The music festival shutting down K' Road this weekend
This Saturday, The Others Way is turning Karangahape Road into a stage.
It's incredibly hard putting on any music festival at the moment, but this year Reuben Bonner also took on the "mighty challenge" of closing down K Road for The Others Way.
A lot of people had to give their go-ahead for Auckland's beloved boutique music festival to block off Karangahape Road between Queen Street and Pitt Street and "blast the street for an evening", the festival director says.
"It's kind of K' Road's event, and it always has been, so the community really gets behind it," Bonner tells RNZ's Nine to Noon.
Reuben Bonner, the director of Auckland's The Others Way music festival.
Matthew Davis
This year's Others Way festival takes place on Saturday 29 November between 5pm and 1:30am, with musicians performing across nine different venues, including the mainstage on Karangahape Road itself.
To get the 2025 festival off the ground, Auckland Council and Tātaki Auckland Unlimited provided funding, Bonner says, and the K' Road Business Association helped out with ensuring local businesses were okay with the road closure.
"People love this event. It's a very special event."
The music festival that'll shut down Auckland's K'Road
Sharon van Etten and her band The Attachment Theory will perform songs from their new self-titled album on the K' Road mainstage at The Others Way Music Festival.
Susu Laroche
While Others Way's all-venue tickets are now sold out, Bonner says there are still tickets available for the Heavenly Pop Hit Main Stage, where American musician Sharon Van Etten, acclaimed "oddball" Connan Mockasin, ex-Dunedin hard rockers HDU, and Canadian pop auteur Saya Gray will perform from 6pm.
At the other venues, which include Pitt Street Church and Double Whammy, festival-goers will enjoy an eclectic array of artists, including American indie singer Florist, homegrown heroes Phoenix Foundation and some "strange and wonderful music" that doesn't always reach mainstream audiences, like Flying Nun pioneers The Bats and Wellington's Vera Ellen.
Taite Prize-winning musician Vera Ellen is on the line-up at this year's Others Way music festival.
Lily Paris West
Before Bonner's music promotion agency Banished Music started running Others Way three years ago, he was a "gigantic fan" of the festival.
In the lead-up to hosting its street party-style 10th anniversary this weekend, the music promoter admits to feeling "a bit out of his mind".
"It's such an undertaking. You're thinking of 43 artists and their travel plans and production requirements, and then you're also thinking of 3,000 attendees, and how you want it to be a really lovely experience for them and your staff.
"It's a lot to take on, so my wife and I are really looking forward to having a cup of tea and a lie-down on Monday."
Find out more about The Others Way Festival here.
Banished Music
