For those of us gathered in Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Pātaka Kōrero, Auckland Central Library, Record Store Day 2026 offered a timely reminder of how far our city has come, and an interesting insight into what the haerenga forward might look like for many of our grassroots music venues. The library has unveiled their latest exhibition: Encore! A love letter to the history of Tāmaki Makaurau’s vibrant live music scene on now until 29 August. In the Heritage Gallery, on level two, over 100 items from Auckland Libraries' Heritage Collections, including archival photographs and gig posters, sit alongside a nostalgic local soundtrack, and an interactive map of Auckland music venues from the 1950s-80s, documented by Gareth Shute.
Over the opening weekend of the exhibition, I was invited to facilitate a kōrero about the wairua and future of these spaces, alongside three of Tāmaki’s most passionate voices in the live music sector: Savina Fountain (General Manager of Big Fan), Taylor MacGregor (95bFM Freak The Sheep host, Independent Music Venues Aotearoa Advocacy Manager), and Chlöe Swarbrick (Auckland Central MP). We sat down for an hour to assess the current challenges facing our scene, and vision-boarding for where we could be heading.
The kōrero began as most music nerd yarns do – exchanging early gig memories. From large-scale international shows like The Foo Fighters and Michael Jackson to formative local performances from Echo Ohs and all-ages hardcore shows at Zeal. Very quickly, it became apparent just how influential these experiences are in forming careers and longstanding connections through music – particularly as iconic venues with tragic stories of closure came into play.
“The connection to politics for me is actually when I first ran for the Auckland mayoralty, as a 22 year old,” explained Chlöe. “The catalytic point was the Kings Arms closing down.”
The beloved uptown pub and haven of local (and international, *ahem* The White Stripes circa 2000) talent ran for almost 120 years before closing its doors in 2018, ultimately sold to developers and knocked down to make way for high-density housing. The graveyard of grassroots venues lost to financial stress, noise complaints, and liquor licensing rigmaroles can feel vast and helpless, and there’s a general consensus that the framework our venues operate within needs to shift.
“Venues have become wrongly seen as hospitality and not as cultural infrastructure,” says Taylor. “They are the same as a theater or a gallery. They're providing all of the production. They're providing skilled professionals. They are charging the least amount possible as a labor cost for the best soundies in the country to mix a show. They're not clipping the ticket. They're doing all of that stuff, and their only revenue stream is selling booze. At the same time, they're working on harm reduction. They're trying to create spaces that people feel welcome in. They want to be able to do all-ages things that they can't because they're trapped in a kind of paradox.”
Unfairly carrying the consequence of that reliance on alcohol sales is our all-ages scene, hence the limited space options for rangatahi hoping to put on their first show, get a foot in the door with tech-training, or experience those aforementioned crucial early gig memories. Non-for-profit community hub Big Fan in Morningside has been riding that wave ever since Joel Little sparked the idea for a recording studio, venue, and youth-friendly one-stop-shop.
“We were ready to go for opening in February 2022, and then through a whole lot of council compliance issues, we didn't open till November,” says Savina. “We failed like three and a half inspections, through the most pedantic things that each inspector would come through. It was the most painful process.”
But even whilst venue operators seemingly face barrier after barrier with the odds stacked against a sustainable financial endeavor, our communities and local economy reap the benefits of an active live music ecosystem. A recent Massey University study valued the economic and social contributions of live performance to Aotearoa across one year at $17.3 billion. Tapping into that economic potential begins with nurturing talent at the grassroots level.
“This is a part of the economy which can be inherently regenerative and isn't extractive,” says Chlöe. “It’s actually something that has massive export value as well.”
Beyond justifying support and resourcing as a viable economic investment, Chlöe, Taylor and Savina want Aucklanders to remember the contributions of our music scene extend far beyond money.
“This is about our identity as a city and as a country,” says Chlöe. “And it is so uniquely profoundly us, that it is deserving of protecting regardless of its sensible economic value.”
Also top of mind, is the allocation of government funding through schemes such as the Major Events Fund, which has seen large investment into international tours including Robbie Williams and Linkin Park, but little success from applicants across the local grassroots scene.
“I think at the moment, what I'm noticing is an imbalance of where the funds and the attention is going,” says Savina. “The mahi that goes on in the local music scene, that is grassroots, we are growing the next Six60 who can actually play those stadiums, and that money is going to stay onshore. It's not going offshore. It's not going to the big multinationals. But we can all coexist. It should be part of the same ecosystem.”
Reminders of the eternal marks left on our lives shine on from the graveyard of venues past, too. After discovering family ties to iconic Maungawhau taonga The Crystal Palace via his work on the Loading Docs documentary Please Open, Taylor went on to run several memorable shows at the venue with performances from the likes of Connan Mockasin, Lawrence Arabia, Liam Finn, and Bic Runga. Previous generations reflected on the space’s lifelong impact, whilst a new generation created new memories in real time.
“I'd sit in the foyer there and every day have a new person would come in and be like, ‘this is where I met my wife, dancing on the ballroom downstairs.’”
The key to keeping this magic alive for generations to come? A seat at the table for venues when it comes to council decision making on issues like noise complaints, liquor licensing, and housing intensification planning, according to Taylor. Through organisations like Independent Music Venues Aotearoa, grassroots spaces can present a united front and clearly communicate opportunities for public consultation to music lovers across the motu.
In the immediate, get to a gig.
Support a local grassroots venue, and bask in the magic of our music community. Take a moment to reflect on the rich history of Tāmaki Makaurau’s live music sector, and harness those formative memories when dreaming of where we could be heading.
Ka mua, ka muri.
Our full kōrero is available to listen to on the Tāmaki Untold playlist on Soundcloud.
