Bay Dreams is an annual music festival held in

Tauranga Tauranga (, Māori language for "resting place," or "safe anchorage") is a coastal city in the Bay of Plenty Region and the List of cities in New Zealand, fifth-most populous city of New Zealand, with an urban population of or roughly 3% of t ...

and Queenstown,

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The festival began in Tauranga (

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

) in 2016 and in 2019 expanded to the South Island.

Line-ups

2016

Bay Dreams launched on 2 January 2016. It featured

Pendulum A pendulum is a device made of a weight suspended from a pivot so that it can swing freely. When a pendulum is displaced sideways from its resting, equilibrium position, it is subject to a restoring force due to gravity that will accelerate i ...

David Dallas David Dallas (born 28 August, 1982) is a New Zealand rapper and songwriter of Samoan and European descent. He began his career under the stage name Con Psy, as part of the rap group Frontline, before changing his stage name to his birth name an ...

Carmada Carmada is an electronic music project by Australian record producer Yahtzel (Max Armata), and formerly a duo with record producer L D R U Drew Carmody (born 21 June 1993), better known by his stage name L D R U, is an Australian DJ and mus ...

P-Money Peter Wadams (born 25 February 1978), better known by his stage name P-Money, is a New Zealand DJ and producer. In 2008 P-Money released the single "Everything", which featured the New Zealand R&B singer Vince Harder. The song reached num ...

, and

The Black Seeds The Black Seeds are a reggae inspired musical group from Wellington, New Zealand.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)The Black Seeds, rooted in reggae, '' Jamaica Observer'', 27 November 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2013 Their rocksteady song "O ...

2017

Bay Dreams 2017 took place on 2 January 2017, quickly arising to become the largest summer festival that season with over 18,500 attendees. It featured

Yelawolf Michael Wayne Atha (born December 30, 1979), better known by his stage name Yelawolf, is an American rapper. Born in Gadsden, Alabama, and raised in Antioch, Tennessee, he embarked on his recording career in 2005, releasing four mixtapes to pos ...

Shapeshifter In mythology, folklore and speculative fiction, shapeshifting is the ability to physically transform oneself through unnatural means. The idea of shapeshifting is found in the oldest forms of totemism and shamanism, as well as the oldest exist ...

Sticky Fingers ''Sticky Fingers'' is the ninth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. It was released on 23 April 1971 on the Rolling Stones' new label, Rolling Stones Records. The Rolling Stones had been contracted by Decca Records an ...

Grandmaster Flash Joseph Robert Saddler (born January 1, 1958), known by his stage name Grandmaster Flash, is a Barbadian-American musician and DJ. He created a DJ technique called the Quick Mix Theory. This technique serviced the break-dancer and the rapper by el ...

Peking Duk Peking Duk is an Australian electronic music band from Canberra, made up of disc jockeys and record producers Adam Hyde and Reuben Styles. The pair first garnered attention in 2012 with the release of a Passion Pit bootleg remix. Their biggest ...

Ryan Hemsworth Ryan Hemsworth (born 23 April 1990) is a Canadian record producer and DJ. He specialises in electronic music and sampling. He has produced tracks for Tinashe, Tory Lanez, Mitski, and E-40. Biography Raised in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Hemsworth a ...

, and

Mitch James Mitch James (born 26 June 1995) is a New Zealand singer, songwriter and guitarist from Auckland. He is best known for his songs "Bright Blue Skies", "Sunday Morning", "No Fixed Abode", "Move On" and "21" which have featured in the Official New Z ...

2018

Bay Dreams 2018 took place on 2 January 2018. It featured

DJ Snake William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French DJ and record producer. He was first credited with production work on several singles for other artists—including " Shut It Down" by Pitbull an ...

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...

, Machine Gun Kelly, Ocean Alley.

2019

North

Bay Dreams North 2019 took place on 2 January 2019 in

Mount Maunganui Mount Maunganui (, ) is a major residential, commercial and industrial suburb of Tauranga located on a peninsula to the north-east of Tauranga's city centre. It was an independent town from Tauranga until the completion of the Tauranga Harb ...

