The Others Way returns for 2023 at a bunch of venues on and around Auckland’s Karangahape Road on Friday night. Here’s who you can catch, where and when.
The Others Way is, in general, a pretty chaotic music festival, spread over a number of venues in the busy Karangahape Road precinct on a Friday night between the hours of 6pm and 2:30 am (approximately). The general festival advice applies: don’t overschedule yourself; remember to stop for food, some water, maybe even a quick sit down. All the usual concert and gig etiquette applies.
With the advice out of the way, here’s my rundown of the lineup, where and when you can see them, with a few recommendations.
Neck of the Woods
Haz and Miloux (8.30-9pm) open the night at Neck of the Woods with their trademark shimmering synths, followed by Mā (9.30-10.15pm) who I saw perform earlier in the year at Meow with her band, and again at the Auckland Art Gallery with WYNONA – if you’re looking for some mid-festival chill vibes, I could not recommend anybody harder. They’re followed up by rising (risen?) star Jujulipps (10.45-11.30pm) who just recently won Favourite Single at the Student Radio Network Awards for ‘Airplane Mode’, while festival mainstay and award-winning hip-hop trio Team Dynamite close out the evening at Neck of the Woods. I’ll likely say this about all the venues, but you could easily spend the whole night here and have, well, a bloody great night.
Whammy
Whammy might have one of the most eclectic lineups of the night, with alt-rock/jazz fusion duo Elliot and Vincent (7pm-7.45pm), four piece Ringlets (8.30–9.15pm), Kane Strang-fronted band Office Dog (9.45-10.30pm) and Afrocentric-inspired jazz fusion sonic collective The Circling Sun (12.15-1am). My pick? Australian garage rock band (and recent Sub Pop signee) Girl and Girl (11-11.45pm), whose latest EP has been on medium-to-heavy rotation during writing binges.
Backroom
I’m gonna be biased here and shoutout Dick Move (10.15-10.45pm), who not only have a great band name, but one of the best song names of the year (‘Small Man, Big Tweet’), and one of the best album covers of the year.
The rest of Whammy Backroom’s lineup includes 90s-inspired four-piece Dictaphone Blues (7.15-7.45pm), pop auteur Lucola (8.45-9.15pm), tech maximalists Grecco Romank (11.30pm-12.15am) and closes up with epic queer DJ Atarangi (12.30-1.30am).
Wine Cellar
Oh, Wine Cellar. How I love thee. The St Kevin’s Arcade mainstay is playing host to Ōtepoti bedroom musician Salt Water Criminals (6.45-7.15pm), performance artist Jazmine Mary, who did an outstanding piece at the Festival of Live Art earlier in the year (8-8.45pm), violinist Motte (9.15-10pm) and my personal fave Pickle Darling (10.45-11.30pm).
Pitt St Church
How often do you get to see one of the world’s best whistlers play back-to-back with an acclaimed harpist? Probably never, except for this Friday night when Australian whistler Molly Lewis performs at Pitt St Church (7.15pm-8pm), followed up by Mary Lattimore (8.30pm-9.15pm). Lewis has a track on the Barbie album (a beautiful whistled rendition of Billie Eilish’s “What Was I Made For”) while Lattimore released one of my very favourite albums of the year.
East St Hall
You want to party? Make your way to East St Hall where electronica artist Deepstate (8.15-9pm), “king of smooth beats” Pachy Man (9.30-10.15pm) will play before back-to-back DJ sets from Jess Fu, BBY Face Killa and Flamingo Pier (10.45pm-2.30am).
Raynham Park
Want a more intimate studio vibe? Book your way down to the graveyard end of Karangahape Road to grab sets from mood-pop artist deryk (8.15-8.45pm), beloved soul band Opensouls (9.15-10pm), absolutely killer Persian-Kiwi MC CHAII (10.45pm-11.30pm) and old hats Frank Booker and Nathan Haines rounding out the night with an epic 90-minute set (11.45pm-1.15am).
Galatos
A night at Galatos is, as ever, a night at Galatos. This rock-heavy lineup is no exception. Kaye Woodward-fronted Minisnap (7-7.45pm), indie pop darlings Marlin’s Dreaming (8.15-9pm), rising rockstar Vera Ellen (9.30-10.15) and band-that-needs-no-introduction The Veils (10.45-11.45pm).
Galatos Outdoor Stage
Here are the headliners! The Galatos Outdoor Stage sees the Herbs returning for a once-in-a-blue-moon acoustic set (6.30-7.15pm), Wellington reggae legends Trinity Roots (7.45-8.30pm), Fazerdaze (!) performing with a full live band (!!!) (9.15-9.45pm) and closing with top-of-the-lineup iconic Oakland rap crew Souls of Mischief (10.15-11.15pm) celebrating the 30th anniversary of their groundbreaking album ‘93 ‘til Infinity.
Underground
Are you under-18 and reading this, or in possession or company of some under-18s who want to enjoy music on December 1? Well, the Underground stage at the bottom of St Kevin’s Arcade is your best bet. The night opens with “Boom Bap brilliance” from The CMC (6.45-7.15pm), following up with the blazing grunge from newcomers BUZZ (7.30-8pm) self-declared “worst band in NZ” Late to Chelsea (8.15-8.45pm), the noise-pop witchery of FESSH (9-9.30pm) and Auckland’s resident high-energy punks MELANIE (9.45-10.15pm).
Other things!
By which I mean… refreshments! There will be an outdoor bar on Galatos Street, as well as Rolling Pin Dumpling food truck (I recommend the pulled beef!) and Local Legend Eats from 5.30pm.
You can buy tickets to The Others Way Festival (on December 1) here, and see the timetable in picture form here.