Welcome to New Zealand's biggest New Years Eve party. The Rhythm and Vines festival runs over three days and features well over a hundred and twenty acts from around the world. Set amongst the sweeping green vines of Waiohika Estate in Gisborne, you will party with some of the worlds leading artists right on through to witness the worlds very first sunrise for 2009. Our adventure party playground is set amongst acres of grape vines and sloping green hills that features water slides, artists, carvers, swimming pools, golf courses, lighted vines, fire shows and six stages of music.

The Three Day Line-up

29 December

Franz Ferdinand (UK), The Kooks (UK), Santogold (USA), Jamie Liddell (UK), Liam Finn, Ajax AUS), The Mystery Jets (UK), Cut off Your Hands, Katchafire, South Rakkas Crew (USA), Aquasky (UK), Jonny Love, The Ruby Suns, Collapsing Cities, Anna Coddington, Olmecha Supreme, House of Shem, The Enright House, Lydia Cole, Tim Richards, Wellie Players Club, The Constituents, Brazil Beat Soundsystem, Jade, Ben Throp, RIA, Dean Campbell, Tim Livingston, Elm, Ollus, Acoustic Assassin, Toby Burrows, The Missing Link, Cam Robertson, Daniel Farley, Sean Murray, Lewis Mearns, plus more on the day…

30 December

Public Enemy (USA), DJ Nu Mark (Jurassic 5 / USA) / Cut Copy (AUS), Ladyhawke, The Phoenix Foundation, Anika Moa, Ladi 6 (MC & DJ Set) Late of the Pier (UK), Recloose LIVE, Busy P & DJ Medhi (FRA), Fort Knox Five (USA) DJ Switch (UK), SJD, Antiform LIVE & MC Twin Cam, Die Die Die, Little Bushman, Electric Wire Hustle, An Emerald City, Conan Moccasin, DJ Audit (CAN), Cool Kids Club, The Naked and Famous, Olmecha Supreme, , The Coshercot Honeys, Public Access (Tom Sahs USA) Blackbird, The Secret Knives, Unity Pacific. Reclose DJ set, DJ Lotion, Dylan C, Matt Randomplay, Soane, Trash Disco, Alex Bull, +1, Jonus, Gavin S, Anna Macdonald, Richard Alexander and loads more again on the day…

31 December

Shihad, Carl Cox (UK), Digitalism LIVE (GER), Fur Patrol, The Black Seeds, The Datsuns, Adam Freeland(UK), A-Trak (CAN), Antix(LIVE) Dick "Magik" Johnson, The Tutts, Vinyl Slingers (AUS), P Money, So So Modern, Emerson Todd(AUS), The Tutts, Disco Not Disco(AUS), Module LIVE, BLVD Nights, Honey Claws (USA), Sampology feat Tom Thum (AUS), Motocade, Disasteradio Bang! Bang! Eche, Corey Steers,38:40 DJ's Clap Clap Riot, DJ Hat, Ben Davis (The Bionics UK) P Vans & Steppa D, Over the Atlantic, DJ Substance feat MC homebrew, Beat Company, Exile & JFG, Beat Mafia, Bulletproof, DJ Trei, Nervous Surgeons, DJ Captain Maudsley etc…

R&V Official Accommodation Guide

Rhythm and Vines has set up www.insta-tent.co.nz to manage all of its onsite accommodation options. Onsite camping allows customers to enjoy the stunning vineyard surrounds of the Waiohika Vineyard Estate while never straying more than a couple of minutes away from the action while offsite accommodation includes an assortment of camping grounds around Gisborne with extra entertainment that may suite your needs.

PREMIUM CAMPING: For those of you who want to bring your own tent then R&V is pleased to introduce its Kiwi Camping Co Village for premium onsite camping. Features BYO camping around vines, swimming pool, 9 hole golf course and the coolest showers in the vines. Stylish communal areas with serene views to die for. A fire pit and our own volley ball court. To learn more please visit www.insta-tent.co.nz/index01.html

MOTOR HOME CAMP PARKS: Rhythm and Vines is pleased to introduce its onsite motor home option. The onsite motor home option is for those customers who wish to relax in their camper vans and caravans for the duration of the festival and never be more than a stones throw away from all of the action. To learn more or purchase your pass go here www.insta-tent.co.nz/index03.html

LUXURY TENTED VILLAGE: Now this is cool! The Luxury tented village is the most exclusive way to experience Rhythm and Vines. On entering your large spacious tent you will be greeted by crisp white linen and cosy duvet on a queen sized bed. Find fresh cut flowers at your bed side, and some goodies on your pillow. Large enough to comfortably walk around in, the tents suit couples or friends sharing. To learn more please visit www.insta-tent.co.nz/index02.html

BW CAMPGROUNDS: Just down the road at the ocean front in the heart of Gisborne, it's a great place to party. BW operates 4 camps all within walking distance of each other right on the ocean front in Gisborne! Unlike R&V, BW runs over 5 nights and plays host to its own music line up and some cool events. www.bwcampgrounds.co.nz.

