Festival Review: Bay Dreams - North Island 2020

On the 2nd day of 2020, Bay Dreams hosted its 5th annual festival in the heart of Mount Maunganui, Tauranga. This year’s lineup brought the best blend of big names in hip hop, rap, EDM, rock and pop. This included Skepta, Yelawolf, Ella Mai, blackbear, YBN Cordae, Gunna, Shoreline Mafia, Halsey and IAMDDB. Bay Dreams also managed to snag one of the biggest names in the industry right now as their headliner, who up until their lineup announcement, everyone thought he was banned from the country. Tyler, The Creator was due to perform in New Zealand at Bay Dreams for the very first time since being banned in 2014. Was Bay Dreams and the other partners behind the event the reason why Tyler was unbanned and able to perform here? No idea but either way the local culture is eternally grateful his New Zealand fans are able to see him live on their own soil. I think it’s really cool that Bay Dreams always manages to bring artists that have never come to perform in New Zealand or rarely do. Last year, it was Cardi B’s first time performing here and this year it was the first time for Shoreline Mafia, Gunna, YBN Cordae and a few more artists.

Getting to Bay Dreams in the Mount was a bit of a mission as there was no parking at the stadium and there was only 1 or 2 roads available to actually access the festival. This meant that traffic was hectic from 11 am (when the gates opened) onwards. Getting into the festival was okay, there were heaps of lines available for general admission in a fairly huge space. When I got in, I have to say I was incredibly impressed with the layout of the festival. There was Bay Dreams signage everywhere, little signs, big signs, flags, sculptures, pictures, posters - just Bay Dreams signage in every which form which is perfect for festival-goers who want to take pictures and let everyone know “hey, yeah, I went to Bay Dreams”. There was a circus/carnival theme going on so there were plenty of food trucks, carnival rides, carnival games where they yell at you trying to coerce you into playing a game (very carnival), they had actors dressed up walking on stilts and other circus-esque characters who were interacting with people and they even had an area where there were dudes on dirt bikes doing tricks. It was very on point. However, I think that theme was on one side of the stadium and in the main stage area, it was “island” themed. I’m honestly not too sure so if that’s true, I don’t think it was that obvious.

The venue is quite frankly huge. Probably one of the best concert venues I’ve gone to and definitely beats a lot of sites in Auckland. It was especially good to find out Bay Dreams was outside because concerts in inside spaces get way too hot and muggy so this was perfect for a summer festival. There were 4 stages which were all in their own area. Despite the festival selling out to around 30,000 festival go-ers, there was a bit of space for people to go and chill out as well as shaded spaces people could go to to get away from the glare of the beating sun. Bay Dreams definitely thought a few things through. There were heaps of booths where there was free water. There were workers filling out cups and handing it out to people and taps where people could fill their water bottles. There was also these pillars that sprayed huge clouds of cold water onto the crowd at many points in the venue which I know for a fact saved many people from dying of heatstroke. Either way, there were heaps of points people could easily access water and there was never really a line so I was thoroughly impressed with that. It was interesting to see that Bay Dreams did not allow cash or EFTPOS payments on-site but instead everyone got a wristband which they topped up and used like paywave to buy drinks and food. I feel as if there was not a lot of notice or it wasn’t that obvious that people had to top up these wristbands in order to buy things. Topping up had to be done on-site and there apparently was no app or website where you could do it on your own so you had to line up. The lines were crazy long and definitely put people off topping up their wristbands because no one wants to waste time in a line especially when you have to wait in one just to get in or go to the toilet. There was not an obvious way to know how much was left in the wristband and there were technical difficulties when tapping your wrist to buy something as it wasn’t as smooth as paywave and people had to tap their wrist a couple of times for the transaction to go through, which in turn slowed down the line. I think it would’ve been better if they allowed EFTPOS/debit cards as it’s less hassle for festival go-ers and since it’s only 1 day, the wristbands didn’t seem necessary.

Despite that, I reckon Bay Dreams is definitely the best music festival in New Zealand for hip hop/rap, and the closest event I’ve seen that resembles some of the biggest festivals in the world like Coachella or Rolling Loud. However, I think it would’ve been better if they extended the festival to 2 or 3 days as opposed to 1 day and just added more fire artists to the lineup. If they did that for 2021 then I think they would raise the bar for New Zealand festivals tenfold.

So, because there were 4 stages that meant that you most likely couldn’t see all your favourite acts because they may’ve been on at the same time. Therefore, I was only able to review a select group of artists. Also, because there was a mix of genres on this lineup, different stages catered for those certain music tastes and I think a lot of people that attended the festival either came for the hip hop artists and a few pop or just came for the EDM and rock sets. So I reckon depending on what kind of music you went to Bay Dreams for, your experience will be drastically different from someone who came for the EDM music compared to if you came for the hip hop acts. This also meant that the crowd there varied in the types of people you saw but there was one recurring theme which is the infamous Hawaiian shirt. If you’re reading this and you like those Hawaiian shirts, please stop wearing them to festivals. They really are awful. Thanks.

Mitch James, a homegrown singer and songwriter was the first act I caught at 2:30pm. I’ve seen his name in a lot of advertisements for gigs but I’ve never seen him perform live. When he came onto the stage with a guitar in hand, you could definitely tell he was a New Zealand bloke. His voice is quite frankly stunning. Mitch James sings soulful anthems that is perfect for a summer day but also sings sad songs so beautifully it’d make you want to cry (if the moment is right). His electric guitarist did a nice little solo and you could see the chemistry between Mitch and him which, let’s be real, always makes that moment much more awesome. The crowd ate him up and Mitch with his kiwi attitude was wholesome to watch. He played some more rock acoustic songs and it was a nice way to start off the festival.

blackbear was on directly after him. He is one of the few artists at Bay Dreams whose music is contemporary R&B and indie-pop. In terms of his looks, he definitely reminds of Machine Gun Kelly, like a modern-day rockstar except he doesn’t sing rock music. blackbear, just from watching him perform he seems like a really cool guy with a really cool style. When he told the crowd to put their hands up, everyone did as they were told and they were bumping his music. I always love seeing shots of the band on the big screen, especially if they’re vibing along with the main act and blackbear’s drummer was really into it which in turn, makes you smile and get more into it yourself. At one point he pauses, grabs a towel and shoves it down the front of his pants which the crowd responded with encouraging roars. He does a cheeky little smile, grabs the towel from out the front of his pants then wipes it on his face. I’m sure for his fans that was incredibly sexy but for me, I was like eugghhhhh! He announces to the crowd he’s “on a whole other level of sick shit” after asking if they were on some shit (sick shit I’m guessing) and the crowd screamed and cheered. I can definitely confirm they were on some sick shit. I love how blackbear has a bit of variance in his songs, he sang one trap sounding song then the next he did some funky singing. We love a versatile king.

After this, I quickly walked over to the other stage where Tones and I, an Australian singer, was performing. She seriously reminds me of Billie Eilish cause she has a sick sense of dress except she has wicked tattoos too. Tones and I is incredibly talented, her voice reminds me of Amy Winehouse or Gin Wigmore, just extremely powerful and raspy vocals. She was even playing the piano simultaneously while delivering crisp singing. Bubbles were erupting from the front of the stage and it was perfect for her type of music. Then when she started hitting her high notes, fire started erupting from the stage. She definitely has the type of music you’d lose your voice trying to sing along to which I did hear a few people in the crowd’s voices crack trying to keep up with her.

Shoreline Mafia was on after Tones and I and as a fan of new generation rap, I was seriously looking forward to their set. It was just 2 members, Ohgeesy and Fenix Flexin. They came on with this laid back energy but they were ready to turn up. Just a side note - the circus stage that Shoreline and Tones were performing on was so sick in terms of like how it was decorated. I thought it was very unique, it reminded me of like the shape of a guitar with circus-themed patterns and colours. However, the screens on the sides of the stage didn’t really show any close-ups of the acts? Even though I wasn’t standing that far away from the stage I could barely see Shoreline Mafia and it would’ve been nice to see them up close on the side screens. Anyway, pretty much 2 songs in they announce they wanna open up the mosh pit to which I nervously cringed cause like New Zealand doesn’t know how to mosh. If they opened it successfully, I’m not even sure but I wouldn’t bet on it. Ohgeesy and Fenix are 2 really cool dudes and their music is the type you wanna fucking speed in your car too, you just feel like tough shit listening to it but listening to it live - wow it was like lit city. They are great hype men. Some dude even tried to rush the stage to which he failed as the security was on his ass in 2 seconds flat. Shoreline didn’t seem to mind though. They ended up playing some songs that weren’t theirs, probably because, well, it’s their first time in New Zealand and not a lot of people know all their songs. It was a great idea though cause it was effective and the crowd was warmed up.

