What happens when two of Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s most distinct independent promotional voices join forces? You get Strange Universe, a spread-out, multi-venue music series that rejects the predictable weekend festival format in favor of a slower, highly immersive curation trail.
Brought to life by Reuben Bonner (Banished Music) and Matthew Crawley (Strange News) in partnership with 95bFM, the Winter 2026 season spans ten massive events throughout May and June. The series brings together legendary international cult favorites like Stereolab, Dry Cleaning, and Cass McCombs alongside boundary-pushing local acts like Half Hexagon, Womb, and Phoebe Rings.
We sat down with the promoters to talk about the brutal financial realities of modern independent touring, why they curate by “spirit” rather than genre, and the operational blueprint for surviving in the trenches of live music.
The Strategic Mechanics of the Multi-Venue Model
Unlike traditional weekend festivals, Strange Universe uses a spread-out, multi-venue format over several weeks; what are the strategic pros and cons of this model compared to a single-weekend blowout?
Reuben:
Pros: The format gives every artist their own moment. Rather than competing with a bunch of other stages, audiences can properly engage with each show, and it allows us to use some of Auckland’s best venues in a way that feels connected to the city.
As a team, we can experience all these shows on a case by case basis, and have a chance to take a breath between each and absorb it.
Cons: You lose some of that concentrated festival energy that comes with everyone being in one place for one day or weekend, but for the kind of artists we present, the slower, more immersive approach feels right.
The financial realities are, if one show goes great, there might be another show that doesn’t sell as well and can pull back that momentum. You’re preaching to the same choir too for a lot of it. Our network, like us, probably love most of these artists and they realistically can’t go to every show, so you’re kind of cannibalising your own market to a certain extent.
Curation, Lineups, and “Musical Soup”
Your curation seamlessly blends massive international cult favourites alongside boundary-pushing local talent. For a student learning curation, how do you build a line-up that feels cohesive when the genres vary so wildly?
Reuben: We’ve never really curated by genre. We seem to by some strange default land with artists who have a strong point of view and are doing something unique, regardless of where they sit musically. If there’s a common thread, it’s usually curiosity, creativity and independent spirit. To be fair we put our hands up for anything that is likely to be in New Zealand at the time of Strange Universe and try and throw them in the melting pot with some complimentary locals, and then produce a musical soup!
As music fans first and foremost, which specific acts on this bill are you both personally most excited to stand in the crowd and watch?
Reuben: Can’t name favourites. Impossible. I love the artists on all of these shows, truly.
Some fun facts though, I have listened to the Black Angels album Passover probably 200 times. I am in a really active Whatsapp thread with Finn from The Veils and three of his high school buddies.
Are there any artists on this line-up that you’ve been trying to book for years, where it finally felt like the stars aligned to get them over to New Zealand?
Reuben: The Black Angels. I didn’t know if it would ever happen. My band An Emerald City opened for them in Berlin in around 2009/10 and that was a night I will never forget. Except for the fact I can barely remember it.
If you had to pick one dark horse or lesser-known local act on the schedule that everyone absolutely needs to buy a ticket for, who would it be?
Reuben: Not so much a dark horse given that people the world over LOVE this band, but The Circling Sun have to be one of New Zealand’s most secret weapons. Do you like jazz music? You will love them. Not interested in jazz music? Check them out, you might just love jazz music. Anything where Julien Dyne’s wizard-ey mitts are involved usually is a cold hard hit.
You utilise incredibly distinct spaces, from rock clubs to churches; how much does a venue’s physical architecture and vibe dictate which artists you book for it?
Reuben: Quite a lot, actually! It’s a really fun part of the process. We spend a lot of time thinking about the relationship between an artist and the space they’ll perform in. The venue can completely transform how a show feels and create something far more memorable than if it were dropped into a generic room. Sometimes a pairing feels obvious, and other times its the oppposite and that makes it a really interesting vibe due to the contrast.
The Logistics of Creative Partnerships
Matthew, you’ve mentioned operating with a bit of “full-blown chaos”, while Reuben is “quite organised”—how do contrasting personality types help elevate the execution of a major event series like this?
Matthew: I need to give Reuben some credit here and say that he also loves a bit of chaos too as long as the work gets done, but suffice to say I finally got my ADHD diagnosis when teaming up with someone else for the first time in a long time!
Being kind to myself, I’d say my short bursts of energy work well to get a show hyped at the outset, and particularly well when the tour is underway and it’s all go for a few days, often from early morning to way past most bedtimes. And the beautiful structure Reuben / Banished has built for their artists and tours ensures things actually get done behind the scenes.
Strange Universe is a joint venture between Banished Music and Strange News; what is your advice on partnering with another promoter, and what structural boundaries need to be set early on to ensure a partnership succeeds?
Matthew: As cheesy as it sounds, a discussion about shared values is a crucial first move. For us, it’s been a lot of learning, up front conversations, refining, and constant reevaluating, but the thing that binds us is our love of the show, love of our community, and both being left-handed. I’ve learned a lot from Reuben about the power of saying what you’re thinking, and that friendship and partnership actually benefit from not pussyfooting around like some kind of wimp.
