A picturescque festival that makes for an excellent day out fot the whole family.
Ferrymead exhibition park is far and away the most beautiful venue I’ve ever had the pleasure of attending when it comes to live music. Nestled at the foot of mountains, dotted with historic buildings and mere minutes from ocean views it was truly breathtaking. The addition of live music and vendors of all kinds only made it better. Nostalgia fest is marketed towards the whole family and that’s exactly where it hits its mark. It is an excellent day out in a beautiful spot.
We arrived as the gates opened and were swiftly let into the park. Immediately we beelined for the stalls, eager to see what wares were on offer and to grab something to eat and drink before scoping out the live acts. We paused often, admiring hand crafted jewellery, fresh baked goods and vintage clothing pieces. What really caught my eye was (insert pop up stall’s name). As an avid vinyl collector I make it a personal mission of mine to take home a record from wherever I travel to. A momento. The stall had an excellent range and the person running it was helpful and funny. After several minutes of debating between Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ and Fontaines DC’s ‘Romance’ I eventually settled on the latter. After, we dipped round to the food trucks, of which served a vast array of different cultures. It smelt amazing. We grabbed food and then a picture with the steam train because how often are you going to attend a music festival with a steam train running through it?
The acts we were most keen to see were not set to take the stage for another hour or so. We found ourselves further exploring and gawking at the beauty of the venue. Willow trees and crystal clear waters, along with perfectly manicured gardens under clear blue skies; we were spoiled for choices to sit. As we ate the conversation centred on just how beautiful this place was, I really cannot overstate it. The conversation then, of course, drifted to the food. It was unsurprisingly incredible. I had ordered chocolate covered strawberries and a blueberry lemonade from the Berry Bar. The strawberries were massive and they were perfectly ripe and juicy, the melted chocolate was New Zealand’s own Whittakers. Recently, I have come to realise that Whittakers is definitely the supreme chocolate choice, however I’m not yet sold on New Zealand having the best fish and chips. Don’t get me wrong, they were amazing fish and chips, but I fear I’m still partial towards the UK on that front.
Food finished, we headed back towards the main stage to catch the end of Hollie Smith’s set. Admittedly I’m not too familiar with her work, but she delivered killer vocals and was fun nonetheless. I found myself dancing along and the crowd picked up when she performed her cover of Tears for Fears ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’. With a final flawless vocal run Smith ended her set and it was time for Harper Finn’s set. Harper Finn I am much more familiar with, having seen him on the road with the festival’s headline act Balu Brigada and then also opening for them. His debut album ‘Silo Park’ had also been in heavy rotation and I was especially excited to see some of his new material. Namely, the album’s opening track ‘Man or Machine”, so imagine my excitement when he opened his set with that track. That excitement carried on through the rest of his set and into the crowd.
Harper Finn is not a stationary performer. He’s all over the stage, dancing, singing and interacting with the crowd – truly making the stage his own. The energy he embodied was infectious and as his set progressed the field filled up. Finn was backed by his childhood friend on guitar and on the bass, both of which had also joined him at his shows the month prior when he opened for the Lumineers and played at Soundsplash Festival. It really shows on stage when a band is familiar and comfortable with one another, there’s an ease to the performance and this shone through during the several moments of technical difficulties. The difficulties were dealt with efficiently, giving way into crowd favourites such as ‘Satellite’ and ‘Look Who’s Sorry Now’, which he dedicated to a group of fans that had flown out from America and Australia for this festival. Harper Finn closed out his set with “Dance Away These Days”, his single that went gold in New Zealand. The crowd, very much won over, erupted into cheers. From the reactions of Finn and the backing band, it was evident that this performance, even if just a slot in a festival, was special. On a personal note, I felt vindicated in my praise as my friends agreed that if the opportunity came up we would definitely attend one of his shows.