HOTEL ACCOMMODATION: Our accommodation partners are The Emerald Hotel and Portside Hotel, Gisborne. VIP packages including accommodation at these hotels will be released shortly

BULK DISCOUNTED CAMP GEAR SALE: Thanks to the mega massive deal we struck with the Kiwi Camping Co, INSTA-TENT are offering some very fine festival packages which are available only to Rhythm and Vines and BW Campground ticket holders. To learn more or check out our camp gear visit: www.insta-tent.co.nz/index020.html

Website Links:

Official Rhythm and Vines Website
Rhythm and Vines MySpace Profile
Rhythm and Vines Facebook Profile
Rhythm and Vines on Wikipedia
Rhythm and Vines Bebo Profile
Rhythm and Vines on YouTube
BW Campgrounds

Muzic.net.nz Gig Guide Listing for Rhythm and Vines

RHYTHM AND VINES 2008 REVIEW

This years Rhythm & Vines festival was an entirely different concept to that of previous year in terms of the grander nature of the ambitions of the festival organizers. A once 24-hour festival was transformed into a grotesque 3-day rampage. The change in the way the festival unfolded required a different approach to the way in which it was managed, but this was seemingly overlooked and resulted in every festival official I approached being unsure of what to tell me, because they were unsure of what others had told me or what was presumed to be information that was supposed to be given out.  When I say "it was transformed into a grotesque 3-day rampage" that it not to say that the festival as it was as a 1 day event was any less of a binge as it is now. On reflection the rampage only reached any sort of notable severity on the 3 and final day, which itself was reminiscent of the predeceasing years and as always this was a generalization, especially in terms of people's behaviour and the way in which they responded to the 3-day concept, but the festival itself stands to serve a purpose known only to each individual who attends it.

Thousands of people gather together in a space at the same time of the year each year and for what? An ongoing theme was the positive construction of a space where people could view and commend music made in New Zealand. As the international bands were marginally B-Grade and the New Zealand bands themselves seemed to instigate it, it became a notable subject matter for attending the festival. But for that, it served its purpose well.

I think all those who attend are potentially looking for an experience, that being a series of events and situations which one finds in someway has a more meaningful application to the way they live, and trying to de-cipher what that experience is is pointless because it will be an experience which is personal to that who is engaging with it. This experience could be discussed though in the hope of finding similar characteristics in ones experience to that of the experience of the other who it is being discussed with, and supposedly those similarities bring about human connectedness and a sense of being.

Interestingly enough it felt as though the 2 days leading up to the new years eve celebrations on the 31st were autonomously disconnected to the previous 2 and had a multitude of significant differences in terms of the way people dealt with being there in the vicinity of so many other people and the way they received all the stimuli they were presented with. The stimuli itself being everything from the brightly coloured flags rippling in the new years eve dust ridden wind to the neon suit troupe who appeared from now where and seemingly disappeared just as quickly. The was undoubtedly a large selection of things to keep the wondering mind occupied.

The music was wide and far between with the people it appealed to. Each band played as they should, but on reflection the festival was not solely a music experience. Interestingly enough I believe the festival would survive with the absence of all bands. Speculation is cheap though. Almost anything that comes out of A Low Hum is worth checking out, along with SoSoModern playing a truly epic set leading up to midnight. Digitalism was pretty hardcore, but their late timetable change really put me out, along with the distressing Late of the Pier cancellation. Some of those sorts of issues are out of everyones hands, but the abysmal Black Seeds performance was an exception. When did they become such a cut copy band? Ick.

It's difficult to say whether I would attend again. I think there would have to be some really promising bands attending to get me up there again. I recall at one stage of the night on the thirty first looking up and people were seemingly running everywhere chaotically up and down the hill. Rhythm & Vines is pretty crazy. So many people collecting themselves in a space inevitably has some interesting results. No one fucked himself or herself on the waterslide this year, well not that I saw anyway, which was disappointing.

Rhythm & Vines has been a leading new years destination for the last 4 or 5 years now, but the transition from being a 1 to a 3-day festival obviously put the management team out of their depth. I have no doubt that it too will be a new years celebrating ground for a new set of recently high school graduated teenagers again next year.

3.5/5

Craig Johnson