Listen In Festival
1st October 2023
Mount Smart, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Doug Peters.
A festival on a Sunday that unfortunately was not a long weekend was no deterrent for tens of thousands of music lovers who flooded through the gates of Mt Smart Stadium in preparation for a day of sounds from many of the hottest artists on the circuit.
Listen Out has been an annual outdoor festival in Australia since 2013, and in that decade, they have hosted some incredible acts. In 2018, Aotearoa was included on the rotation, and even given its own name of ‘Listen In’.
This year, people came out in their droves to see their favourite artists, with many of the crowd dressed to impress despite the typical Tāmaki Makaurau weather that spent most the day figuring out what to do with itself and in the end decided to give a mixed bag of everything, with sun, wind, and the occasional short-lived rain. But nothing was going to deter anyone from enjoying their day.
Big changes from last year saw the line up split over two stages, and props to the organisers, as the layout design meant that the crowds were able to move pretty easily between the two, with plenty of space on the outer edges for those that weren’t feeling up to the crush of the pits.
Kicking off the day, DJ Sir-Vere and local DJ’s and George FM regulars Tizza and Twofold going B2B, kept both areas pumping for those that turned up early. First of the international artists on the Atari stage was Nigerian DJ and record producer Spinall, who while casually dressed in a black hoodie and beanie, silver rimmed shades framing his face, laid down a set that revved up the crowd, a little crazy frog even making an appearance at one point. Celebrating Nigerian Independence Day, Spinall was a solid start to the day.
Over on the 909 stage, English artist Venbee also brought an energy all of her own along with a live guitarist and drummer who completely elevated her set . Dressed in a casual black and white striped top, the 23-year-old singer looked like she was having as a good time as those that had come to see her.
Refreshingly real and open about her ADHD, depression, and dyslexia, Venbee worked the crowd, encouraging them to lose their minds to a track she is releasing on the 20th of October that features an absolutely “filthy drop”. Finishing on undoubtedly her biggest hit to date, ‘Messy in Heaven’, the sun made a rare appearance as the crowd sang in unison to the chorus.
Sadly, the rather shock departure of American artist Metro Boomin from the line-up left a few upset, but the addition of North London’s JBEE certainly made up for it. Comin in hot JBEE held the ever-growing crowd pretty damn well, ‘4am’ certainly a well-known track. Following in the footsteps of Stormzy and Central Cee, his latest album HBK has caught the attention of many, lo-fi drill and melodic storytelling his strong points. Always tough in an outdoor setting the only negative would be the fact that his vocals were a little lost in the overpowering backing tracks, but the talent was there for all to see.
While Piri and Flowidus were holding down 909, bodies were flooding Atari in preparation of JPEGMAFIA or Peggy to his followers, but as the minutes started to painfully tick by it soon became apparent that something wasn’t quite right. Sure enough, a message began to play on the big screen noting that last minute changes had now been made as Peggy had been delayed. A new schedule was flashed up on screen and to their credit Listen In updated their Insta page as quickly as possible for those that weren’t paying attention.
Such is the nature of festivals, even the best plans can be thrown out the window by a flight delay, but rather than getting pissy about it, most people embraced it as a chance to check out something different, take advantage of the amazing array of food and drink or even jump in line for the carnival ride.
Many however sprinted straight over to 909 for the incomparable Marc Rebillet. To the uninitiated, his set may have left them wondering what the hell was going on, to those in the know however it was everything and more.
Unlike the Adelaide audience, who apparently have no respect for those performing, New Zealand embraced Rebillet with open arms. Rising to fame during the worldwide lockdowns, the American electronic musician and YouTuber is the epitome of good vibes. Dressed in one of his infamous kimonos, Rebillet was a whirlwind of energy, said kimono soon being shed (in the slowest, sexiest way possible of course) revealing Marc in his boxers and a pair of loafers. Diving into the front row he soon returned to the stage with audience member Mel who happily twerked in front of his riser for the duration of the song. Respect.
Asking what everyone wanted to hear – Rebillet never one to play a standard set which is half of his appeal – ‘Girl’s Club’ was the overwhelming winner which was delivered with the exuberance many have come to expect. Just to add a little spice, a double ended dildo was hurled onto the stage, which was promptly collected by Marc and shoved inside his boxers before being thrown back into the pit by the end of the track.
Champagne and a green pepper were also some of the items shared between Rebillet and his admirers, his heartfelt thanks and message that he will be back met with roars of appreciation. “Be kind, be considerate, be generous, look after one another, it’s important” he imparted before leaving, a message that really did seem to be taken on by the majority of those in attendance. Hands down best vibes of the day.
Back on Atari and Arrdee had just wrapped up, people pushing in tighter for Coi Leray who came out swingin in black pants, pink shoes and a white crop top, her electric blue hair lookin fine. ‘Self Love’, ‘What’s My Name’ and ‘Get Loud’ all being dropped, but not quite hitting the spot for many who were obviously there for Ice Spice who was due up next.
A little old school sounds were thrown in, impressively choreographed dancers added to the mix, with ‘Baby Don’t Hurt Me’, before ‘Blick Blick’ had everyone bouncin, Coi’s hype man givin it his all. But as her biggest hit ‘Players’ was about to drop, shit went down and Leray was ready to throw hands with those in the pit, declaring that she wouldn’t as she had to keep it “professional”. All seemed to be forgiven though as not only did she finish strongly, despite a rather lacklustre set, Coi Leray also later partied with Arrdee and her kiwi fans at the infamous Sapphires.