The Numbers: Financial Survival & Geographic Realities
Independent promoting is incredibly high-risk at the moment; between flights, accommodation, and venue fees, how do you mathematically make an ambitious indie series financially viable without pricing out your audience?
Matthew: Wait, it’s possible for these things to be financially viable?! In this current state of things… sponsorship is probably necessary to actually avoid losing your shirt. I genuinely wish I could say these things are viable ongoing, but it’s 101% NOT the money that keeps us coming back every time.
Leveling up with amazing co-promoters helps share the burden, too. For instance, we’re bringing post-punk champions Dry Cleaning to Hollywood Avondale in partnership with I Oh You & MG Live, and we’ve teamed up with Susie Says! to bring the incredible Cate Le Bon back to the Powerstation. On the local front, we’re working alongside 100% Good to match Japan’s prolific psych legends Acid Mothers Temple face-to-face with our own kosmiche favorites, Half Hexagon, over at Double Whammy.
Thankfully I personally have never really had any money to speak of, so that gives me the energy to keep driving my car toward the end of the wharf and forgetting about the water.
A major practical lesson for Australasian promoters is geographic routing, how do you leverage major Australian festival circuits to make it financially feasible to bring international acts all the way to New Zealand?
Matthew: I can count on two thumbs the number of international tours out of hundreds I’ve done that have bypassed Australia or not relied on the power of Australia’s numbers to make Aotearoa remotely viable. Thankfully by now we have good working relationships with a few of our favourite agents, Aussie promoters, and Aussie festival bookers to ensure we can cobble together a few decent tours.
Special shout out from me to the wonderful Soph and Ash from Mistletone in Australia who have not only trusted me to work with some of my favourite acts of all time for the last 18 years, but also been a shining example of how being friendly and passionate can see you through!
If an aspiring manager wants to launch their first multi-venue series but is terrified of financial loss, what are the best ways to safeguard the project? What role do funding grants, sponsorships, or tiered ticketing strategies play?
Matthew: Well, you have to be ready to lose money – as terrifying as it is. I’m not saying it’s inevitable, but it happens more often than we’d like. People often ask, “So what happens if the show doesn’t cover costs, who pays for that?” – well, we do! But if you’re not put off by that fair warning, all power to you – follow those dreams!
Perhaps starting small, trying out with something interconnected like the amazing three-venue rabbit warren we are blessed to have in Whammy / Double Whammy / Public Bar. That’s exactly where we’re kicking things off on May 26 with the brilliant American songwriter Cass McCombs and local alt-country icon Holly Arrowsmith.
Grants and sponsors are out there for those willing and able to sniff them out and spend the time on it. It’s never been something I’m good at! Tiered ticketing is a good idea in theory (e.g. buy a discounted ticket that gets you into all shows) but some venues have different exclusive ticketing agreements which can make it tricky to have one ticket for multiple shows. Earlybird tickets are an old classic not to be sneezed at.
Crisis Management and Legal Realities
This series was originally set to launch back in 2020 but was wiped out by the pandemic, yet you still brought it back. When an event manager suffers a catastrophic setback completely out of their control, what is the very first operational step they should take to handle the fallout responsibly?
Matthew: Thankfully the first Strange Universe branded event was just a one night, four-band show set to happen in both Auckland and Wellington. Fortunately we were all going through the same thing at the same time, so when shows began to fall over due to Covid, everyone understood the situation.
But the responsible thing to do is to have a contract in place at the outset with your artists that outlines exactly what happens in the event that things fall apart. In these scenarios you just have to stay calm, and communicate clearly and quickly. Putting your head in the sand is not going to be good for your reputation when it comes to folks wondering if they’ll still be paid and when…
What is one logistical curveball unique to an independent touring series that students wouldn’t find in a textbook, and how did you solve it?
Reuben: Making it profitable & sustainable. Yet to be solved. Ask us in the year 2049!!!
If you could distill everything you’ve learned from the trenches of independent music promotion into one golden, non-negotiable rule for people starting out today, what would it be?
Reuben: Stand your ground, trust your instincts, support the scene, do it for the love, try and make a living out of it.
Strange Universe: Winter 2026 Schedule
Tickets for all shows are available via www.banishedmusic.com. Check out the complete lineup and venue trail below:
- Cass McCombs (USA) + Holly Arrowsmith
Tuesday 26 May – Double Whammy - Dry Cleaning (UK) + Womb
Wednesday 3 June – Hollywood Avondale - Cate Le Bon (UK) + Mainard Larkin
Friday 5 June – Powerstation - The Black Angels (USA) + Arthur Ahbez
Saturday 6 June – Powerstation - The Circling Sun + Yolanda F Fagan
Friday 12 June – Pitt St Methodist Church - Mei Semones (USA) + Phoebe Rings
Tuesday 16 June – The Tuning Fork - Kelly Moran (USA) + Motte
Wednesday 17 June – Kahui St David’s - Acid Mothers Temple (JP) + Half Hexagon
Friday 19 June – Double Whammy - Stereolab (UK/FR) + Glass Vaults
Thursday 25 June – Powerstation - The Veils ‘Fragile World’ Album Release + Jazmine Mary
Saturday 27 June – Powerstation
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