First light in Gisborne

Rhythm and Vines is closely tied to where and when it happens. The festival runs through the final days of December at Waiohika Estate, pairing three days of music with four days of camping and the chance to greet the new year from Tairawhiti. Local and international artists move across several stages, but the shared countdown gives the programme its centre.

The final Waiohika chapter

The festival began in 2003, and the 2026 edition closes its long Gisborne chapter before a planned move in 2027. That makes this year more than another New Year's run. It is a farewell to the vines and the East Coast setting that turned Rhythm and Vines into a summer rite of passage in Aotearoa.