Rhythm & Alps was the place to be for New Year’s

Up to 10,000 good humans partied into the 2020s at the South Island's biggest annual music festival Rhythm & Alps (R&A) last night.

London DJ WILKINSON and his full live band played the countdown set, ushering in the New Year in front of a bouncing throng of revellers and a fireworks display.

He was one of 53 stellar acts playing the incredible three-day music festival at Robrosa Station in Wanaka's Cardrona Valley. Some 5500 people camped at the festival, in its ninth year, while about 4500 bought day tickets.

They enjoyed perfect festival weather, with temperatures reaching the high twenties and light wind.

R&A festival director Alex Turnbull said: "One of our tag lines is 'be good humans' and we certainly saw that.

"It was a joyous few days again, with the musicians and the crowd feeding off each other to create an unbelievable atmosphere and vibe. The performances were outstanding, supported by the quality of the stage production, and we're proud we could all come together to create and deliver such an epic event. The weather was just right too - sunny but not baking hot."

Preparations are already underway for R&A 2020, which will be its 10th anniversary.

"It's a big one so we'd like to put on a really special event," Turnbull explains.

"We began planning for it before this festival. It might involve some shuffling around of the site, so we're in discussions with planners and preparing for the consent process.

"We want to rearrange some things to create a different scenario."

The team will again hand-pick a line-up of world class acts, spanning many genres but mostly focused on dance music. This year saw quality performances by US trap and bass producer RL GRIME, Aotearora's SHAPESHIFTER, and Austrian duo CAMO & KROOKED and many others.

"We're in a position now where booking the artists has become easy," Turnbull says. "The managers and agents are very confident now about the show and the delivery model.

"The big acts will let us know they want to come, and then we can add more around them.”

Turnbull says the events team has seen changes to the way people party generally, and that's reflected in the chilled, fun atmosphere at R&A.

"We like to support behavioral changes, particularly on how people manage themselves around alcohol - it's not cool to be the person wasted and chugging big bots.

"There has been change. The younger generation are focused on creating memories, having a good time. Fewer of them smoke cigarettes and they are responsible about sustainability. It's really encouraging to see."

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