five or six goes at it and it’s always amazing. The talent New Zealand has to offer is immense.
“Wellington definitely had something awesome to offer, but I think Waikato is going to turn it on.
“We're pretty central here, and we've got a lot of good resources … so hopefully it'll be here for a while and help lift the profile of Hamilton for everyone.”
Martin said, apart for the South Island bands, the central location would draw plenty of fans and make it a lot easier to travel to and from the gig.