Arpie Shirlow started Hamilton Underground Press (HUP) in March 2015, in an attempt to help breathe life into the local music scene by being active in organising shows and supporting them through publishing zines, podcasts and online articles. The inaugural Future City was held in March 2017, and was a great success.

Headlining FUTURE CITY FESTIVAL 2018 will be The Datsuns, a band who shot to fame from the local Hamilton scene in the 1990s and went on to establish themselves on the international stage. A selection of more established Hamilton-based bands will appear, including 5 Girls, Glass Shards, Cheshire Grimm and Date Month Year, as will some brand-new acts, namely shoegaze popsters Bloodlux and lo-fi indie rockers Bitter Defeat. Auckland bands also feature heavily, with the glorious indie pop of The Beths, The Scones and Cowboy Dan, plus surf-punks Dad Jokes, and experimental solo artist Pumice.

A further 11 bands will also play at the festival, making a total of 23 bands over the course of two nights, Friday March 9th and Saturday March 10th.

On Friday 9th, bands will perform at Nivara Lounge and Creative Waikato, and on Saturday 10th at Nivara Lounge and The Meteor.

The festival schedule runs from around 7pm each evening, until midnight. Once one band finishes playing, there’s a five-minute gap before the next band starts at the next venue, which makes it possible to walk between venues and watch nearly every single band.

Tickets are available at www.themeteor.co.nz