Homegrown Festival in Wellington is the biggest music festival in New Zealand made exclusively up of New Zealand music artists. 24,000 festival attendees flooded Wellington’s waterfront in 2021 and experienced multiple stages of music genres, and more than 30 artists during 8 hours of pure festival bliss.

Homegrown is hosted on Wellingtons waterfront, so amazing views and sunsets come for free with background music from your favourite artists. The waterfront is located in Wellington CBD so access to Homegrown is easy on foot or via public transport or taxi.

About Homegrown Music Festival

Homegrown Music Festival has been held annually in Wellington since it’s humble beginnings in 2008. This New Zealand Music Festival has grown from a 4 stage gig to a 6 stage festival taking over Wellingtons waterfront every year. Showcasing only New Zealand artists, this is the perfect place to listen to any up and coming Aotearoa based music artists, or to see your favourite band that very rarely do big tours.

Homegrown is spread along Wellingtons Waterfront which provides a great backdrop for the festival, as well as a cooling sea breeze to keep you on your toes.

The only problem I found with Homegrown was the liquor ban laws that cast a shadow across Wellingtons Waterfront. The festival serves alcohol but you’re only allowed to drink at the designated staged areas. Travelling between the stages with a cup of beer in your hand is a huge no-no; before leaving any stage area you have to down your alcohol or ditch it so you can sprint to your next act on the other side of the waterfront. But it is what it is and I never really had a problem with huge queues at the bars anyway.

The festival was fantastically run and I never had problems with finding an available toilet, or standing in long queues for food or drink. There was plenty of places to sit down and take a breather but even more places to get amongst the music and go absolutely crazy. With the sun beating down you can’t miss a good day in Wellington, an it’s an even better one when you have live music from your favourite local artists.

Homegrown 2021

From the rock stage to the electronic dance tent, Homegrown caters to all music tastes young and old. From something you can sit and listen to with a group of mates with a beer in hand, to music you squash yourself in a tent for to completely lose control of your limbs.

There is no shortage of food or beverages either, with each stage having their own designated bar and the food stalls are located in the centre of the waterfront. I can’t recall any queues for food or drinks being aggressively long, and that goes the same for the bathrooms. The whole festival is spread out far enough that all the services get utilized at all ends of the waterfront festival, unlike other Kiwi gigs I’ve been to where people have been known to find a tree or shrub on the festival grounds because the queues for the loos are far too long.

Prepare yourself with a funky outfit but don’t go crazy with bralettes and mini skirts; Wellington is very well known for it’s windy weather and the waterfront gets hammered with it daily. Grab some pants and a long sleeve shirt to save yourself for that long walk home in the gusting wind.

Homegrown 2021 Stages and Act

With 6 stages and acts gracing the stage from early afternoon to midnight, you’ll be finding yourself bouncing between stages and running the waterfront to make your favourite artists opening act. There are enough stages to keep everyone entertained but not so many that you can’t keep track of where you are or who to see.

Park stage
Shapeshifter / L.A.B / Mitch James / Sons of Zion / Katchafire / Tomorrow People / Summer Thieves / Sunshine Sound System

The City Stage
Nesian Mystik / Savage / Ladi6 / The Black Seeds / Thomas Oliver / Paige / Navvy / Lepani / DJ Sir-Vere

Electronic Marquee
State of Mind / Montell2099 / Concord Dawn / Lee Mvtthews / Dan Aux / Flowidus / Clicks / Sin

The Rock Stage
Blindspott / Devilskin / Villany / Deadbeat / ZED / Skinny Hobos / Dead Favours / Written by Wolves

The Lab Stage
Stan Walker / Robinson / Sachi / Kings / Homebrew / P Money / Church & AP / Chai Illbaz

Arena
The Feelers / Elemenop / Opshop / Goodshirt / Che Fu & The Kratez / Trinity  Roots / Troy Kingi & the Clutch / Ria Hall

How to make the most out of your Homegrown Festival Experience

You can’t experience the full affects of any festival without properly preparing yourself; whether it’s packing a raincoat poncho or shoving a few plasters in your pockets for those inevitable blisters you’re going to get from all the dancing. The better prepared you are the more fun you’re going to have!

Prepare for Wellingtons Weather

Wellington is not known for it’s calm days, and since it’s hosted on the waterfront it is very likely you’ll be getting a cold breeze rushing off the Wellington harbour. Pants and a jacket might not sound like the easiest festival outfit to glam up, but when that cold ocean breeze hits you at 8pm you’ll be thankful you switched up your mini skirt for a pair of flared jeans.

Prepare a Medi-Kit

I’m going to risk sounding like camp mother here, but the number one thing that can break my festival experience is getting a blister and having to pass up on dancing.
And when I say a medi-kit I don’t mean a separate bag filled of triangle badges, tourniquets or slings. Just chuck a few plasters in your bag, maybe some lip balm and lather yourself in sunblock before you leave your hotel for the night.

Take Note of Important Locations

St Johns tents, toilets and water stations. Because when you’re half cut and needing to close one eye to send a text, are you really going to be able to read the festival map quickly enough before your mate sh*ts themselves? Probably not.

Things to do in Wellington

Wellington is one of thebest and well loved cities in New Zealand. It’s the type of city where you can head out for an afternoon coffee in platform boots and a Elton John inspired outfit and no one would bat an eye-lid. Wellington has a lot of amazing little coffee shops, alternative clothing stores and is super easy to get around on foot or via public transport.

Cuba Street Mall

Cuba Street Mall is a great place for shopping; from mainstream retail stores to alternative lifestyles and thrift shopping, Cuba Street has it all. Including the famous bucket fountain that Elijah Wood peed on during the Lord of the Rings Premier!

Te Papa Museum

The museum is always a great place to visit if the weather is crap outside. Te Papa is one of the best interactive museums in New Zealand that regularly refreshes their exhibits; from culture to arts and the natural world. You can choose to explore through a guided tour of Te Papa or walk yourself through the wonderful world of Wellingtons best museum.

Oriental Bay

Oreintal Bay is like the Mission Bay of Wellington. Great beaches and plenty of places to grab and ice cream, coffee or lunch. Oriental Bay is like a wholesome hangover cure, chill here for an afternoon sipping on a thick shake and greasy burger from one of the nearby cafes and pray to the high heavens that the salt air will cleanse any sins committed the night before.

Watch a Wellington Sunset

If you’re in Wellington for a few days and have the time, take the opportunity to watch a Wellington sunset. There are plenty of high locations in the city and gorgeous beaches only 30 minutes north of Wellington to watch the sun duck down behind the horizon. Check out my post here on where to find the best Wellington sunsets.

Visit Wellingtons Botanical Gardens

Wellingtons botanical garden is one of the more romantic locations in Wellington. Ride the cable car to the top and explore the large gardens and incredible 360 degree views of Wellington. Visit Wellingtons Botanic garden website and plan your day around some inner city nature or resident artists in the garden.