Rhythm and Vines 2026: Lineup, Dates and Guide to the Final Waiohika Edition

Chapter 24: The Final Dance in Gisborne runs from 28 to 31 December 2026 at Waiohika Estate: campers arrive on 28 December for the Waiohika Warmup, and the three festival days follow on 29, 30 and 31 December 2026 ^{1 2}. A 3-day festival pass covers 29–31 December 2026, a single-day pass covers one of those three days, and only the 4-day camping and festival pass reaches back to 28 December ¹.

Gate times at Waiohika Estate change through the four days of the 2026 edition, as published on the official FAQ ⁷:

• 28 December 2026: entry 09:30–21:00, campers only, followed by the Waiohika Warmup with Hamdi ^{6 7}
• 29 December 2026: first festival day, entry 09:30–21:00 ⁷
• 30 December 2026: second festival day, entry 13:00–21:00 ⁷
• 31 December 2026: third festival day, entry 13:00–21:00, then the midnight countdown ⁷
• 1 January 2027: pack-down, with the InterCity festival coach leaving Gate B at 07:55 ¹³

The dates track New Year's Eve rather than a moving calendar. The first festival in 2003 was a single New Year's Eve event, and Wikipedia records that it stayed one day long until 2008, when it grew to three days on 29–31 December ¹⁹. The campers' night on 28 December is a separate warm-up for those sleeping on the estate, and the home page calls it the official campers' opening night ⁶.

What makes the 2026 dates different is the farewell. The organiser announced on 21 July 2026 that the edition on 28–31 December 2026 is the last at Waiohika Estate, closing a 24-year run in Gisborne that began in 2003, under the 2026 title Chapter 24 ^{2 14}. The home page carries the line “The Final Dance Starts Here” ⁶. Rhythm and Vines CEO Kieran Spillane told 1News that the 2026 edition is “one last hurrah” before the move ¹⁵.

Every Rhythm and Vines 2026 pass to Waiohika Estate is sold in three tiers, early bird, first release and final release, so the same pass costs more later; the 3-day festival pass runs 359, 399 and 449 NZD plus booking fee across those tiers, as listed on 5 November 2026 ¹. A single-day pass for 29, 30 or 31 December 2026 starts at 179 NZD plus booking fee ¹. Entry is strictly R18 ³.

Camping is not an add-on at Waiohika Estate: it is sold as a 4-day camping and festival pass for 28–31 December 2026, priced by campground on the tickets page on 5 November 2026 ¹:

• Meadow Camp: 479, 519 and 569 NZD plus booking fee, on sale ¹
• Rhythm Camp: from 539 NZD plus booking fee, on sale ¹
• Lil Treble Camp: 489, 529 and 579 NZD plus booking fee, off sale ¹
• Bass Camp: 509, 549 and 599 NZD plus booking fee, off sale ¹
• Treble Camp: 509, 549 and 599 NZD plus booking fee, sold out ¹
• Premium Camp: 589, 629 and 679 NZD plus booking fee, sold out ¹

Several extras sit on top of a pass for the 2026 festival at Waiohika Estate ¹. A Bookatent 2-person nylon tent starts at 80 NZD per tent and comes without bedding, the canvas Prem-Tents in Premium Camp were sold out, and priority parking was still on sale from 60 NZD plus booking fee per vehicle on 5 November 2026 ¹.

The ticket rules for Rhythm and Vines matter as much as the prices. Under the terms, the name on the ticket must match the ID shown at the Waiohika Estate gate, and amendments may be limited to genuine booking errors ³. The terms rule out refunds for changes to the content or format of the festival, while a postponed or relocated event gives ticket holders a reasonable option to cancel for a refund ³.

Waiohika Estate sits at 75 Waimata Valley Road in Makauri, about 11 km northwest of central Gisborne, at 38.593 S, 177.966 E, and the arrival point for coaches is the Gate B entrance on that road ^{13 18 19}. Most visitors to Rhythm and Vines reach Gisborne by plane, coach or car and then ride a festival bus or walk from a campground.

Gisborne Airport (GIS) lies in the suburb of Elgin, 4.2 km from Gisborne city centre, with Air New Zealand flights to Auckland and Wellington and Sunair links to Hamilton, Napier, Tauranga and Whakatāne ¹⁶. A railway line, the Palmerston North–Gisborne Line, crosses its 1,310 m main runway ¹⁶.

For Rhythm and Vines 2026, InterCity runs a festival coach that leaves the SkyCity Bus Terminal at 102 Hobson Street, Auckland at 08:30 on 28 December 2026 ¹³. The 2026 timetable has the following stops ¹³:

• 10:55, Hamilton Transport Centre, Platform A ¹³
• 13:50, Tourism Rotorua, 1167 Fenton Street ¹³
• 15:19, Kakahoroa Drive, Whakatāne ¹³
• 18:32, Gate B, 75 Waimata Valley Road ¹³

The return coach leaves Gate B at 07:55 on 1 January 2027 and reaches Auckland at 18:20 ¹³.

