The Stage Door was a basement club in Hereford Lane, central Christchurch, that ran from 1964 to around 1968 under three names — King Bee Koffee Kellar, Stage Door, and Ram Jam Club. Home to Chants R&B and the city’s mod underground, it was Christchurch’s answer to the Cavern Club, and the site of one of New Zealand’s most celebrated live recordings.
The Plainsman was a no-alcohol coffee lounge, steakhouse and music venue that operated from 1962 to 1972 at 110 Lichfield Street in central Christchurch. One of the city’s most important musical venues of the beat era, it launched the careers of Ray Columbus, The Secrets, and Gary Thain — later of Uriah Heep — and hosted Dinah Lee, Chants R&B, and a young Johnny Farnham.
The Great Hall at the Christchurch Arts Centre is one of the oldest and most significant concert halls in Canterbury. Designed by Benjamin Mountfort in 1882 as College Hall for Canterbury College, it features Gothic Revival architecture with native timber panelling and a hammerbeam roof. Closed for earthquake restoration between 2011 and 2016, it reopened to international recognition and continues to host concerts, recitals, and events.
FLASHBACK to July 2022 — A Flight to Blackout, …Damage Done, Warble.
Auckland noise-rock trio God Bows to Math formed in 2008 and quickly became one of the most active bands on the Auckland underground circuit, releasing two albums and multiple EPs on Muzai Records.
The Bedford was Christchurch’s premier large-capacity live music venue of the 2000s, a converted warehouse on Lichfield Street capable of holding around 1,000 people. Demolished after the 2011 earthquake, it was kept alive through a series of marquee pop-up venues by owner Wendy Alfeld — earning national recognition for keeping live music alive in the city through years of disruption.
Auckland satirical country and western outfit whose one album, Adrenal Glandy (Flying Nun, FN048), was recorded live in 1986 with a baked-beans-recruited audience. Featuring the young Don McGlashan performing under a pseudonym, it sold approximately 40 copies.
Vaporwave solo project of Luke Rowell (Disasteradio) from Lower Hutt, Wellington. The 2015 album Buy Now is regarded as a classic of the global vaporwave movement, and became the subject of a 33⅓ Oceania book in 2025.
PseudoArcana is an underground experimental record label founded in Masterton, New Zealand around 2000 by sound artist Antony Milton. Operating primarily through limited-edition CD-R releases, the label has grown to more than 130 releases spanning experimental, drone, ambient, and avant-garde music, with a roster including Pumice, Seht, The Stumps, Purple Pilgrims, Paintings of Windows, and Peter Wright.
Warners Hotel at 50 Cathedral Square was one of Christchurch’s most storied establishments, tracing its history from 1863 through to the February 2011 earthquake that led to its demolition. In the 1990s, its live music bar drew crowds of up to 800, hosting performances by Shihad, The Chills, Straitjacket Fits, Radiohead, and many of New Zealand’s leading indie and rock acts.
Biography England-based trio of well-known ex-pats Dave Mitchell, Liz Matthews and Rod McLellan (aka Roddy Pain). Members Discography