, Tauranga, with a warm up event happening on 1 January. It featured

Cardi B Belcalis Marlenis Cephus (; born October 11, 1992), known professionally as Cardi B, is an American rapper. Noted for her unfiltered public image and lyrics, Cardi B is one of the most successful female rappers. From 2015 to early 2017, she ga ...

Rich The Kid Dimitri Leslie Roger (born July 13, 1992), known professionally as Rich the Kid, is an American rapper. After a number of independent mixtapes, he signed with Interscope Records in 2017 to release his debut studio album, '' The World Is Yours'' ...

Tash Sultana Taj Hendrix "Tash" Sultana (born 15 June 1995) is an Australian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and music producer, described as a " one-person band". Sultana rose to international prominence with their 2016 single "Jungle", which was ...

Suicideboys Suicideboys (stylized as $UICIDEBOY$) is an American hip hop duo from New Orleans, Louisiana. Formed in 2013 by cousins Scrim (stylized as $crim) and Ruby da Cherry, the duo initially rose to popularity on SoundCloud for their abrasive, self-pr ...

, Macky Gee,

Pnau Pnau, stylised as PNAU, is an Australian Electronic dance music, dance music trio originating from Sydney, Australia, Sydney. The trio, a duo before 2016, consists of the musicians Nick Littlemore (vocals, production), Peter Mayes (guitar, produ ...

Sheck Wes Khadimou Rassoul Cheikh Fall (born September 10, 1998), known professionally as Sheck Wes, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2018 song "Mo Bamba (song), Mo Bamba", which went viral online before peaking at number six on the Billboa ...

Katchafire Katchafire are an all Māori New Zealand roots reggae band from Hamilton, New Zealand. History Katchafire formed in Hamilton in 1997, originally as a Bob Marley tribute band.Campbell-Livingston, Cecelia (2013)Katchafire keeping NZ reggae scene ...

Migos Migos () were an American hip hop group founded in Lawrenceville, Georgia, in 2008. The group was composed of rapper Quavo, his nephew Takeoff, and their "cousin" friend Offset. Quavo is from Athens, Georgia, while Offset and Takeoff were bo ...

were scheduled to perform, however pulled out of the festival and were replaced with Sheck Wes and Rich The Kid. 30,000 attended the event making it New Zealand's largest festival.

South

Bay Dreams South 2019 launched on 4 January 2019. It featured

, Macky Gee,

. 20,000 attended this first event making it the largest festival in the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

2020

Bay Dreams 2020 took place in Tauranga on 2 January and in Nelson on 4 January. Both events featured headlining act

Tyler, The Creator Tyler Gregory Okonma (born March 6, 1991), known professionally as Tyler, the Creator, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has been cited as an influential figure in alternative hip-hop during the 2010s. Tyler beca ...

, as well as

Skepta Joseph Olaitan Adenuga Jr. (born 19 September 1982), known professionally as Skepta, is a British grime MC, rapper, record producer and DJ. Alongside his younger brother Jme, he briefly joined Roll Deep before they became founding members of ...

Ocean Alley Ocean Alley is an Australian alternative psychedelic rock band from the Northern Beaches. The band is made up of Baden Donegal (vocals, guitar), Angus Goodwin (lead guitar), Lach Galbraith (keyboard, vocals), Mitch Galbraith (guitar), Nic Blom ( ...

, Gunna,

Cordae Cordae Amari Brooks ( Dunston; born August 26, 1997), known mononymously as Cordae (formerly YBN Cordae and Entendre), is an American rapper. He began his career as a member of the hip hop collective YBN (collective), YBN. His 2019 debut studio ...

, and more.

2021

Bay Dreams 2021 was held in Tauranga on 3 January and in Nelson on 5 January. Both events featured headlining DJ sets from

Sub Focus Nicolaas Douwma (born 13 April 1982), better known by his stage name Sub Focus, is an English DJ, music producer, songwriter and sound engineer. He has been releasing records since 2003. On 12 October 2009, he released his self-titled debut ...

