Six iconic venues. Twenty eight acts. Three years. One wet Wellington day.

Great Sounds Great, the legendary indie music festival spread across the most frequented locales of Wellington, was back with another diverse and top quality line up, featuring bands and artists from across the country. Unfortunately, or perhaps despite it all, the weather packed in to showcase the wildest meteorological events the capital can cook up. Even though the morning and middle of the day had been unseasonable pleasant, a wind blew in with a fierce storm and the downpour began pretty much as soon as the festival began. And it just didn’t let up. Nobody knew just how wet it would get...

My first stop, San Fran, was to see local act Dateline (pictured below) (at the rather peculiar time of 5.45pm), the brainchild of Katie Everingham, who has assembled an impressive pedigree of members ranging from acts including The Beths and Hans Pucket. The band won the growing crowd over with their blend of emotionally loaded anthems with a distinct Britpop flavour, and effortless, breezy melodies within the scope of indie rock. Sophisticated clever pop with quirky lyrics delivered with energy. Knowing I was returning to the venue for Trinity Roots in the evening, I took a few photos to compare the crowd size later.

From there I moved to Valhalla where the entrance was already ‘flood proofed’ with a block of wood, to see Maiden Name, another local band with a strong following. For those not in the know, Maiden Name are a self-defined ‘post gender ethereal rock band’ and other than saying they were entertaining, I can’t really describe their set any better than their own blurb. I was so taken by the band’s soft balladry that contrasted with more rocky moments (used sparingly) I chose to stay for their whole set and, after talking with some punters who insisted they were worth waiting for, I promised to return for EUG who were next up and who I knew barely anything about.

I made a quick run down Cuba Street, dodging people and raindrops as best I could, to see Castlecliff Lights (pictured below) at a venue I have rarely visited, Hotel Bristol. The band is essentially the project of Ellen Young, but she was supported with a live band. Unfortunately, I had missed out on the establishment of the band’s vibe at the beginning of their set and straining to see the performers from the back I failed to connect with the songs which were mainly low tempo and gentle. I was eager to return to Valhalla and observe EUG as promised, and when I returned the crowd had swollen further. I was glad I stayed as EUG ended up being one of the stand out bands of the festival despite their early billing, and also the first really heavy band of the night. Their sound was punky or perhaps technically hardcore, but at any rate they performed some brutal breakdowns and microphone swinging for good measure.

From there I caught a quick dinner from Cuba Street, Lord of the Fries, to power me through the difficult next hour where I would try to see three bands at three different venues. First up was Womb, who had packed out Meow and who played, even from the very start of their set, a surprisingly heavy set (for a ‘folk’ band, but that just proves how ridiculous labels and genres are). From Edward Street I dashed up Victoria Street, which is parallel to Cuba Street, to attend Afterparty’s set at Rogue and Vagabond. The band was energetic and connected with the large crowd, but I was only there for a few songs before I returned to Valhalla to see Koizilla, a surf rock band I have seen more than a few times, most recently at 2023’s CubaDupa. The band did not disappoint as they delivered their blend of catchy, upbeat psychedelic rock inspired by mid-century beats and speedy guitar work.

I returned to San Fran to behold the return of the legendary Trinity Roots (pictured below) at San Fran. As expected, the crowd had grown to an enormous size, but due to the gentle, swaying rhythms the band provided, it was easy to come to the front and see the musicians up close and personal. Trinity Roots played soulfully with lots of passion and the crowd gladly reciprocated their energy. It was nice to stay for a whole set at one venue and I decided there I would carefully choose one more venue to stay for an extended time without leaving due to the weather. Inspecting the schedule I decided it would be Meow where I would remain for the rest of the night.

I arrived to see Fur Patrol (pictured below), a band arguably headlining the festival, and a band I had not seen since the early 2000’s at a Big Day Out in Auckland. Julia Deans, dressed in a metallic onesie and armed with a Fender Jaguar, led her band and masterfully worked the crowd as she sang beautifully over the band’s ballads, funk rock or other unconventional tunes.

Next up was quite a different act, Jujulipps, who delivered fast-paced, politically charged hip hop. With overflowing bravado, she boldly performed on the wide stage of Meow, sometimes running from one side to the other, occasionally turning her mic to the adoring front row who obviously knew every lyric and kept pace with her fast flowing lyrics.

Lastly, Benny Salvador continued the party well into the night with his blend of jazzy, Latin inspired dance music. Nobody seemed to have left since Fur Patrol and the numbers stayed strong throughout the next two acts, but this may have been due to the atrocious weather which didn’t exactly make the outdoors an appealing location. However, close to 1.30am our designated driver declared they had had enough live music for a year in one day and was keen to depart into the wet night.

Overall, the event was a great success even though the weather compromised the appeal of switching between venues. This may have led to ticket holders staying longer at venues and this may have impacted crowd sizes at some places. I was surprised by the apparent range of ages at the event as I had been expecting the majority of the punters to be young university age music fans, but there were many who much older and even a few families with children (wearing colourful ear muffs). I spotted many attendees wearing official tote bags and t-shirts, and the vibe was friendly and inviting at all of the venues. Food and beverages were being consumed together at almost all of the venues until the late evening, except for Valhalla where there is no menu. Local shops benefited greatly from the event as people bought food along Cuba, Dixon and Ghunzee Street.

Did the rain stop the good times? Absolutely not, however it made it one memorable year. Can’t wait for the next one!

Photo Credit:
Photos 1, 3 and 4: Tim Gruar
Photo 2: Stella Gardiner Photography

Feature Photo Gallery
Castlecliff Lights Photo Gallery

• 1
  Head Like A Hole
• 2
  Horror Story
• 3
  Fraser Ross
• 4
  Fur Patrol
• 5
  Michelle Rounds
• 6
  L.A.B.
• 7
  Devilskin
• 8
  Coridian
• 9
  The Boondocks
• 10
  Late to Chelsea

• 
  Goodshirt @ Festival of Lights - Pukekura Park, New Plymouth - 21/12/2024
• 
  The Slacks @ Festival of Lights - Pukekura Park, New Plymouth - 21/12/2024
• 
  LOST BiRD @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024
• 
  Just Janie @ Space Academy, Christchurch - 15/12/2024

• 1
  APT.
  ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
• 2
  DIE WITH A SMILE
  Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
• 3
  BIRDS OF A FEATHER
  Billie Eilish
• 4
  TASTE
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 5
  I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
  Gracie Abrams
• 6
  ESPRESSO
  Sabrina Carpenter
• 7
  SAILOR SONG
  Gigi Perez
• 8
  LOSE CONTROL
  Teddy Swims
• 9
  A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
  Shaboozey
• 10
  GOOD LUCK, BABE!
  Chappell Roan

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