Our Round-Up Of the Best Cultural Happenings This Spring

With Spring well and truly upon us, it’s time to delve into what we can expect from the months ahead. Luckily, there appears a veritable cultural feast that awaits us over the next few weeks. We’ve rounded up all the cultural happenings that deserve to be on your radar right now.

 

 

SYNTHONY No.1

The SYNTHONY No.1 Auckland show is an absolute must-attend event for music enthusiasts, nostalgia seekers, and those in search of an extraordinary experience.

Imagine, the biggest global dance tracks of all time, performed by a full 60-piece orchestra, DJs and vocalists with a mesmerizing laser light show that transports you back to the dance floor.

Aptly titled ‘In the Beginning’, Synthony nostalgia hits an all-time peak by returning to the original home of the very first SYNTHONY No.1 show six years ago – Auckland’s iconic Town Hall.

16 September 2023 

 

 

Sam Smith – Gloria the tour 

Sam Smith’s fourth studio album ‘GLORIA’, is out now and the hitmaker’s heading to NZ on Saturday 11th November performing live at Spark Arena, which will feature all the massive tunes from their new album, including ‘Unholy’ featuring Kim Petras. The smash hit has surpassed 1.3 billion streams globally.

11 November 2023

 

 

Tash Sultana 

To see Tash Sultana live is truly a hypnotic experience. The gender-fluid multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and engineer makes liberal use of loop pedals to achieve their mesmerising sound. Tash’s rich mix of indie, soul, psych-rock, roots, reggae and hip-hop was honed and perfected on the streets of Melbourne as a busker, and they bring a raw, fresh energy to every single performance.

25 November 2023

 

 

Ocean Alley 

Ocean Alley return for a one-off headline show at Spark Arena! They’ve captivated audiences around the world with their infectious melody lines and memorable blend of psychedelic-surf-rock.

October 2022 saw the release of the bands fourth album ‘Low Altitude Living’. The album showcases why Ocean Alley continue on their unstoppable rise as one of Australia’s most exciting musical exports.

23 September 2023

 

 

Auckland Art Gallery – First Peoples Art of Australia

Ever Present: First Peoples Art of Australia surveys works by over 160 artists from 1890 to today. Drawn from the collections of the National Gallery of Australia and The Wesfarmers Collection of Australian Art, the artworks bridge time and place and are interconnected through story and experience. The exhibition is the largest overview of art by First Nations Australian artists to be presented in Aotearoa.

Showing until October 28

 

 

Auckland Theatre Company presents: Switzerland 

A pitch-perfect thriller, underpinned with cunning twists and a knockout performance by the great Sarah Peirse.

……………………….

She was best-selling and she was brilliant. With The Talented Mr. Ripley, Patricia Highsmith once created one of the greatest literary characters of the 20th century: terrifying, enigmatic, complex, human. A bit like her really.

These days, she’s living as a recluse in the Swiss Alps. She’s done with writing, having firmly slammed the door on the Dead White Males of the American literary establishment. She fills her days with cats and show tunes, chain-smoking as she nurses her ever-growing collection of antique weapons.

But, now, there is a young man standing in her study. He’s been sent by her publisher to convince her to pen one last Tom Ripley novel. And he’s not going to take no for an answer.

 

19 September – 7 October 2023