Oro '17 Festival Announcement

Auckland’s Te Ngahere o Woodhill (Woodhill Forest) becomes the beautiful backdrop to a new music festival, with UK music legends Underworld headlining Oro ’17 this April. In their first ever full length New Zealand show, these electronic pioneers are set to dazzle music-lovers with their Coachella-ready set at this brand-new, boutique music festival amongst the trees on Saturday 8 April.

Known for their visual style and dynamic live performances, Underworld are a mainstay in the global electronic scene, with members Karl Hyde and Rick Smith having performed together since meeting as students in 1979. Celebrated as one of the best dance acts of the 90’s, Underworld have not only sold millions of records worldwide and graced the UK Top 40 10 times, but Rick was the musical director for the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, the band have written scores for stage and screen and are still generating fevered critic and audience acclaim with their 2016 release ‘Barbara Barbara, we face a shining future’, nominated for the Best Dance/Electronic Album award for the 2017 Grammys. Best known for their dancefloor smasher ‘Born Slippy (Nuxx)’, the duo again collaborates with director Danny Boyle on T2 Trainspotting with Smith scoring the film and two Underworld tracks appearing on the soundtrack, to be released in New Zealand cinemas this March.

Promoter Dave Roper considers this a late summer surprise, having spent months locking down Underworld who are currently playing some of their most potent and vital live shows in their storied career. “I’ve worked on hundreds of tours throughout my career, but this is going to be a definite highlight” says Roper. “Bringing Underworld and their full live production to New Zealand is a real coup, and the location itself brings something very unique and special to the day.”

Adding to the uniqueness of the festival, the event is being staged in partnership with local iwi Ngāti Whātua o Kaipara. “We’re very excited to host our first ever Music Festival in Te Ngahere o Woodhill. Having a global artist like Underworld perform in our forest is truly special. We are looking forward to welcoming all the artists and music lovers onto our treasured land.”

Making travel to the forest safe and stress free, the R18 festival will be instigating a NZ first in patron transport, with arrivals to the gate from Park & Rides around Auckland covered in the ticket price. Shuttles will leave to and from the festival throughout the duration of the event, ensuring you can arrive and depart at your leisure and that the integrity of the forest remains intact.

Positioned amongst the tranquil surrounds, the day long 6,000 capacity festival will contain everything needed for a day and night of top quality entertainment in the forest, with a wide range of gourmet food, beverages and amenities available on site.

With the full line-up and further festival details to be announced soon, Saturday April 8th is set to be a major fixture on 2017’s musical calendar.

We look forward to welcoming you on to the land for Oro ‘17.