No one could deny that besides Skrillex, Ice Spice definitely had the biggest numbers of the day. Waving their Ice Spice flags high, and some even wearing wigs to replicate her iconic look, they squeezed into every space available to be closer to her, more than one munch fiending to be at the very front.
Hailing from the Bronx (or as she prefers to call it ‘Bikini Bottom’), Ice Spice believes in using what god gave her, her liking for mini skirts and shakin it like jelly, soon capturing the attention of many.
But girl has chops too, as she proved by smashing through bangers such as ‘Actin a Smoochie’, and ‘Boys a Liar’; the more popular ‘Munch’ interestingly performed with a far slower more melancholic beat. ‘In Ma Hood’ and ‘Deli’ seeing minds lost and mad twerking around the outer edges from those who weren’t afraid to do so. Love her or hate her, Ice Spice is here to stay, and her army of munches will follow her to the grave.
By now everyone was amped, darkness falling over the stadium which only made the entrance for Lil Uzi Vert that much better. Schedule clashes always suck, and while both Four Tet and Friction are solid acts, Lil Uzi Vert was the set that many chose to lose themselves in.
Having recently released his album Pink Tape, the twenty-eight-year-old from Pennsylvania wasted no time and came in hot with ‘Suicide Doors’ and ‘Of Course’, the bonus track from aforementioned album.
Despite his 5”4 stature, Lil Uzi was a giant, taking no prisoners, he didn’t let up from start to finish, ‘x2’ and ‘Amped’ raining down until Lil Uzi paused to speak; “Everyone knows I’m not good at talkin, I’m good at walkin!”, ‘Pop’ from Eternal Atake proving his point.
Older material came in the form of ‘444 + 222’, ‘Money Longer’, ‘Do What I Want’ and ‘The Way Life Goes’, which saw phones up and fans singing; ’20 Min’ and the emotional ‘XO Tour Llif3’ closing out much of his older material and ‘Just Wanna Rock’ seeing him slide back into Pink Tape seamlessly.
All killer, no filler it would be hard to fault a set that damn good.
Suddenly it dawned on everyone that the day was almost over, and with still no JPEGMAFIA (the originally stated start time of 9pm now being pushed out to 9:30pm) only his day one fans trooped over to 909 to ensure their spot was guaranteed.
Most attendees stayed planted in front of Atari in anticipation of Skrillex, a name that would even be known by your next-door neighbour’s mum at this point considering his career has spanned over almost two decades.
This year has seen Skrillex ramp it up, his collabs with people like Fred Again and Four Tet seeing him sell out Madison Garden, and headline Coachella’s second weekend. He has even released TWO albums, one week apart, because … well why not?
Laser lights lit up the darkness, the crowd going wild as ‘Badders’ and ‘Rumble’ blew them away, everyone was dancing, until they weren’t. Music abruptly stopped, Skrillex was soon asking the crowd to remain calm as the tech crew leapt into action to extinguish a small fire caused by what appeared to be misfired pyrotechnics.
At no point was there any danger to the crowd and everything was handled swiftly, but for those that remember hearing about his set at Primavera Sound earlier this year where the stage also caught fire, it seemed slightly uncanny.
Soon things were back up and running and the crowd were chowing down on some seriously sick beats from one of the kings of the EDM world, ‘Fine Day Anthem’ ringing out across the stadium. But over on 909 Peggy was just about to hit and his day one fans were ready and waiting.
Schedule screwup be damned, Peggy hit the ground runnin and blew everyone away. Thanks to most people being still spellbound by Skrillex, it was a smaller but dedicated crew camped in front of 909 and their perseverance paid off.
With visuals that were on point – from PlayStation style logos through to seizure inducing edits – JPEGMAFIA delivered a killer set that brought deep satisfaction. Kickin it off with ‘Bald’ he soon joked on how he was too outta breath to continue and would have to go “acapella”, attendees showing their appreciation of the raw skill he was laying down.
‘Scaring the Hoes’, ‘Steppa Pig’ and ‘Baby I’m Bleeding’ were all delivered in quickfire succession, Peggy fighting the clock in some ways, but it wrapped the set in such a visceral feeling that it elevated every bar. Mad respect for an artist who had no hype man, or producer, just himself in a trench coat delivering a set that no one will forget any time soon.
Despite the shortened time frame, Peggy still managed to fit in several more tracks including ‘Vengeance’, ‘Burfict!’ and the contagious, glitch pop-esque ‘Fentanyl Tester’. Professing his love and appreciation for those that had waited for him, the feeling was certainly mutual.
Quick sprint back to Atari and Skrillex was just finishing up, the classic ‘Bangarang’ leading into ‘Cinema’ and a impressive fireworks display that sent punters off into the night with grins on their faces.
Diversity of artists, logical layouts, safe zones and good vibes – sure Listen In had some hiccups but the organisers had definitely learnt from last year and put in some serious mahi into making 2023 a far more accessible and enjoyable experience for all.
Kudos – and bring on 2024!
Skrillex:
JPEGMAFIA:
Lil Uzi Vert:
Four Tet:
Ice Spice:
Coi Leray:
Arrdee:
JBEE:
Spinall:
Tizza B2B Twofold:
DJ Sir-Vere:
Audience / Atmosphere:
Were you there at Mount Smart Stadium for this magnificent electronic and hip hop festival? Or have you seen any of the acts perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Note: Ambient Light was provided passes to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission at no cost to you.
If you enjoyed this content, please consider donating towards the running of Ambient Light, covering expenses and allowing us to expand the coverage you love by visiting our PressPatron page.