Splore no more: New Zealand’s shrinking festival scene hurts local artists as big acts roll in

Closure of independent festivals mean emerging artists will lose important launch pad, music insiders say On New Year’s Eve 1998, a few hundred people gathered for a dance party on a clifftop above the black sands of Karioitahi beach, south of Auckland. It was wild and lo-fi. Inspired by outdoor raves in Goa, India, and New Year’s Eve parties in the hills of the South Island, there were stilt walkers and fire performers and all kinds of dance music. It was called Splore, a Scottish word meani...

By Henry Oliver in Auckland