Festival News - Banished Music, Strange News & 95bFM's 'Strange Universe - Winter' - 11th March 2026
Clockwise from top left - Cass McCombs, Acid Mothers Temple, Cate Le Bon, Dry Cleaning,
Mei Semones, Stereolab, Kelly Moran, The Veils
Even though Banished Music and Strange News are smack bang in the thick of Strange Universe Autumn, it’s been so dang fun they’ve decided now is the perfect time to reveal their first plans for Strange Universe: Winter! Set to ramp up the stakes and take over all of June and a tiny little bit of the end of May*. This first line-up announcement has everything you could set your hearts on and more, and is happening across some of Tāmaki Makaurau’s most beloved venues.
Strange Universe: Winter features the most welcome return of retrofuturist pop heroes Stereolab, Welsh chanteuse and producer extraordinaire Cate Le Bon, and the Fragile World album release show from brooding babes The Veils, all taking the stage at the mighty Powerstation. Hollywood Avondale plays host to droll indie darlings Dry Cleaning, while Double Whammy sets the scene for Japan’s psychedelic legends Acid Mothers Temple and one of the great American singer-songwriters Cass McCombs and his band. Finally, we’re adding two new venues to our list this time around, with the bilingual bossa nova of Mei Semones at the Tuning Fork, and breathtaking Warp Records favourite Kelly Moran at the exquisite Kahui St David’s.
“Putting on shows is really easy, so we decided to do heaps of them all at once” - Matthew Crawley, Executive Director - Strange News Touring
The combined daydream of promoter pals Banished Music and Strange News, Strange Universe is the show series banner designed to celebrate the city’s brilliant venues, and give us all a little something to look forward to. The full line-up for this wintry Auckland fun-fest is coming soon, and we’ve got news for our Wellington pals shortly, but this first drop should be enough to make you wish that mittens season would hurry up and get here. It’s going to be brrrr-illiant.
*Yes, we know May isn’t in winter, but what were we supposed to do, say no to Cass McCombs?
CASS MCCOMBS - TUES 26th MAY - DOUBLE WHAMMY
Recently described by The Guardian as operating “at the highest songwriting level”, celebrated American indie favourite Cass McCombs is a true songwriter’s songwriter. A dozen or so albums in and his songs like Brighter!, Bum Bum Bum, and Absentee have become timeless earworms, with recent album Interior Live Oak seeing Pitchfork agree that this is an artist “in top form”. This one-off show by McCombs and his killer quartet at Double Whammy marks the first time the man has ever taken the stage in Aotearoa, and we’re absolutely thrilled to have him.
DRY CLEANING - WED 3rd JUNE - HOLLYWOOD AVONDALE
Presented in partnership with I Oh You & MG Live
“They’re one of a kind” said NME of London quartet Dry Cleaning, and they were bang on. The band’s recent third album Secret Love is their finest by a country mile, and was recorded in France by none other than producer (and fellow Strange Universe act!) Cate Le Bon. Building on the band’s established spoken word post-punk “thing”, the album sees vocalist Florence Shaw embracing occasional melody, and includes horns, synths, and even Wilco’s own Jeff Tweedy joining on guitar for a tune.
CATE LE BON - FRI 5th JUNE - POWERSTATION
Presented in partnership with Susie Says!
It seems unanimously agreed that Cate Le Bon is a talent for the ages. Following stints producing the likes of Wilco, Horsegirl, and (see above) Dry Cleaning, Le Bon returned with her acclaimed seventh solo album Michelangelo Dying. The album was included in all the end of year lists we’d care to name, and a recent standalone collaboration with St Vincent confirmed Cate Le Bon is still operating in the upper echelon of creativity. Her innovations in song construction and production have recently seen Cate compared to the likes of David Bowie, Laurie Anderson, Björk, and other modern luminaries of music.
MEI SEMONES - TUES 16th JUNE - THE TUNING FORK
With a sumptuous blend of indie rock, bossa nova, jazz, and chamber pop, accomplished guitarist and songwriter Mei Semones is set to make her long-awaited Aotearoa debut at Strange Universe: Winter. Brooklyn-based Mei writes songs in both English and Japanese, celebrating a passion for life, family, music, and more, sentiments which can be heard on her sublime debut album Animaru. Described by Clash Magazine as “a potent talent”, Mei Semones is more than just one to watch, she’s one to become a devoted fan of. SputnikMusic swooned over the songs of Animaru, calling them “as gorgeous as can be, and undeniably triumphant”. Now, it’s your turn to swoon.
