Festival News - Splore Festival Performance + Wellbeing Offerings for 2026! - 12th December 2025

Co-curated by - Shaquille Wasasala aka Half Queen, John Minty

New Zealand’s most loved independent music and arts festival, Splore, returns to Tāpapakanga Regional Park from 20th–22nd February 2026 for its 20th year at the stunning beachside location. Today Splore reveals its eclectic 2026 performance, cabaret and wellbeing programme, confirms the much-loved Lucky Star coffee cart turned entertainment extravaganza is back, announces a new creative collaboration with Auckland Pride and drops a sneak peek at some of the artists shaping today’s visual culture in the soon-to-be-announced visual arts programme.

These sit alongside the already announced, scene-defining music line-up, expertly co-curated by Shaquille Wasasala (Half Queen) and long-time Splore director John Minty. Across six stages, stellar international and Aotearoa artists will bring cutting-edge sounds and future cult favourites to one of the most beautiful festival sites in the world.

Now more than 25 years in, Splore has carved out its place as a fiercely independent cultural beacon for Tāmaki Makaurau. The festival’s world-building goes far beyond the music, with exquisite art installations, eclectic performance and cabaret, spaces for wellness and self-expression, and room for the whole whānau, kids included, to plug into the magic. Inclusive and carefully curated, Splore is an arcadian utopia, a candy store of experiences and discoveries for the curious and open-minded.

The Performing Arts programme for 2026 brings home a wave of world class Kiwi talent who have been winning awards and hearts overseas. Chris Oh!, phenomenal Boylesque superstar and bonafide Splore icon, will tear up Main Stage, then teach a free Saturday workshop for anyone keen to learn his sexy, sassy moves. The Butterfly who Flew into the Rave lands with the full-force choreography that powered an 18-month international tour. Much loved clown Fraser Hooper returns after a huge year in Europe. Rock ’n’ roll street-show legend Paul Klaass, one of Aotearoa’s most charismatic carneys, comes back fresh from London and Edinburgh seasons. Aerial star Oblivion Westwood continues her wild rise above it all.

This year, Splore’s iconic cabaret steps out of the Naked Eye Stage and storms Main Stage for a bold Saturday night takeover. Festival Director John Minty’s decision to hand cabaret a prime slot shows just how central performance is to Splore’s DNA. Long-time cabaret writer and Splore performance director Emma Herbert Vickers delivers M O R T A L Fever Dream, a one-off show created just for Splore and choreographed with World of WearableArt’s Kayla Paige. Auckland Fashion Week darlings and ballroom icons House of Coven bring runway drama and ballroom flair. Tāmaki Makaurau’s sharpest parkour acrobats and dancers from The Conservatory Studios will be popping up all over the site. Cirque du Solittle, the irreverent ASMR Bar and visiting Los Angeles artist Tyler Nacho hold court in the Not Very Big Top. All around them, roving characters drift past like escapees from a Dalí painting or a freaky future, while roller skaters, dancers, free hugs and acrobats appear right when you need them.

At the beating heart of Splore is Lucky Star, which in 2026 is appearing exclusively at Tāpapakanga. Lucky Star first rolled in as a humble coffee caravan and juice bar and from day one just blew up with its own life and energy. “It was wild, irreverent and more than a bit chaotic, yet it always just worked,” says Festival Producer Fryderyk Kublikowski. Over time the Splore crew let it grow and mutate until it became a beloved world within the festival on its own terms.

Run by Mels Berg and Jonas Karsten, Lucky Star mirrors their free-roaming life on the road. When they’re not travelling Aotearoa with a convoy of house trucks and The Extravaganza Fair, or living on their slice of paradise halfway up Mt Taranaki, they roll into Tāpapakanga with a loyal cast of friends and build a buzzing hub that feels like a circus sideshow, backstreet dive bar and a community living room all at once. “We showed up slinging espresso, but Lucky Star was always going to misbehave. Every Splore we tilt things a bit further, from the Portal to late-night disco, ridiculous fashion shows to sunrise bliss-out DJ sets. It is chaos in the best way and Splore gives us the canvas to splash all our colours around,” says Berg.

