Synthony is everywhere, including headlining Christchurch’s new stadium curtain-raiser with Six60. But what even is it?
All year there has been speculation about which big ticket events would open Ōtautahi’s One NZ stadium, the much-anticipated $683 million craypot in the central city that can hold a crowd of up to 30,000 people for sport and live music events. We got super news of a Super Rugby Super Round, followed by word that the Wahs would be swinging by. The All Blacks are coming in July! The Black Ferns in October! And Sheffield Pies would be there the whole time!
But for months, there was still no word of a big musical act. Could they be cooking up a huge legacy name like Paul McCartney, a la Elton John opening Forsyth Barr? A rock group like AC/DC to take advantage of the “louder level” noise permits? A pop star like Sabrina Carpenter to give us the first house tour? Or, as countless Bitmoji types pined on Facebook, why not some kind of homegrown hydra with the likes of Jordan Luck, Dave Dobbyn and a hologram of John Rowles?
I staked my reputation on it being Six60, and was proved right when the ‘Once in a Lifetime’ opening gig was announced last week. But there was another name on the top billing along with Six60 that I didn’t see coming, because I never see it coming: Synthony. As described here, the event “will feature full sets from both acts, culminating in a collaborative finale. Six60’s biggest hits will be reimagined with Synthony’s full orchestral production.”
Synthony remains a cultural mystery to me, and it’s not for a lack of trying. I can read all the words in the world about how Synthony is a “a breathtaking collision of the biggest electronic dance anthems with a live orchestra, DJs, vocalists, and immersive visuals” and still emerge utterly dazed and confused. It has the same slipperiness of trying to read The Luminaries, or the rules for any board game made for players over the age of eight.
Hoping moving pictures might help, I turned to YouTube, and my brain was immediately overloaded with lasers and buzzy visuals. A conductor in a snakeskin blazer gesturing wildly at violinists going hell for leather on Darude’s ‘Sandstorm’. An extremely muscular gentleman in a sleeveless vest playing the double bass on Coldplay’s ‘Sky Full of Stars’. A crowd of 40,000 New Zealanders rapturously singing “fiiiiire away, fiiiiiire away” and giving me involuntary goosebumps.
I took to Instagram to see if anyone could share their on-the-ground experiences of Synthony to give me a better understanding, and was met with a flurry of insights from die-hard fans. Several characterised it as a rave-like experience for ageing millennials, who have likely booked a babysitter and need to get to bed at a reasonable hour. Many revered the “unreal” orchestra and the powerfully nostalgic setlist, with songs from the likes of Fatboy Slim, Calvin Harris, Ellie Goulding and Bomfunk MC’s
Others found themselves as bewildered by it as me. Comedian Johanna Cosgrove admits Synthony was also a “cultural black hole” for her when she was invited along to the Auckland Domain show by a colleague, assuming she was headed to a charming outdoor symphony. “I did think ‘Christ, what a funny time for the orchestra’, but I do love a bit of orchestra in the park, so colour me curious,” she says. “Luckily I had brought a crop top, because it was simply not that.”
Cosgrove describes the Synthony experience as “Tarocash Tomorrowland – but in a good way”. While she admits the night’s excesses eventually saw her holding a cup of her spew, she can still recall the impressive onstage visuals. “There were fireworks and glittering dragon holographic visions,” she says. “They finished up with ‘Sandstorm’ by Darude and it was absolutely insane and electric. Was it the best night of my life? Not sure. But it was really something.”
Along with 2000s nostalgia, substance-related impairment also seems to go part and parcel with the Synthony experience. One former reality television star remembers arriving at the same Domain event as Cosgrove, hearing “AND THE LOVE KICK STARTS AGAIN”, and assuming there was a “filler DJ” onstage. “I said to my friend ‘when is Synthony playing’ and they said ‘they’ve been playing for the last 30 minutes.’ I couldn’t see the orchestra… but also I was very drunk.”
No matter what state you’re in when you experience it, Synthony is not going anywhere. Not only are they doing many local iterations from metal Synthony to Pride Synthony, they’re also taking over the world with recent events in Mexico, the US and Greece. Perhaps Synthony is just what you make it. Synthony is millennial heaven. Synthony is Tarocash Tomorrowland hell. Synthony is an orchestra. Synthony is an EDM concert. Synthony is a state of mind. Synthony is you. Synthony is me?
On May 16 2026, I guess I’ll find out once and for all.