, and Dimension among others. They also featured sets from artists and bands such as

EarthGang EarthGang (stylized EARTHGANG) is an American hip hop duo from Atlanta, Georgia, composed of Olu (aka Johnny Venus; born Olu Onyemachi Dakarai Fann) and WowGr8 (aka Doctur Dot; born Eian Parker). They are co-founders of the musical collective S ...

HP Boyz HP Boyz are an Australian hip hop and drill band formed in 2019 in Hampton Park, Melbourne.The band is composed of "HP Onit" whose real name is Tino Taito and "HP YJ" Whose real name Is Junior Mika and "HP MWAYZ" whose real is Samoa Funa Thei ...

Dave Dobbyn Sir David Joseph Dobbyn (born 3 January 1957) is a New Zealand musician, singer–songwriter and record producer. In his early career he was a member of the rock group Th' Dudes and was the main creative force in pop band DD Smash. Since then h ...

, Home Brew, Melodownz, and more. The Nelson event also featured a set from

L.A.B. L.A.B. is a New Zealand reggae band formed in Whakatāne, Bay of Plenty in 2016. Its founding members are Brad Kora (backing vocals and drums) and Stuart Kora (backing vocals, keyboard and guitar) of the band Kora. They soon engaged Joel Shadbo ...

2022

The 2022 event was eventually cancelled in light of the ongoing

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

Pandemic. The line-up planned to include: Netsky,

Chase & Status Chase & Status are an English electronic music duo composed of Saul Milton (Chase) and Will Kennard (Status). In addition, Andy Gangadeen is the drummer when the band performs live. MC Rage formerly performed as MC with the group, but left in ...

, Hybrid Minds,

Blindspott Blindspott is an alternative metal band from West Auckland, New Zealand. After performing under the name Blacklistt for several years, the original line-up got back together in 2018.Kellman, Andy " Blindspott Biography, Allmusic, Macrovisio ...

, and more.

2023

The 2023 event occurred on 3 January (

) and 5 January 2023 (

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

). The line-up included:

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

Denzel Curry Denzel Rae Don Curry (born February 16, 1995) is an American rapper. Born and raised in Miami Gardens, Florida, Curry started rapping while in the sixth grade and began working on his first mixtape, ''King Remembered Underground Tape 1991–1995 ...

Freddie Gibbs Fredrick Jamel Tipton (born June 14, 1982), better known by his stage name Freddie Gibbs, is an American rapper and songwriter. He signed with Interscope Records in 2006 and recorded his debut album for the label; however, its release was cance ...

, Hybrid Minds Outlines,

ONEFOUR Onefour (stylised in all caps) are an Australian drill and rap group originating from the Western Sydney suburb of Mount Druitt. They are regarded by many as the pioneers of drill music in Australia, following a run of viral singles in 2019. ...

, KOVEN,

SG Lewis Samuel George Lewis (born 9 July 1994) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. He is mostly known for collaborating with many artists from Tove Lo, Robyn, Dua Lipa, Nelly Furtado, Mabel, Victoria Monét, Lucky Daye, J ...

and more.

2024

In 2024 the

event was relocated to Queenstown. The 2024 event occurred on 3 January (

) and 5 January 2023 ( Queenstown). The line-up included:

Quavo Quavious Keyate Marshall (born April 2, 1991), better known by his stage name Quavo (), is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman of the now-defunct hip hop group Migos. Formed with his nep ...

Sigma Sigma ( ; uppercase Σ, lowercase σ, lowercase in word-final position ς; ) is the eighteenth letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 200. In general mathematics, uppercase Σ is used as an operator ...

, Bad Boy Chiller Crew, Vibe Chemistry b2b Alcemist, Lucille Croft, and DJ Skepsis.{{Cite web , date=2024-02-07 , title=International and local acts announced for Bay Dreams 2024 , url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/bay-of-plenty-times/news/bay-dreams-2024-line-up-international-and-local-acts-announced/QKFD5GQQVNCQ5IIKOE2LQPMUZM/ , access-date=2024-02-07 , website=

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

, language=en-NZ

References

External links

Bay Dreams website
Electronic music festivals in New Zealand Music festivals established in 2016 Summer in New Zealand