Three Boys Brewery Presents DarkSpace12

Ōtautahi’s much loved multi-venue mini-fest ‘DarkSpace’ returns to Saint Asaph Street on Saturday 10th September with a stacked line up of South Island musical talent performing across Darkroom, Space Academy and 12 Bar.

With thirteen acts to see throughout the evening, ticket holders will be able to move between the three venues from 7pm till late for what could only be described as the ultimate collaboration and celebration of Ōtautahi thriving music community.

The eastern fringe of the city where all three venues are located has become the 03’s hub for independent live music following the Christchurch quakes. The first DarkSpace was held in 2016 and showcased six bands in one night across the two neighbouring venues, Darkroom and Space Academy. During the years to follow, five DarkSpace events were organised between the two venues before 12 Bar’s opening in 2020. The first three-venue event, ‘Zorza’ was presented by RDU 98.5FM in November that year as a united response to the impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic had brought upon the local grassroots music industry. After a couple more lockdowns, DarkSpace finally returns under the apt moniker of DarkSpace12.

“Previous iterations bore the names DarkSpace, DarkSpace II, DarkSpace III,

Darkspace IV and Darkspace V, so we thought it would be funny to jump from 5 to 12 once we added 12 Bar into the mix” explains Darkroom co-owner Feather Shaw.

“Each venue curated their own line up for DarkSpace12, selecting a few of their favourite acts to invite to be part of the festival. As venues and individuals we all have such different musical tastes, and this helped to curate a line up that covered a range of genres,” Shaw explains. “We wanted a mix of newer and more established acts, some known names and some new discoveries, and a good mix of talent that celebrated diversity in terms of folks who can often unfortunately be under-represented in mainstream music events” says Shaw.

The end result is a line up that will showcase and celebrate emerging local acts who regularly play at the venues such as Saint Peter’s Thursday and Just Another June, as well as including some more established acts, a bunch of familiar faces who have been in the music community for a good while now with the likes of Violet French and The Horrible, and Opawa 45s.

Shaw is originally from Ōtepoti and says she is most excited to have her home town favourites Night Lunch on the line up. She’ll also take to the stage with her own band, Bin Day, while 12 Bar Duty Manager Hollan Brabet will be behind the drum kit for Avon Dads.

Night Lunch announced to perform at DarkSpace12

The eastern fringe of the city where all three venues are located has become the 03’s hub for independent live music following the Christchurch quakes. The first DarkSpace was held in 2016 and showcased six bands in one night across the two neighbouring venues, Darkroom and Space Academy. During the years to follow, five DarkSpace events were organised between the two venues before 12 Bar’s opening in 2020. The first three-venue event, ‘Zorza’ was presented by RDU 98.5FM in November that year as a united response to the impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic had brought upon the local grassroots music industry. After a couple more lockdowns, DarkSpace finally returns under the apt moniker of DarkSpace12.

Artwork from DarkSpace (2016), Darkspace V (2018) and Zorza (2020)

“Previous iterations bore the names DarkSpace, DarkSpace II, DarkSpace III,

Darkspace IV and Darkspace V, so we thought it would be funny to jump from 5 to 12 once we added 12 Bar into the mix” explains Darkroom co-owner Feather Shaw.

“Each venue curated their own line up for DarkSpace12, selecting a few of their favourite acts to invite to be part of the festival. As venues and individuals we all have such different musical tastes, and this helped to curate a line up that covered a range of genres,” Shaw explains. “We wanted a mix of newer and more established acts, some known names and some new discoveries, and a good mix of talent that celebrated diversity in terms of folks who can often unfortunately be under-represented in mainstream music events” says Shaw.

The end result is a line up that will showcase and celebrate emerging local acts who regularly play at the venues such as Saint Peter’s Thursday and Just Another June, as well as including some more established acts, a bunch of familiar faces who have been in the music community for a good while now with the likes of Violet French and The Horrible, and Opawa 45s.

Shaw is originally from Ōtepoti and says she is most excited to have her home town favourites Night Lunch on the line up. She’ll also take to the stage with her own band, Bin Day, while 12 Bar Duty Manager Hollan Brabet will be behind the drum kit for Avon Dads.

Violet French and The Horrible

Rather than being based around one particular headline act that the night builds up to, the festival’s strength is in the line up as a whole. The diverse programming aims to expose attendees to something new that they may have not experienced before and for that unexpected moment to potentially become their DarkSpace12 highlight.

Tickets are available for purchase from 10am, Wednesday 10th August from Under The Radar

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