Le Currents Festival 2020
The inaugural Le Currents Festival kicked off in the stunning Riverside Park, Taupō on 27th December 2020. Slotting into that sweet spot between Christmas and New Year’s festivities, the indie-based music and arts festival has secured a solid little gap in the market for punters coming off wholesome holiday time chilling with fam and friends.
Lost Motel were engaged to run the Artist Liaison Department for the 4,000 cap, 15-act festival, and we’re stoked to say that it all went off without a hitch! New relationships were established with local accommodation and service providers, who were all amazing to work with. ‘No Vacancy’ signs went up across the small regional town as 43 hotel rooms were locked in for the festival, and they were all suitably within walking distance of the stunning lakefront to boot!
The new site was utilised beautifully; rows of towering trees provided ample shade for everyone to chill backstage while playing their choice of giant Connect Four, Jenga or Cornhole. Out front there was plenty of room for two stages and a buzzing arts & food market area as well. A range of unique art installations also provided an interesting environment for punters to engage with (and a great backdrop for those essential social media snaps) – the giant Le Currents sign proved to be particularly popular with everyone!
Two Minds turning it up at the La Danse stage.
Mako Road bringing the magic on mainstage.
We implemented our custom itinerary templates and advance processes to ensure all artists arrived feeling well-looked after and prepared for their set. A large communal area was also created backstage to give everyone the chance to come together and celebrate the excitement of a new festival with a real sense of community, and it was so nice to see the full NZ lineup of artists reconnecting with each other after their family Christmas celebrations. We’ll also never forget the iconic image of our legendary operations manager Rosie doing hot laps around the site with her Kathmandu camp trolley making essential deliveries all day… absolute hero!
Our team of 11 worked tirelessly (as always) on the day to ensure all artists, crew and guests left with a smile on their face, and we’re excited by the prospect that we’ll get to see some of those smiling faces again with Le Currents v2 on the cards. The Taupō Taniwha well and truly blessed us with a successful first run!
Don’t miss the official Le Currents 2020 Aftermovie here.
Photos by Joel McDowell and Kenzie Pigman.
A wholesome little backstage portrait moment with Mako Road.
Twilight at the main stage.