Festival buses link Waiohika Estate with six Gisborne pick-up stops: Fitzherbert Street, the i-SITE, Wainui (Okitu Store), Kaiti School, Gisborne Girls High School and the Lytton West Shops ⁸. In 2026 bus passes start at 40.25 NZD, and services run 13:30–02:00 on 29 and 30 December and 13:30–06:00 on 31 December ^{1 8}. Leaving the festival, buses stop only at Wainui, Fitzherbert Street and the i-SITE ⁸.

Taxis and rideshares may run to Waiohika Estate, but the organiser expects high demand at the end of each night and points to official festival taxi stands, where accredited taxis follow fixed fare guidelines ¹². Priority parking for the 2026 festival was still on sale on 5 November 2026, from 60 NZD plus booking fee per vehicle ¹.

The Rhythm and Vines 2026 lineup at Waiohika Estate lists 82 acts, led by John Summit, Ki/Ki, Netsky, 1991, Benee, Friction presents Synergy, Hamdi, Luude, Mall Grab, Sir Dave Dobbyn and Vince Staples ⁴. The artists page showed no day splits or set times on 5 November 2026 ⁴.

Several 2026 billings point straight at the farewell. Te Wehi and Hori Shaw are listed for a set called “The Final Sunset”, and Brazilbeat and Parallel Layers present a Jamil Forever tribute ⁴. Hamdi also plays the Waiohika Warmup on 28 December 2026, a night the home page says only onsite campers can attend ⁶.

The 2026 mix of international house and drum and bass with New Zealand names extends a long line of Waiohika headliners ⁴. 1News lists Kid Cudi, Calvin Harris, Moby, Chance the Rapper, Tame Impala and Ice Spice among past international acts, alongside L.A.B., Fat Freddy's Drop, Dave Dobbyn and Six60 ¹⁴.

The stage map at Waiohika Estate centres on four names: the Rhythm Stage, the Cellar Stage, the One NZ Vines Stage and the Garden Stage, which the home page describes as set on the lawn of the Waiohika Homestead ^{6 9}. Wikipedia records one stage in 2003 and four by 2006 ¹⁹. The founders approached Andrew Witters' father, who owned the 6.7-hectare vineyard with a “natural amphitheatre”, when they were looking for a secure location ¹⁴.

The countdown on 31 December 2026 is the centrepiece of the final edition, under the organiser's line “Farewell the last night, welcome the first light” ⁵. Festival buses on that night run until 06:00, which shows how far past midnight the music carries ⁸.

At Waiohika Estate's coordinates, 38.593 S, 177.966 E, the sun rises at 05:47 NZDT on 1 January 2027, with civil twilight from 05:15 ^{18 20}. That gives a gap of 5 hours and 47 minutes between the midnight countdown of Rhythm and Vines 2026 and the first full sunrise of 2027 ²⁰.

The sunrise is the reason the festival frames itself as a New Year event at the edge of the world. The about page says festival-goers are “among the first in the world to welcome the new year” in Tairāwhiti Gisborne ⁵. 1News describes the event as welcoming thousands to the country's first sunrise of the new year ¹⁵.

The 2026 edition gives this moment a farewell layer. The organiser's tagline for the last Waiohika festival, “Farewell the last night, welcome the first light”, ties the final dance to the first light of 1 January 2027 ⁵. Te Wehi and Hori Shaw are billed on the 2026 lineup for a set titled “The Final Sunset” ⁴.

Practical timing follows from those numbers. Festival buses on 31 December 2026 run until 06:00, about 13 minutes after the 05:47 sunrise, so town stayers who want to watch it from the slope have a narrow window for the last bus to Fitzherbert Street, the i-SITE or Wainui ^{8 20}. Campers have no bus to catch, and the InterCity coach to Auckland does not leave Gate B until 07:55 on 1 January 2027 ¹³.

Wainui, the beach suburb where the 2026 festival buses stop at the Okitu Store, is one of the three drop-off points served after midnight on 31 December 2026, alongside Fitzherbert Street and the i-SITE in central Gisborne ⁸.

December in Gisborne can bring both heat and heavy rain. At the Gisborne Aero station in December 2024, the mean daily high was 24.6°C, the mean daily low 15.0°C, rainfall reached 230 mm for the month and bright sunshine totalled 189 hours ¹⁷.

That wet month matters at Waiohika Estate because the terms describe Rhythm and Vines as an outdoor, all-weather event intended to go ahead in a wide range of conditions, and attendees are asked to prepare for weather, terrain and temperature changes ³. The campground FAQ allows a gazebo if it is set up safely and fits inside the allocated camping area ¹⁰.

The arrival window shapes the weekend more than the forecast. Campers at Rhythm and Vines 2026 can enter Waiohika Estate from 09:30 to 21:00 on 28 December 2026, and nobody is let in before the gates officially open ⁷. Town stayers ride the first festival buses from 13:30 on 29 December 2026 ⁸. Gates on 30 and 31 December 2026 do not open until 13:00, so mornings on those days are free for Wainui Beach or the city ⁷.

