Music

X Match your mood
Although we spoke quietly, the eyes and ears of history caught every gesture
Nixon in China
17 - 19 March Great Hall A soaring and compelling opera that relates the moment Richard Nixon and Mao Zedong, two of the 20th century’s most controversial figures, meet. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 17
      Performance Times:
    • 7:30pm
  • 19
      Performance Times:
    • 7:30pm
fabulous, fantastical, magnificent*****
John Grant
18 March Great Hall American musician John Grant performs live with a five-piece band from Iceland. Utterly gorgeous melodies and witty on-stage banter make his shows varied, marvellous and entrancing. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 8:30pm
...industrial, thumping, brooding, banging. A delicious cacophony
The Great Downhill Journey of Little Tommy
17 - 20 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square In this classic coming-of-age story a live rock concert and theatre performance collide as musical genres change gears and live, hand-drawn illustrations weave their way across the backdrop shortlist
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March 2016
  • 17
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 19
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 20
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
They are the nicest and gentlest of people, and then they go on stage to become ...
Shooglenifty
18 - 19 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square The ‘hypno-folkadelic ambient trad’ of Scotland’s Shooglenifty is famed for their out-of-the-box performances. Skip right up to the cèilidh with these inventive and brilliant Scotsmen. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 9:30pm
  • 19
      Performance Times:
    • 9:30pm
the essence of this impassioned production is its exceptional dancers and their ...
m¡longa
18 - 20 March ASB Theatre World class virtuoso tango is re-forged by genius choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui as he injects the traditions of Argentine tango with his own ground-breaking contemporary twists. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 8:00pm
  • 19
      Performance Times:
    • 2:00pm
    • 8:00pm
  • 20
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
Hard for anything in the festival... to top this
The Chorus; Oedipus
더 코러스; 오이디푸스
17 - 20 March Q Rangatira Intimate in scale, epic in scope, this South Korean theatre work uses a mix of contemporary music, dance and drama to re-imagine Sophocles’ fraught Greek tragedy Oedipus Rex. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 17
      Performance Times:
    • 7:30pm
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 7:30pm
  • 19
      Performance Times:
    • 3:00pm
    • 7:30pm
  • 20
      Performance Times:
    • 5:00pm
Exceptional sounds from some of Aotearoa's best artists and fresh new music acts...
iHeartRadio Sound Lounge
The New Zealand Herald Festival Garden Our free iHeartRadio sound lounge music stage with exceptional sounds from some of Aotearoa's best artists and fresh new music acts plays throughout the Festival! shortlist
exemplary compositions and virtuoso playing...a gutsy fearsome jazz
Uri Caine with the New Zealand String Quartet: Reimagining the Classics
18 March Concert Chamber Jazz pianist and composer Uri Caine joins forces with the New Zealand String Quartet to perform inventive and eclectic interpretations of classical repertoire. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 18
      Performance Times:
    • 6:30pm
A sophisticated, versatile group of young musicians
Unstrung Heroes - The Black Quartet with Very Special Guests
10 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square Having played with everyone from Kanye West to the APO, The Black Quartet is joined by Tiny Ruins, Lawrence Arabia and Rob Ruha in this uniquely special concert. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 10
      Performance Times:
    • 9:30pm
Kora seemed be channelling parts Prince, Moby and perhaps even Michael Jackson
Laughton Kora & Friends
17 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square Let the monster musical talent of Laughton Kora blow your mind as he shakes the Spiegeltent with a big-beat set featuring some very special guests. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 17
      Performance Times:
    • 9:30pm
Emily King is a goddess! I loved her energy, her class, her voice
Emily King
15 - 16 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square The NZ premiere of New York native and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter, Emily King, whose conscious lyrics and gorgeous grooves have entranced the likes of Justin Timberlake and Sam Smith. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 15
      Performance Times:
    • 8:15pm
  • 16
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
★★★★★ This saucy romp through Andersen's aquatic fable is cabaret perfection.
Meow Meow's Little Mermaid
9 - 13 March Spiegeltent, Aotea Square In this fairy-tale gone rogue, the golden-larynxed Meow Meow subverts Hans Christian Andersen’s mermaid tale of teen self-sacrifice, salvation and seduction into a decidedly un-Disney cabaret. shortlist
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March 2016
  • 09
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 10
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 11
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
  • 12
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm
    • 9:30pm
  • 13
      Performance Times:
    • 7:00pm