Music
Event Guide
Matariki event guide: The best events to celebrate this special season
Matariki hunga nui, Matariki ahunga nui
For the first time ever, Matariki – marking the start of the Māori New Year – will officially be celebrated as a public holiday. To celebrate the inaugural Matariki public holiday and this very special season, we’ve pulled together a special Matariki event guide – highlighting all the best events and performances showcasing the richness, diversity, and talent of our creatives.
Signified by the Matariki cluster of stars reappearing in our night sky, this is a time to reflect on the past year, celebrate the present, and plan for the year ahead.
There are many ways to acknowledge the Māori New Year and observe the rising of Matariki;
- Take time to remember loved ones who are no longer with you
- Give thanks for the year that has passed
- Enjoy a Matariki feast together
- Plan for the next year
- Spend time with family and friends
- Write down your wishes for the year
- Plan to grow a garden
Ticketmaster’s Matariki Event Guide:
Gather the whānau and celebrate the New Year together with some of these special events.
Matariki Glow Show
Wednesday 20 June – Bruce Mason Centre, Takapuna Beach
The Matariki Glow Show’s magical glow-in-the-dark characters are getting ready to celebrate with an all-new, giant-scale puppet show for tamariki, educators and whãnau. Bigger, better, bolder, with more music and more characters, this is an upbeat show that ‘edu-tains’ and engages the audience over 50 minutes with patai (Q and A) afterwards.
APO: Ka Po, Ka Ao
Thursday 23 June – Great Hall @ Auckland Town Hall, Auckland
This Matariki, come together to celebrate with a night of uplifting music, kapa haka and the ataahua tones of the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.
Rob Ruha is an acclaimed powerhouse of progressive Māori music, and he joins the APO to bring us Ka Po, Ka Ao – a dynamic celebration of Te Po the night and Te Ao daylight; the genesis and life-force of all things.
From epic ballads, like ‘I Te Po’ to soulful grooves like ‘Ka Manu’ and ‘Kalega’, Rob Ruha and the APO harness the excitement and promise of the New Year to inspire unity in us all. This will be a beautiful moment to welcome in te tau hou Māori.
Māui
Thursday 23 June – Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Auckland
Fusing Pacific, Māori, hip-hop and contemporary dance, this celebrated production retells Māui’s legend using the language of movement, music, projected film sequences and stunning graphic illustrations.
Choreographed by Hadleigh Pouesi, Christopher Ofanoa and Leilani Elliott and featuring an epic cast, MĀUI covers themes of strength, growth, leadership, and vulnerability.
He hono i ngā mahi a te rēhia Māori me te Moana nui ā-Kiwa tae atu ki te hipihope me te kanikani o nāianei te mahi a tēnei whakaaturanga, waihoki, e tāruatia ana ngā pūrākau o Māui mā roto i te reo tinana, me ngā puoro, tae atu ki ngā wāhanga kiriata mā runga tukuata, me ngā whakaahua whakairoiro mīharo rawa atu.
He mea tito ngā nekenekehanga e Hadleigh Pouesi rātou ko Christopher Ofanoa ko Leilani Elliott. He mīharo rawa atu te kāhui kiriwhakaari e whai wāhi ana, ko te mana, me te tupu, me te whakaraerae me te āhua o te kaitātaki ngā kaupapa mātuatua o MĀUI.
Teeks w/ New Zealand Symphony Orchestra
Thursday 23 June – Saturday 25 June – St James Theatre, Wellington
Staged over the Matariki holiday weekend and welcoming the reopening of Wellington’s St James Theatre, these gigs are sure to be something special.
Teeks is one of the most heartfelt and compelling voices in modern soul and R&B. This special collaboration will see him perform with Aotearoa New Zealand’s national orchestra, the Zealand Symphony Orchestra for the first time.
Teeks, in concert with NZSO, will perform many of his best-known and loved songs, from the breakout single ‘If Only’ to the spine-tingling ‘Younger’ and the hit ‘Oil & Water’, with each given a symphonic soul makeover by the NZSO, led by Principal Conductor-in-Residence Hamish McKeich.
Doc Edge Film Festival 2022: Whetu Marama – Bright Star
Friday 24 June – The Civic, Auckland
This is a special screening of Whetu Marama – Bright Star, only available in Auckland.
30 years ago there were no waka hourua, no ocean going waka/canoes and no surviving knowledge of celestial navigation in Aotearoa/New Zealand. Oral history and carved artefacts were all that remained of our ancestral Pacific voyagers.
