After a rainy week, Saturday March 3rd was a beautiful sunny day for a one-day music festival. Located at Western Springs Speedway, Auckland City Limits had 40 artists over 6 stages. Just like Sound Splash is was a family event. This meant children under a certain age got in for free and there were lots of family fun activities.
This festival was ideal for me because its only a short 20 minute walk from my flat. No worrying about DD’s or Ubering over 🙂 I had some friends over to pre-game, or “pre-drinks” as its called here in New Zealand. We got in the mood while soaking up some sun on my balcony with the Spotify ACL playlist on in the background and walked over around 4 pm. We did miss some people, such as Jess B, Katchafire, Sigrid, Thundercat and Oh Wonder. I saw the first 2 at Sound Splash so no biggie there. The issue with one day festivals is it takes a lot out of you, so you don’t wanna go too early.
The Aroha and Tamaki Stages
As soon as we arrived we checked out the market and topped up our wristbands with AWOP. This cashless system makes buying drinks, food and items much quicker. I bought a sequin fanny pack and then it was off to check out where everything was.
There was a mini car show, carnival rides and games. My friend and I went on the spinny ride and it was super fun!
Spark 1 and Spark 2 Stages
One thing that was different for this festival was there were 2 stages with 2 stages side by side. This was so one stage could be set up for the next band while the other had a live performer. I thought it was somewhat distracting, and there was still a gap between stages next to each other anyway… so you would still need to do something else and return. Of course we went back and forth to see several artists and didn’t see one entire set. 
We got some food and sat down for Tash Sultana. From Melbourne, she has a reggie rock sound and my favorite songs are Jungle, Mystik and Notion. Next up one stage over was Future, one of the biggest names of the Festival. It was a big deal for Future to finally make it to NZ, as he was set to come in September but pulled out due to a death in his inner circle.
Spark stages inside the race track
Before Future’s set was over we ran over to Grace Jones who is more on the 80’s jazz side. Her most popular songs is Libertango and it has a funky new wave disco feel. After jamming out to her we ran back to Justice. The French band is known for the old school tune D.A.N.C.E., Genesis, Safe and Sound. We danced so much but had to run again over to Peking Duck.
I had been waiting to see Peking Duck and they did not disappoint. Another Aussie band, they killed it with some sweet drops and mix ups of popular songs. I had to hear High, Wasted, Fake Magic and Stranger. I did not want to leave, but I also didn’t want to miss Beck. Who doesn’t know Loser?! We also heard Wow and Dreams. He was a great performer and really interacted with the crowd.
Last but not least was Phoenix. From If I ever feel better to Lisztomania and 1901 it was the perfect way to end a full on day. Overall the day was jam packed with awesome music and lots of activities. I was impressed with the layout and amount of drink/food options at each stage. There could have been more veggie/vegan food options. The portable toilets were the nicer ones… where you have to pump your flush. The Mobile App was not that user friendly but I still referred to it. There was lots of space and lines weren’t too bad. I would definitely go to this Festival again!
Tip: Invest in a stylish fanny pack. I don’t care if people think they look goofy, I think they are super cute and are by far the best way to carry your stuff at festivals. You can dance and don’t need to worry about putting your purse down, and your shoulders wont be tired by the end because of a backpack. Start the trend with me! 🙂
Do you prefer single day or multi-day festivals?
