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Rhythm & Alps 2023/24 | The Full Lowdown

Written by The Team on 19 December 2023

Rhythm & Alps Music Festival

29th – 31st December

Cardrona Valley, Wānaka

Rhythm & Alps 2023, proud Thursday sponsors of the RDU Burnt Breakfast with Liam Donnelly.

Rhythm & Alps is back again for yet another year of good vibes and memory-making shenanigans!

Known as “the South Island’s premier music festival”, Rhythm and Alps is once again located in its signature spot, cozily nestled into the beautiful Cardrona Valley.

Among those rolling hills of the Cardrona Valley, the Rhythm & Alps site features a campground, four stages, a vendor’s village, and loads of extra break-out and relaxation spaces.

Accompanying all these fantastic resources is, of course, a fantastic lineup! A massive list of musical acts, ranging from your favourite local act to the biggest in New Zealand, have been announced for this year’s festival.

There’s plenty to this year’s festival, so let’s take a good look at everything worth getting excited about.

The Venue

One of Rhythm & Alps biggest assets has always been its location.

Situated in the stunning Cardrona Valley, part of the Southern Alps, the festival is just a 40-minute drive from Queenstown and 15 minutes from Wānaka.

However, despite being practical, that’s not what makes this location so great. The way the festival nestles itself between the rolling hills provides a coziness that you don’t usually expect from a music festival.

It also makes for great acoustics and provides many good viewing spots for a signature Southern New Zealand sunset.

Now aside from the great beauty, Rhythm & Alps is also a brilliantly resourced festival, with more features than you can imagine.

Five stages make up the main features of the festival:

The Alpine Arena – The Mac daddy of stages, if you wanna check out all the biggest acts, this will be the place to do it.
Sonarchy Stage – One of the newer features, it is a visual and aural juggernaut! 28 meters wide, and 11 meters high, every inch of this stage is designed to be a spectacle. It’s the next era of festival production, incorporating both video and laser mapping.
Log Cabin – A legendary staple of Rhythm & Alps! Check out many of your favourite electronic artists here, in the steamiest little cabin in the Southern Hemisphere.
Boom Box – A relatively new feature to the festival, the Boom Box is like if the Log Cabin had a tougher, flasher child.
For Those Camping – A few years ago, Rhythm & Alps added an extra little treat for those who decided to camp. The Camp Stage features an extra night of performances on the 29^th of December, exclusively for those camping at the festival.

Moving on from stages, the festival also has three massive bars, serving ice-cold beers, wine, and cocktails, round the clock. The Vendor’s Village feature over 15 diverse vendors providing incredible food options. From pizza to pasta, burgers to tacos, the vendors are wide, varied, and guaranteed to keep the hunger away.

There’s also a camp shop for any essentials you might need. Sunblock? Sunglasses? Hopefully, the kinds of things you’ll need!

Maybe you just need a quiet break? The Playhouse is a great, zen breakout zone, with a range of activities, including yoga.

Lineup

C’mon. We can’t not talk about this amazing lineup!

This year’s lineup features an amazing range of artists, from up-and-comers to huge names. Both from here and abroad.

From local favourites like Beccie B & Emilie, to big Kiwi names such as SACHI and Fat Freddy’s Drop, a huge range of familiar names are taking the stage.

Then there’s the overseas talent, huge names in their respective genres and communities, many of whom will climb the global ranks in the years to come. Such as Californian-based rapper, Channel Tres, world-renowned British drum and bass DJ duo, Sigma, or the mind-bending rave beats of Australian duo Hellcat Speedracer, just to name a few.

Check out the full lineup below: