thebigcity

Entry 01,436 · Est. 2002

thebigcity

New Zealand Music and Christchurch Culture

Studios

Tandem Studios

Also known as: Tandem Recording Studios Location: Originally Colombo Street, Christchurch Central; later 78 Oxford Terrace, Christchurch Central Active: 1974–present (recording studio 1974–c.2000s; media…

Venues

New City Hotel

The New City Hotel at 527 Colombo Street has operated continuously in Christchurch since 1930, when Ballin Brothers commissioned architect John Steele Guthrie to design a Moderne-style building to house a liquor licence dating back to 1864. A survivor of the 2010–2011 Canterbury earthquakes, it remains the last traditional hotel operating in Christchurch's CBD and continues as a live music and entertainment venue.

p artists

Pine

Pine were a Christchurch-based trio of Aaron Beehre, Hannah Beehre and Stephen McCarthy, releasing five albums on Arch Hill Recordings between 2001 and 2010. Operating without a drummer, the band combined jangly Kiwi pop with Britpop influences and toured with Neil Finn. Co-founder Stephen McCarthy later became a co-owner of Arch Hill Recordings.

Radio Stations

Channel Z Christchurch

Channel Z launched on 99.3FM in Christchurch in August 1999, bringing alternative rock and New Zealand music to a city that had few non-mainstream options on the dial. Its two years of local programming — Willy Macalister on days, Melanie Wise on nights — gave Christchurch a genuine alternative voice before the network consolidated all content from Auckland in 2001. The station became Kiwi FM in 2005 and was relaunched as a Christchurch online stream in 2019.

m artists

Marsha

Post-punk four-piece from Ōtautahi Christchurch, formed 2018. Their 2024 debut album In Circles established them as one of the most compelling voices in the contemporary New Zealand indie scene.

l artists

The Lovehorror Web

Biography George Churton formed high-octane rock group The Lovehorror Web around 1987 with an initial supporting line of Mick Elborado, Phil Hubbard and his…

Venues

Southern Blues Bar

The Southern Blues Bar at 198 Madras Street was a beloved Christchurch institution that grew from a musicians' club founded in the 1980s into one of the city's most distinctive live music venues. With a 24-hour licence and a clientele that ranged from bikies to librarians, it hosted international blues legends alongside a thriving local jam scene before being demolished in December 2010 following the September earthquake.

l artists

The L.E.D.S

Christchurch electro-pop trio active 2006–2011, featuring Blair Parkes, Marcus Thomas, and Helen Greenfield. Their self-described 'pop-tronica' sound reached TV audiences nationwide through Outrageous Fortune and Go Girls placements.

Studios

CPIT School of Jazz

New Zealand's only dedicated tertiary jazz school, founded in 1991 at the Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology by Neill Pickard. Now operating as Ara Music Arts at 130 High Street, Christchurch, offering a Bachelor of Music Arts through the Ara Institute of Canterbury.