YBN Cordae was on after them. He came on litty as hell. Colourful confetti was shooting out the front of the stage which was stunning when you see in floating with the blue sky in the background. The crowd was a bit disappointing in their reaction ‘cause like not a lot of people knew his songs, they were just standing there. To me, it was like, c’mon guys the dude is Grammy-nominated at least pretend to vibe. Cordae had amazing crowd interaction though, he was like “okay everybody where’s your best friend at, if they’re here turn to your best friend and give them a big hug”, which to a lot of drunk people is like the best command they could ever get from an artist. There was just a lot of love in the crowd at that moment it was awesome. Bubbles floated out from the front of the stage and Cordae was extremely bubbly himself and it’s always nice to see artists looking like they’re genuinely happy to be there. I hope to see him back in Aotearoa again in 2020.

Then I was off back to the main stage to catch Yelawolf. I absolutely loved the way he was dressed, the man had accessories on accessories. He reminded me of Lil Peep for sure. He’s a rapper and singer and interchanged between the two while performing but he is 100% a total rockstar. Fire was erupting from the front of the stage for his set and it was completely appropriate. There was so many of his fans out in the crowd, it was probably the best crowd I’d seen for an artist at Bay Dreams cause they were really coming through for him, singing and rapping his sh*t. It’s probably because he’s come to New Zealand a few times so his fan base here must be loyal as heck. Yelawolf raps on this really sexy way I know the women in the crowd would’ve been entranced by his performance. When Yelawolf told them to put their hands up and bounce, everyone did as such.

Off to the circus stage, I went after Yelawolf to catch Ella Mai. She came on about 15 minutes later than expected but it was Algood. There were cool beach balls that were surfing and jumping around the top of the crowd. Ella Mai came out with 2 backup dancers and her name in lit up prominently behind her. She came out yelling “what’s up Bay Dreams” and it was a cool entrance. Some artists don’t even know where they’re at so it was cool to hear her enthusiastically say it like she was acknowledging us as an audience. Her voice is just as good as in her songs, she has an absolutely beautiful voice. She’s also so cute and has a stunning smile. I’m telling you she was practically smiling her whole set and it seemed like she was really engaged with the crowd and looked like she genuinely enjoyed performing for us. Her and her dancers danced on the beat and it was just cool to see. She really is a real-life angel and her energy was felt throughout the crowd.

Gunna was up next. I was excited for his set because he definitely has the type of music people go wild to and I know he goes crazy himself. Gunna is a rapper who has so recently popped off alongside Lil Baby (which it would’ve been so sick if he was there too). There were these huge ass beach balls jumping around on the crowd and Gunna was having heaps of fun with it, yelling to the crowd “throw that motherfucker up”. I kid you not, everyone in the crowd was on one. You could be standing by yourself and people will interact with you and you could vibe with random people. That’s how litty it was. Shoes were literally getting thrown in the air, everyone was jumping. Gold confetti shot out into the sky. It was quite a perfect start to the night time portion of the festival that was about to come. I’m not too sure if Gunna was genuinely engaged in his performance, all I know is that the crowd was cheery as hell and it was great to be apart of.

