2018: The Year In Review

Crowd Shot - The Year In Review

2018: The Year In Review

2018 huh!? It’s been a huge year for music fans – the amount of concerts in New Zealand has increased exponentially, there has been a LOT of amazing content produced this year and it looks like physical album sales are finally climbing their way back from obsolescence thanks in no small part to the vinyl popularity boom.

Here at Ambient Light we have been lucky enough to be neck deep in musical goodness the whole year long, it’s been an incredible ride that while at times has been overwhelming, there’s no way we would have wanted it any other way!

I want to take this opportunity to thank the large team of photographers and writers who have contributed to Ambient Light this year, I love you all like close family and can’t wait to work with you all in 2019 to create more of New Zealand’s best music-related content.

I also want to thank all of our readers for your patronage this year. We wouldn’t have had half the opportunities we did without you being there to check out our content (and sometimes even kindly and generously thrown us a bone for being able to do so). We really look forward to what 2019 has in store, for us and for you!

So read on below for a few of our “best of” lists from 2018 – have a great holiday break, and we’ll see you in 2019 ready to ROCK!

Doug Peters
Editor in Chief – Ambient Light

Top 10 Concerts (by stats)

Queen + Adam Lambert performing live in Auckland, New Zealand, 2018. Image by Doug Peters.

  1. Queen + Adam Lambert, Auckland NZ, 2018
  2. Roger Waters, Auckland NZ, 2018
  3. Cher, Auckland NZ, 2018
  4. Storm The Gates Festival, Auckland NZ, 2018
  5. Foo Fighters & Weezer, Auckland NZ, 2018
  6. Bay Dreams Festival, Tauranga NZ, 2018
  7. Post Malone, Auckland NZ, 2018
  8. Ed Sheeran, Auckland NZ, 2018
  9. Bryan Adams, Matakana NZ, 2018
  10. Imagine Dragons, Auckland NZ, 2018
Top 10 Interviews (by stats)

A Perfect Circle

  1. Reapproaching The Former: A Perfect Circle Interview
  2. Being Your Own Sound in the Digital Age of Music: A LANY Interview
  3. Opinions & Personal Taste: A Cattle Decapitation Interview
  4. A Return To The Time Songs Told Stories: A Boney M Interview
  5. Music, The Great Healer: A Cigarettes After Sex Interview
  6. Off Kilter Confusion & Golf: A Biffy Clyro Interview
  7. Embracing History: A Mortiis Interview
  8. Playing With An Accent: An Iron Maidens Interview
  9. Learning To Say No: A Suicidal Tendencies Interview
  10. Seeking Game Changers: A Wednesday 13 Interview
Top 10 concerts (as chosen by Doug Peters / Ambient Light)

Roger Waters performing live in Auckland, New Zealand 2018. Image by Doug Peters.

  1. Roger Waters, Auckland NZ, 2018
  2. Pale Waves, Auckland NZ, 2018
  3. Dead Kennedys, Auckland NZ, 2018
  4. Peter Murphy, Auckland NZ, 2018
  5. Queen + Adam Lambert, Auckland NZ, 2018
  6. Brooke Candy, Auckland NZ, 2018
  7. Ohakune Mardi Gras, Ohakune NZ, 2018
  8. Wu-Tang Clan, Auckland NZ, 2018
  9. Queens Of The Stone Age, Auckland NZ, 2018
  10. Mastodon & Gojira, Auckland NZ, 2018
Top 10 Instagram Posts (by “likes”)

Instagram - A Year In Review

  1. Queens Of The Stone Age – Spark Arena, Auckland
  2. The War on Drugs – Laneway Festival 2018, Auckland
  3. Brian May (Queen) – Spark Arena, Auckland
  4. Grace Jones – Auckland City Limits 2018, Auckland
  5. Peter Murphy – Powerstation, Auckland
  6. Roger Waters – Spark Arena, Auckland
  7. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) – Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
  8. David Duchovny – Powerstation, Auckland
  9. Marlon Williams – Auckland Town Hall, Auckland
  10. Taylor Swift – Mount Smart Stadium, Auckland
Top 10 Albums (as chosen by Doug Peters / Ambient Light)

Zeal & Ardor Stranger Fruit

  1. Zeal & Ardor – Stranger Fruit
  2. A Perfect Circle – Eat The Elephant
  3. Turbonegro – RockNRoll Machine
  4. Beach House – 7
  5. Death Grips – Year Of The Snitch
  6. Alien Weaponry – Tū
  7. Alice In Chains – Rainier Fog
  8. Avantdale Bowling Club – Avantdale Bowling Club
  9. Pale Waves – My Mind Makes Noises
  10. Marlon Williams – Make Way For Love
Bonus List: Top 10 most anticipated concerts of 2019 (So far…)

Zeal & Ardor Promo Image 2018

  1. Zeal & Ardor, Valhalla, Wellington
  2. Download Festival, Flemington Racecourse, Melbourne
  3. Eminem, Westpac Stadium, Wellington
  4. Laneway Festival, Albert Park, Auckland
  5. The Prodigy, Trusts Arena, Auckland
  6. Marlon Williams & The APO, Villa Maria Winery, Auckland
  7. Slayer & Anthrax, Eventfinda Stadium, Auckland
  8. KISS, Spark Arena, Auckland
  9. Greta Van Fleet, Logan Campbell Centre, Auckland
  10. Post Malone, Spark Arena, Auckland

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