Berg is also a skilled music and entertainment curator, threading her playful ideas of good times through the Lucky Star programme with top live acts, the finest DJs and antics that draw in, ambush and completely beguile the up-for-it crowd.

For 2026, the line-up is exclusive to Lucky Star. Bass innovator ASHEZ brings high energy, international festival fire. Afro-rooted ensemble Culture Embassy and brass-fuelled party band Mermaid Bait keep the dancefloor at full tilt, while songwriter and performer Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant carves out intimate pockets of song and storytelling. Long time Splore favourite Dylan C returns with the emotional, journey style DJ sets that have become the stuff of late night legend. New for this year, Lucky Star teams up with Loop Recordings Aot(ear)oa for the Loop Electronica Sessions, serving up heady sets from the label’s extended whānau Harry Charles, Sanoi, Zuke. Across the weekend, Lucky Star regulars like Mamadafunk and vinyl diggers Pretty Fly & A White Guy hold the thread with deep soul and disco grooves. And, the not to be missed Mozzarella Cheese Making Rave. Mixing cheese science with cheese maestro Wallace Wensleydale, from fresh milk to fully stretched mozzarella, churn out laughs, lore and lactose in a high energy unforgettable cheese string rave. Prepare for culture. Literally.

Wendy’s Wellness returns in 2026 as Splore’s sanctuary on the hill, where yoga, sound, movement and mischief all share the same mat. The programme threads together breathwork and beach yoga with Taane Mete and Jock-Barnes Graham, a new Run Club with Kayla Jade Gordine that explores hidden corners of Tāpapakanga, Human Design insights from Christine Spicer, and Sonic Flow, a Qigong and Double Gong Journey with the only forty inch Atlantis Gong in Aotearoa. Twerkwerk® brings booty medicine for the soul, Tor White’s Ahoy Griefy invites grief onto the dancefloor, and guided life drawing sessions offer a different kind of stillness and self discovery.

By night the zone shape-shifts into After Dark. The 2026 programme opens with screenings of Serena Stevenson’s Splore film Three Days in February, including a special live remix of the soundtrack, then slides into deep, late night sets from Misled Convoy, Nikita, Love Language, Dive Deep, Toroa, Xuno and Chloe Palmer with VJ Crockstar on visuals. Around them, a village of practitioners offers massage, tarot, palm readings, reiki and reflexology, with sessions available to pre book in the week before the festival. Take the goat track and you will find a whole ecosystem of wellbeing waiting at the top.

Splore 2026 will again turn Tāpapakanga into a living gallery, with large-scale beings, illuminated forms and site-specific works threading through the pōhutukawa shoreline. Visual Arts Producer Shea O’Neill says, “This year we are reimagining the Tāpapakanga environment with colour, bold shapes, movement and light, turning the groves into curated art spaces for Splorers to explore day and night.” For now, Splore can confirm work by Lisa Reihana and Trace Element, with the full visual arts line-up still under wraps.

Still to come are full details of the weekend-long kids zone programme and a series of spoken word forums, all set to add even more layers to Splore’s world.

Topping today’s announcements is PrideXSplore, a new collaboration between the Splore Festival Charitable Trust and Auckland Pride. On Saturday 21st February, the queerest day of the festival, Auckland Pride will bring a busload of party people from Karangahape Road to Tāpapakanga for a one day Splore hit. The PrideXSplore pass includes return transport, a guided queer crew experience and a built in posse of rainbow pals to explore, swim and dance with.

In true community style, once 15 tickets are purchased, Splore will gift the remaining 40 places to queer and trans community members who have registered but may not have the means or access to get to Splore. PrideXSplore is about putting the originators of rave and house music culture back at the centre of the dancefloor. “We are proud to help give the dancefloor back to some of the people on the margins who built it in the first place,” says Festival Producer Fryderyk Kublikowski. “The queens, the queers, the artists and the unclassifiable beings who deserve a space to be at the rave.”