KELLY MORAN - WED 17th JUNE - KAHUI ST DAVID’S
New York-based composer and pianist Kelly Moran has spent her career excavating the sonic possibilities of the piano. In the past decade, Moran has released numerous acclaimed albums through the fabled label Warp Records that have challenged the piano’s traditional, classically-imposed school of thought with a more contemporary approach. An accomplished and highly sought-after composer, Moran has collaborated with visionary contemporaries including FKA Twigs, Yves Tumor, The Avalanches, Kelsey Lu, Oneohtrix Point Never, and classical musician Margaret Leng Tan. Happening in the hallowed halls of Kahui St David’s on Khyber Pass, this is one of our wildcard offerings you won’t want to miss.
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE - FRI 19th JUNE - DOUBLE WHAMMY
Formed over thirty years ago by Makoto Kawabata, Acid Mothers Temple & The Paraiso U.F.O. released their debut album in 1997. The album was instantly branded one of the year's best in The Wire magazine, and the band have been an ever-present entity in the cosmic musical realm ever since. Their recorded albums easily number in the dozens, with The Guardian’s David Bennun stating that “Acid Mothers Temple have in their two-decade existence recorded far more head-melting music than any sane person would know what to do with.” Sane people aren’t necessarily this Japanese wonder-band’s target audience, and we are starry eyed to welcome this magic mothership to our very own Strange Universe!
STEREOLAB - THURS 25th JUNE - POWERSTATION
The panic is over! Anglo-French avant-pop group Stereolab are indeed returning to Aotearoa in June, hot on the mechanical heels of last year’s brilliant album Instant Holograms on Metal Film. This was the band’s first studio album in fifteen years, and followed their celebrated reunion in 2019. The Guardian hailed the album as “a radiant return”, and Rolling Stone fizzed over the band’s “gliding grooves, wowing-and-fluttering synthesizers, and lyrics that elegantly pine for more”. They’ve got a cult following for a very good reason, and we’re beyond astonished to have them as part of our winter line-up!
THE VEILS - SAT 27th JUNE - POWERSTATION
Following the critically acclaimed release of Asphodels in 2025, local heroes The Veils return with a bold and invigorated new album, Fragile World. Released June 19 on V2 Records, the album marks a striking shift in tone and energy for the band, with fearless leader Finn Andrews reflecting on his tendency to make each album as a rebellion against his last. Recorded live to tape at Roundhead by Paddy Hill, with production by Tom Healy (Tiny Ruins, The Chills), Fragile World captures The Veils in an urgent and instinctive mode. With its immediacy, intensity, and emotional clarity, Fragile World stands as one of The Veils’ most compelling releases to date, and is the perfect note to go out on for Strange Universe: Winter.
BANISHED MUSIC, STRANGE NEWS & 95bFM PRESENT - STRANGE UNIVERSE - WINTER 2026 FEATURING…
CASS MCCOMBS (USA) - TUESDAY 26th MAY - DOUBLE WHAMMY
DRY CLEANING (UK)
- WEDNESDAY 3rd JUNE - HOLLYWOOD AVONDALE
Presented in partnership with I Oh You & MG Live
CATE LE BON (UK) - FRIDAY 5th JUNE - POWERSTATION
Presented in partnership with Susie Says!
MEI SEMONES (USA) - TUESDAY 16th JUNE - THE TUNING FORK
KELLY MORAN (USA) - WEDNESDAY 17th JUNE - KAHUI ST DAVID’S
ACID MOTHERS TEMPLE (JP) - FRIDAY 19th JUNE - DOUBLE WHAMMY
STEREOLAB (UK/FR) - THURSDAY 25th JUNE - POWERSTATION
THE VEILS ‘FRAGILE WORLD’ ALBUM RELEASE - SATURDAY 27th JUNE - POWERSTATION
& MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED!
Pre-sale tickets - 10AM Friday 13th March
General tickets - 10AM Monday 16th March
Tickets from www.banishedmusic.com
Subscribe to presale at www.banishedmusic.com/subscribe
