June Entertainment Guide

Gigs and Festys 

Image sourced from Florian Bell

It may not be summer anymore, but that does not mean you can’t get yourself out to a gig or a festival this month! Presented with our very own bFM, Strange Universe festival is on throughout June at heaps of different venues. You can also catch a few indie acts at UFO on the thirteenth of June with tickets as cheap as $15, or go see Double Parked at Double Whammy on June 6th. Prospalooza festival is also on at DW this Sunday, with great acts like Blunt Dog and Lesbian Death Slutz from Hell.

Tickets to all of these and more available at undertheradar.co.nz

For gigs a little closer to home, the UoA School of Music Society, with concert series, jazz and blues clubs and orchestra performances. For more information, check out @uoa_somsa on Instagram.

Auckland Art Gallery

Brett Graham's 'Wastelands' sourced from Auckland Art Gallery

At the Art Gallery this month, with free entry as always, we’re saying goodbye to some pretty cool exhibits, so get along before you miss out. Neo-conceptual artist Jenny Holzer’s exhibition ‘STATEMENT -Truisms +’ closes this month, as does Brett Graham's ‘Wastelands’. Graham's installation is a powerful observation about Te Tiriti and absolutely worth seeing. ‘Te Ara Marama’, a multimedia sculpture honouring the Tarawera eruption is also leaving the gallery this month, closing on the 12th of June. 

New Film Releases

This month, like every month, is seeing the release of some movies. The Hollywood in Avondale is the place for NZ premieres and advanced screenings this month, showing ‘Welcome Space Brothers’, ‘The Death of Robin Hood’ and ‘Leviticus’ for the first time in Aotearoa. Toy Story 5 is also out this month (give it a rest, guys) and the new Scream. A new Minions movie is also releasing, as well as DC’s ‘Supergirl’. If you’re not so interested in remakes and sequels, head to your independent theatres, or just stay home this month. All tix available online. 

Plays and Shows

This month, we’re also seeing some local and international plays and shows hitting Auckland stages. For the theatre kids, ‘Heathers’ is opening at the Civic on the 10th of June, right off the back of two great seasons in New York and London. At the end of the month, Auckland Live’s Cabaret Festival is beginning, with locations all over the city and some free pop-up shows. For some locally made theatre, the Basement has a pretty stacked schedule this month, so head online for cheap tickets!

New music releases

Image sourced from Stuff

June is seeing the release of some new music from Aotearoa artists, both new and established. Tāmaki-based band ‘Borderline’ releases their debut album this month, after touring in Europe and the States. Genre-bending collective ‘ZIPS’ are releasing their project ‘ZIPS GALORE’ later this month, forefronted by Auckland-based hip-hop duo Church & AP. Also hailing from Auckland, ‘The Veils’, who you might recognise from the soundtracks of Tim Burton or David Lynch, are back with their eighth studio album this month, ‘Fragile World’. All will be available on streaming, or grab some physical copies from Marbecks or Flying Out. 

Capitol Cinema

Already underway, this month is catching the tail end of the French film festival on Dominion Road. Running until the 21st of June, catch multiple showings a day of French classics and new releases featuring Cannes award winners. The ‘Doc Edge’ festival starts towards the end of this month at the Capitol, showing 16 documentaries, both from Aotearoa and overseas. Featuring works centred on Gaza, Elon Musk, AI, and Iran, it’s a film festival you don’t want to miss. This month's ‘Pitchblack Playback’ is Radiohead’s ‘Amnesiac’, an immersive listening session of the full album on June 22nd. 

Academy Cinema

I always have to plug my favourite independent cinema in Tāmaki whenever I get the chance, because with tickets from as low as $5 and in walking distance from city campus, it would be rude not to. June is seeing some classic reruns this month, such as ‘Citizen Kane’, ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’, a director's cut of ‘Woodstock’, and ‘White Heat’. Don’t miss your chance to see these classics on the big screen! An exclusive screening of the 2024 film ‘www.RachelOrmont.com’ is also being held with a director Q&A, starring the ever-controversial Ivy Wolk and Dasha Nekrasova, so attend at your own risk. 

Image sourced from Academy Cinema

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