After Harper Finn came country legend and my friend’s dad’s facebook friend, Tami Neilson. Neilson was a big hit with the older crowd, who quickly replaced the younger people on barricade. Jumping was replaced with the gentler two step and clapping of hands. I had a laugh, it was fun, bumping hips with old ladies and giggling. Being slightly tipsy didn’t hurt either, and like I said Nostalgia Festival is for all ages, music is for all ages. Maybe I didn’t know the words, but that has never lessened my enjoyment of any concert. All music is unknown to you at some point. Tami Neilson delivered for the crowd that she brought in and that was enough. At this point we noticed a lot more people turning up around the mainstage, eager to claim spaces for the bigger acts. We made friends with the women on barricade, asking to swap with them after Troy Kingi’s set. They were more than happy with this, exclaiming that “We only really know Tami and Troy.”. I felt envious of them getting to experience Balu Brigada live for the first time. Troy Kingi’s set came and went, blending a range of different genres and getting the crowd ready for Balu Brigada and Ladyhawke.
Finally though, it was time for Balu Brigada – the act that had convinced my friends and I to buy the tickets to Nostalgia Fest. A field that had once been spacious and easy to move around suddenly became full of people eager to see the sudden breakout band. As the band got ready on stage, tuning instruments and placing down the portal logo, a buzz of anticipation filled the air. And when the intro to their album ‘Portal’ played, transitioning into ‘Golden Gate Girl’ with a cry of “Nostalgia!” from the brothers, it exploded. The first time I saw Balu Brigada was in Auckland, opening for Twenty One Pilots and I’ve had the pleasure of seeing them several times since, watching them hone their craft across multiple continents and shows and venues. Despite this being a festival, it felt cathartic, like a culmination of a decade worth of grinding. These feelings were further exemplified as the boys pointed out their family were amongst the crowd and that they’d even got their older brother (and former member) to play drums for this show. It was a tangible and physical moment where they were able to show their loved ones in their home country just how far they’ve come. A crowd made up every demographic moshing to ‘Backseat’, fans that had travelled thousands of kilometres chanting back every lyric and their own mother on someone’s shoulders during ‘So Cold’. Over the past year and a half Balu Brigada have mastered the art of winning over a crowd. There was not a single moment of stillness, from the more intimate performance of ‘the Question’, where Henry Beasley got up close and personal with the crowd to the back to back to back pumping guitars of ‘Backseat’, their version of Gorillaz’ ‘Dare’, ‘4:25’ and ‘So Cold’. Pierre and Henry Beasley captivated the audience and showed their family and home the artists they had matured into.
When an incredible artist finishes their set, you’re always left wanting more, this a very common occurrence with Balu Brigada. It felt like their set was over before they’d even begun. There was consolation though in the fact they’d be back soon enough for their headline tour, but four months felt like a millennium away. It was with a hint of melancholy that we found ourselves snaking through the Ladyhawke crowd to the back of the main stage area to plan our next moves, namely getting back to our hotel in one piece and avoiding traffic, although dinner was also a hot topic. We also ended up bumping into Henry Beasley, who was endlessly kind and funny. But, not wanting to steal him away from his family, starving and hoping to beat the traffic, we kept it short and sweet.
On our way out I picked up my vinyl and grabbed food. While in line for what could be the best tacos i’ve ever had, a woman complimented me on my choice in music. Now I am human, and so naturally anyone complimenting my music taste is a massive ego boost, but I recognised her accent instantly and so there were far more pressing matters than my ego. It is not often as someone living in rural Australia that you run into another person from Yorkshire and a family music festival in Christchurch was very low on my list of expected places. There’s something about that Northerner connection and it seemed an almost fitting way to end the festival. I felt fulfilled.
It was an incredible day out, full of laughter and memories I’ll always hold dear. I’m not sure I’ll ever stop singing its praise, or recommending people to attend. It is not the venue you’d expect for a festival, but it is certainly the most pretty.
Backbeat Mag 
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