The latest edition of TWOMINDS Festival was only twenty minutes from the centre of our second-biggest city, but felt like a far-away oasis of music and community. Flynn walks us through the weekend that was, along with photography from Sam Elliott, Sonny Eades, and Kitty Jacob.

The Newzician team hit the road for three weeks to take stock of what was going on (and have a great boogie while we were at it) taking on three very different festivals. First up Le Currents, full of cowboy boots and Birkenstocks. Twisted Frequency followed, nestled in the Cobb Valley and straddling the new year. Slackbarn!, a bright upstart filled with indie gems in the beautiful Hawkes Bay – and a handy final stop on the road back to Tāmaki – closed things out.