Off to the main stage for Skepta just in time for the sunset. Now, I thought the Yelawolf crowd was crazy but this crowd. It was packed. It could’ve been because people were waiting for Tyler, The Creator but when Skepta graced the stage, lord was the crowd happy to see him. I don’t blame them one bit that man is sexy as hell. On top of that, the way he raps is insanely attractive (sorry totally overloading my female perspective here). I’m sure that man didn’t smile one time, he is a very serious-looking rapper but it suits his music and it makes his lyrics hit harder. One phrase that came to mind watching him perform is lyrical miracle ‘cause mans got bars. I initially was surprised at how much bangers 100% went off but he’s been around for a long time so I guess I’m not that surprised. He has such good songs and delivers them really well when he performs. The crowd was lit and they were loving him. He started interacting with the crowd in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen a lot. He singled out one person in the front and he goes, “what’s your name?!”, Skepta then says the dude’s name and tells him he needs to open the moshpit and control that shit. This dude’s like totally syked, he opened the moshpit, he’s happy as hell, it was really awesome and I know that guy is gonna be going to every Skepta show in New Zealand for a very long time. Skepta also singled out another person in the crowd and did the same thing. Like I said before though, New Zealand can’t moshpit and you guys really need to learn ‘cause that’s what these artists are gonna make you do at their shows and if you can’t deliver… they’ll be disappointed. Gold confetti shot out and strobe lights were on 100 going crazy, in sync with the songs.

Tyler, The Creator was the headlining act for the day and I genuinely thought I wouldn’t be able to get a good view of him performing but to my surprise, you were able to see him quite well at different points around the main stage. There was even a big screen in the middle for people who couldn’t see because there was a huge Spark VIP booth bang smack in front of the middle of the stage. Tyler, The Creator’s entrance on stage was so random, he literally walked out to the middle, stood there in his Igor pose, in his Igor outfit and stared at the crowd for 5 minutes. From watching the screen at the back, I thought that it was a picture and that he wasn’t on yet LOL. Until he started doing some crazy ass dancing. Tyler is really an extraordinary and multi-faceted individual. His performance was sooooo unique. It was like a theatrical performance, like as soon as he puts on that Igor costume he fully engulfs himself as his alter ego. 100% commitment, no looking back. The man should win an Oscar for his performance as Igor, I’m telling you, it was amazing. His performance was very dramatic, very weird and his dancing was somewhat comedic but at the same time, it was so creative the way he stormed the stage as Igor. At one point he stood still, put his hand out for a minute and a guy comes and hands him a mic stand which was totally unexpected. At another point he started making weird noises with his mouth like some “oooo’s” and “ahhh’s” and then he transitioned smoothly into a song. It was beyond me. Tyler was so into his performance, you could tell he rehearsed it a lot and he thought through every detail of it. In a way, his performance reminded me of Michael Jackson? In terms of the dancing, the seriousness. He had this eccentric energy that was felt throughout the crowd. A true artist. The visuals were black and white from the start and there was a certain colour palette of blue, white and orange that beautifully complemented his outfit and the black and white theme.. There was a lot of play with the idea of lighting and shadows and in a lot of moments, it was just his darkened shadow shown with the whole background illuminated. Igor, a class act. He made use of the scaffolding on the stage and hung to it adding a more dramatic effect to his performance and the song he was singing. It was wild and I imagine an unforgettable experience for the people in the front of the crowd. Despite all this, there were still a large number of people in the crowd who were not really vibing with him. I would totally see him again though.

Bay Dreams set the bar pretty high and I’m looking forward to seeing it raised higher in 2021.

Reviewed: Breanna Tugaga-Rogers
Photos: 10Daniel16

About The Writer:

Breanna is a 21 year old uni student who was born in Australia and raised in South Auckland. Half New Zealand European and half Samoan, Breanna is undergoing a Bachelor of Arts, double-majoring in Communications and Sociology. Currently residing in Auckland, Breanna loves hip hop, rap, RnB music and enjoys watching TV shows, movies, travelling, going to concerts and keeping in touch with the latest of pop culture. Breanna especially enjoys writing and using it as an outlet to talk her sh*t. Breanna loves to always integrate her worldview, her background and her experiences into her writing and values your feedback.

About The Photographer:

10Daniel16 is a man of many talents. A photographer, videographer, editor and director, Daniel is a pillar in the local creative scene working with names like SWIDT, Melodownz and has shot some of the best gigs in Auckland city. 10Daniel16 has shot concerts of iconic musicians like 50 Cent, Jhene Aiko, Bas, Denzel Curry, Lil Pump and so much more. Popularly known for his music videos, 10Daniel16 is continuously expanding his skill set and since breaking through the international scene, he is excited for what 2020 has in store for him.