Splore Festival 2026 takes place from 20th to 22nd February at Tāpapakanga Regional Park. Splore is the only place you can experience, Lucky Star and Wendy’s Wellness and Mainstage Cabaret together under one sky this summer. With 140+ acts collectively involved in Splore as of now, there are still more to be announced, bringing the total lineup to over 200.

Tour Dates:

February 20th-22nd 2026, Tāpapakanga Regional Park

Ticket Sales:

https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2026/feb/splore-festival

INTERNATIONAL GUESTS

Röyksopp (dj set) (NO) || Sister Nancy (JM) + Legal Shot (FR) || Nightmares on Wax (UK) || General Levy (UK) + Joe Ariwa (UK) || Mind Enterprises (ITA) || Parson James (USA) || Miss Kaninna (AU) || C.Frim (AU) || Illustrious Blacks (USA) || Beatles Dub Club (UK) || Franca (DE)

LOCAL LIVE & DJS

Tami Neilson || Coco Solid || Jess B || Christoph El Truento (live) || Estère || Dick Move || Romi Wrights || Te KuraHuia || Benny Salvador || Chiccoreli + Tali || DylanBiscuit b2b ajhoneysuckle || BBYFACEKILLA b2b Snakelegs || GoldTooth || Half Queen || ilish || Kaiviti || Marjorie Sinclair || NymphLoads || ORIKoL || Vercetti || WAEWAEXPRESS || Arcadia || Love Language || Hudge || Bobby Brazuka || Dastardly Bounder || DJ Banty || Rose Alice

PERFORMANCE + CABARET

Chris Oh! || The Butterfly Who Flew Into The Rave || House of Coven || Oblivion Westwood || The Conservatory || Chemistry Roller Crew || Tyler Nacho || Blip The Siren || Cirque du Solittle || Flame Entertainment || Fraser Hooper || Free Hugs || Kayla Paige || Letitia Lickkit || The Dynamic Duo || The Paul Klaass Street Show || The Snacrobats

THE LUCKY STAR PRESENTS

AlleyKat || ASHEZ || Barn Dance with a Twist || Benthamism || Breath Wright || Ceci Leemeco || Conrad Coom || Culture Embassy || Darcy & Daisy Lammington || Dylan C || Harry Charles || JJ’s Reggae Bingo || Libby K || Lord Woo || Loop Electronica Sessions || Lucky Star All Stars Band || Mamadafunk || Matt Rapid & Elise Adlam || Mermaid Bait || Mix n Match || Mozzarella Cheese Making Rave || msjos || Narzys Birdie Bonanza || Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant || Patsy Skeet || Pretty Fly & A White Guy || Princess Room || Queen B & The Nobles || Ravensdaughter || Rock N Roll Alley || Sanoi || Sister Act || Stevie T || Take ‘Em To Church || The Fantastic Mr Penguin || The Huneybee Wild || The Mara || Tommy and The Woo || Tysonidero || Zuke

WENDY’S WELLNESS

FACILITATORS: Amanda Wright || Chardin || Christine Spicer || Claire Conza || Franki Cole || Joanna Walden || Julia Vajda de Albuquerque || Katie Greengrass || Kiri Walden || Lauren Filer || Loren Honey || Louise Mills || Maryam Al-Roubaiai || Maya Nova || Meg Bell || Raquel Minh || Sarah Spence || Summer Knight || Tor White || Taane Mete + Jock Barnes Graham || Tracey Bennett || Zoe Kee-Sue

PRACTITIONERS: Christopher Jones || Jackie Segers || James Hancox || Kimberly Mabbett || Lana Raill || Laura Jean || Phoebe Hart || Rā Balderas

AFTER DARK: Chloe Palmer || Deep Dive || Love Language || Misled Convoy || Nikita 雅涵 Tu-Bryant || Three Days In February || Toroa || Xuno’s Conscious Audio Creations

WELLNESS POP-UP: Em Wafer  || Kayla Gordine || Serena Stevenson

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