We have come a long way since then. Double hulled canoes have been built. Celestial Navigation has been re-learned. The Pacific Triangle has been sailed. Sir Hekenukumai Puhipi Busby has helmed this renaissance in Aotearoa. He and his crews have proved beyond doubt that those ancient Pacific Voyagers were not blown far south to New Zealand by accident. They were able seamen who knew where they were going and how to get here.
L.A.B
Friday 24 June – TSB Arena, Wellington
Fresh from a massive tour of Australia, L.A.B return to Pōneke, Wellingtonto celebrate New Zealand’s first official Matariki public holiday.
The line up reflects a diverse cross section of top talent from across Aotearoa, with the queen of hype JessB taking to the stage with her energetic live show, and Mara TK presenting his stunning new album Bad Meditation alongside his full band.
After their last Wellington shows sold out in 2021, this show is expected to do the same, especially with this show taking place over the first Matariki long weekend.
Te Kaahu – Live at Matariki
Friday 24 June – The Tuning Fork, Auckland
Critically acclaimed singer-and-songwriter Theia has released the debut album from her reo Māori project TE KAAHU and to celebrate she is playing this special one-off show. This is a rare chance to witness the magic of the album – titled TE KAAHU O RANGI – in its entirety, with a live band on Aotearoa’s first-ever Matariki public holiday.
Composed by Theia (Waikato-Tainui, Ngāti Tīpa) in te reo Māori, and produced by the award-winning Jol Mulholland, the TE KAAHU O RANGI album is an immersive experience, in which Theia’s ethereal and dreamy vocals take centre stage against a backdrop of nostalgic production. Using kupu whakarite (metaphor), pepeha (sayings) and whakataukī (proverbs), Theia weaves together a magical tapestry of lyricism and sound, which pays tribute to her tūpuna wāhine (female ancestors).
Kiwis Rugby League
Saturday 25 June – Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland
The return of rugby league to Aotearoa, the return of the Black and White, the return of the red sea, and the return of one of the biggest rivalries in international rugby league, when the Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns face off against Pacific rivals Tonga in a blockbuster double-header worthy of the wait.
Pre pandemic, the No.1 ranked Kiwis were hot off a series win against Great Britain and a 34-14 victory against their Tongan rivals in 2019. Despite their loss to the Kiwis, Tonga achieved a historic 16-12 upset over the Kangaroos in the same year.
Fourteen years have passed since the Kiwi Ferns faced Hakula Tonga. The two nations will now meet again off the back of 2020 victories, as we aim for a world record women’s rugby league crowd attendance.
Celebrating Matariki – Whakanuia Matariki
Saturday 2 July – Dunedin Town Hall, Dunedin
Performed by the Dunedin Symphony Orchestra, Celebrating Matariki – Whakanuia Matariki reflects the universal fascination with stars and planets, including the phenomenon of Matariki.
It opens with New Zealand compositions including ‘Ko te tatai whetu’ (the world’s first taonga puoro concerto), and the world premiere of ‘New Mountain’ by Dunedinite Maddy Parkins-Craig. These are followed by Holst’s massive ‘The Planets’ in which each movement is named after a planet of the solar system. Holst exploits the full palette of orchestral colour to suggest each planet’s supposed astrological characters.
Takurua – Nafanua War Goddess
Thursday 14 July – Saturday 23 July – Aotea Centre, Auckland
This cultural extravaganza combines exquisite fine-dining, thrilling dance theatre with spectacular costumes, as well as authentic cultural stories and comedy from the Samoan fale aitu tradition. – where a sumptuous five-course banquet designed by head chef Wallace Frost is coupled with contemporary Pasifika dance-theatre woven in between courses.
Drawing inspiration from Māori hākari and Pacific Island feasting rituals, Takurua welcomes you to join a celebration of Indigenous practices in food preparation, dance, feasting, and theatrical story-telling. The vision of Artistic Director Tausani Simei-Papali’i is brought to life by Tala Pasifika Productions and renowned Pacific Women’s dance collective Ura Tabu. Nafanua the War Goddess breathes life into the ancient legend of one of the Pacific’s most revered heroines – Warrior Queen Nafanua.
Māori Womens’ Development Inc. Awards 2022
Friday 29 July – Aotea Centre, Auckland
These awards celebrate and recognise all wahine Māori in business. Kia renarena te taukaea Mareikura.
There is a total of seven Business Awards and eight Regional Awards, with one Premier Award presented on the night. Tickets also include a three-course plated meal.
Check out these incredible live events and more at Ticketmaster.co.nz.