Hamilton Underground Press

02/10/2026

It’s not too many months until I have to teach the oldest kid to drive, and that fills me with some anxiety. This album, though – Motoring for Beginners, by Orangefarm – has the opposite effect. We review the album!

Failsafe Records

22/09/2026

His first schoolteacher was King Kapisi's mum. He used to be a mean cricket player. Along with three mates, he turned a teenage thrash metal band into New Zealand's most bankable rock group. Oh, and this one time, he suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown. Jon Toogood's new book, reviewed:

Home Again, by Jon Toogood, is an enjoyable book written by a grounded rock star. A positive review from Hamilton Underground Press.

08/09/2026

Welcome to The Hamilton Music Wiki, JOB SITE!

Job Site is a Hamilton pus rock band, although they call it terrible garage rock. According to lore that they wrote themselves, the band formed "one weekend in the Waikato over a box of Waikato". If that happened, it happened in 2023.

07/09/2026

SAT 12 SEP
8PM

following the release of LIFE ADVICE and their first australian tour, four-piece SOFT BAIT return home this september for a run of headline shows across aotearoa

known for their loud, energetic live shows, the band will bring songs from their last album, earlier favourites, and a glimpse of what’s next to LAST PLACE this saturday

joined by the tamaki/kirikiriroa cerberus of politically charged post-punk HALF/TIME and local new kids on the block BURROW

tix at utr and on the door

05/09/2026

Classic Album Review: If you were a music loving student at the University of Waikato in the early to mid-1990s, particularly of the live music scene, you will likely remember fondly the Romantic Andes. They released an album 'To Understand the Animals' in 1994. Following a conversation with one of the members, Ian asked himself, "how does the album stack up today"?

If you were a music loving student at the University of Waikato in the early to mid-1990s, particularly of the live music scene, you will likely remember fondly the Romantic Andes.  Active between around 1992 and 1996, they attracted large crowds to their gigs. Larger than most or all other bands a...

24/08/2026

A new set of Nivara Lounge Memories hit the site today, thanks to Danica Bryant, One Man Bannister, and Anecdata. Got a story from down in Hamilton's best basement? Hit us up!

A first show, a long-awaited reunion, and an accidental death threat.

27/07/2026

Things that we didn't expect this week: our first ever chance to listen to Rawer, the 2002 forerunner to Die! Die! Die!

Rawer (Andrew Wilson, Mikey Prain, Ricky French) was a 2002 precursor of Die Die Die. Dominion Road Noise Control is their only recording.

23/07/2026

Added a few more gigs to the HUP sidebar, now wondering whether we might have a type...

22/07/2026

For the incredibly busy Vera Ellen, the road to Hamilton (Sunday night! Get tickets now!) has included 40-odd shows in Europe.

Vera Ellen interviewed while In Europe, just before the Heaven Knows What Time album tour comes to New Zealand and Hamilton.

29/06/2026

Down Under Currents is a new weekly podcast and Free FM show that seeks out indie music from beneath NZ's mainstream. Host Gary Farrow tells us all about it:

We interview Gary Farrow about his new podcast Down Under Currents, all about great indie and alternative music from all around New Zealand.