Dunedin festival links live music to youth voter registration
An all-day event on October 3rd in Ōtepoti combined 15 local bands with political engagement, aiming to boost enrolment rates ahead of the election.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Local residents in Ōtepoti experienced a shift in community engagement on October 3rd when an industrial street hosted an all-day, all-ages music festival dedicated to encouraging youth voter enrolment. The event, organized by DUN Records, operated from 12 pm to 8 pm, providing a direct incentive for young people to register and vote. Attendees who confirmed their enrolment status received bumper stickers, while political representatives interacted directly with the crowd between musical sets.
The festival featured a lineup of 15 local acts, including Motheaten, Coward!, the pink opaque, Grace Gemmell, Deaf Raccoon, and Dolly Possum. Production services were provided by Southern Lights, offering professional lighting, rigging, and sound systems typically reserved for touring artists. All profits generated by the event were directed to the performers. The full day was livestreamed on YouTube by Retrospect Entertainment, with Craig Daniels of Campus Watch conducting crowd interviews to reach audiences beyond Dunedin.
Natasha Griffiths of DUN Records stated that the local music scene remains underfunded while youth enrolment rates stay low. She described the festival as an opportunity to create a safe space for young people and to demonstrate the importance of their votes. The event aimed to bridge the gap between young residents and the political process, making voting feel like a personal choice rather than a civic obligation.
Dunedin electorate candidates Victor Billot of the Alliance, Francisco Hernandez of the Greens, and Rachel Brooking of Labour attended the festival. Hernandez noted that while the current government may not always listen to young people, individual politicians are making efforts to connect with them. He emphasized the need to create a system that is more friendly to young people and Māori. Brooking agreed, pointing out that some right-wing politicians are actively trying to disenfranchise youth, particularly with the vote enrolment deadline closing on October 25.
Musicians at the event expressed that art is inherently political. Zac of the pink opaque compared the local scene to historical punk movements, noting that the desire to protest and engage remains alive in Dunedin. Tane of Sivle Talk stated that music brings the community together, driven by shared experiences of being broke and motivated. The performers highlighted that the production quality of the event matched that of larger national festivals, offering a platform for local artists that is often missing in the region.
The event ran without major interruptions, aside from a generator failure caused by the band Bunchy’s Big Score. The festival concluded with a full day of performances and political dialogue, serving as a model for community engagement outside of traditional lecture theatre settings. The livestream remains available on YouTube for those who missed the in-person event.
The next scheduled step for the organisers is the distribution of profits to the participating bands. The video recording of the festival is currently accessible online, allowing a wider audience to view the performances and interviews conducted throughout the day.