Crowds build across the four days. Attendance has grown from about 1,800 people at the first festival in 2003 ¹⁴ to a sell-out crowd of 25,000 in 2010 ¹⁹. The organiser notes that festival buses get busy at peak arrival and departure times and asks riders to allow extra time, a warning that applies to the 13:30–06:00 service on 31 December 2026 ⁸.

Heat is an afternoon problem on the open slope at Waiohika Estate. Arena rules allow an empty drink bottle, while full containers are refused at security and glass is banned across the site ¹⁰. Meadow Camp, behind the Rhythm Stage, is the campground set in a field surrounded by trees ⁹.

On 5 November 2026, two of the six campgrounds for Rhythm and Vines 2026 at Waiohika Estate, Meadow Camp and Rhythm Camp, were still on sale, Treble Camp and Premium Camp were sold out, and Lil Treble Camp and Bass Camp were off sale ¹. Meadow Camp passes ranged 479–569 NZD and Rhythm Camp started at 539 NZD, both plus booking fee ¹.

Each Waiohika campground has a fixed position on the site, described on the official FAQ ⁹:

• Treble Camp: the largest and most popular, close to the festival entrance and the Grand Central food court ⁹
• Lil Treble Camp: next to Treble Camp and the closest campground to the festival car park ⁹
• Bass Camp: in the heart of the festival, next to Vines Village, near the Cellar Stage, the Garden Stage and the One NZ Vines Stage ⁹
• Rhythm Camp: a boutique site between the Cellar Stage, Vines Village and the Rhythm Stage ⁹
• Meadow Camp: behind the Rhythm Stage and bar, in a spacious field surrounded by trees ⁹
• Premium Camp: open from 28 December with priority access at festival check-in ⁹

Campground rules at Waiohika Estate are tight. BYO alcohol and glass are not permitted on site, and cooking equipment, gas bottles, open flames, fire pits and barbecues stay at home ¹⁰. Campers may bring up to six unopened non-alcoholic cans per person, snacks that need no cooking and an empty drink bottle ¹⁰. The terms ban metal-head hammers for tent pegs, and the FAQ lists hammers and mallets that security considers unsafe among items not permitted ^{3 10}.

The camping pass is also the only ticket to the Waiohika Warmup with Hamdi on 28 December 2026, according to the home page ⁶.

Beds in town are the alternative. Gisborne mayor Rehette Stoltz told 1News that visitors fill accommodation, campgrounds, cafes and restaurants over New Year, with the four-day festival worth about 4 million NZD to the local economy each year ¹⁵. Stays near Fitzherbert Street, the i-SITE or Wainui keep a festival bus stop within reach in both directions ⁸.

Phone reception at Rhythm and Vines may be limited during busy periods, according to the festival's own FAQ, and the busiest period at Waiohika Estate is the run-up to midnight on 31 December 2026 ¹². The same page asks attendees to make sure their phones are charged before leaving the festival, because end-of-night taxi demand is high ¹².

Waiohika Estate is a working vineyard 11 km from central Gisborne, not a city arena, and the organiser's list of what to bring includes a charged phone and a portable charger ^{10 19}.

On 31 December 2026 the pressure comes from one moment. Thousands of people at the Rhythm Stage and the Cellar Stage try to send the countdown at once, which is exactly the busy period the organiser's reception warning describes ¹². The festival bus timetable for that night, 13:30–06:00, may vary by day, so the latest version is best checked before midnight rather than after ⁸.

What phones do at Waiohika Estate over the 2026 festival ^{8 11}:

• Show the ticket at the Gate B entrance, where the name must match the physical ID ³
• Load the day's festival bus timetable, which may vary by day ⁸
• Call the 3960 onsite helpline saved before arrival ¹¹
• Share live location to find a tent row in Meadow Camp or Treble Camp after dark ⁹

The organiser asks attendees to store the 3960 helpline in their phones before arriving at Waiohika Estate, and to call 111 for an immediate threat to safety ¹¹. Coverage details for a New Zealand data plan are on the New Zealand eSIM page.

Rhythm and Vines is leaving Waiohika Estate after the 2026 festival to support its long-term future and continued evolution, the organiser said when it announced on 21 July 2026 that 28–31 December 2026 would be the last edition in Gisborne ^{2 14}. The new site from 2027 has not been named ².

Rhythm and Vines CEO Kieran Spillane told 1News on 22 July 2026 that the new location stays in the North Island, that camping continues and that the new venue is not linked to Live Nation, which acquired the festival in 2018 ¹⁵. He described future-proofing as “growth and scaling up” ¹⁵.

The Waiohika run began in 2003, when three University of Otago students, Tom Gibson, Hamish Pinkham and Andrew Witters, approached Witters' father about his 6.7-hectare vineyard ¹⁴. About 1,800 people came to the first festival in 2003 ¹⁴. By 2010 the festival drew a sell-out crowd of 25,000 ¹⁹. 1News says hundreds of thousands of people attended across the 24 years in Gisborne ¹⁵. The farewell lineup was announced on Wednesday 29 July 2026 at 17:30, and a One NZ presale opened on Monday 3 August 2026 at 10:00 ².

The move matters to Gisborne itself. Mayor Rehette Stoltz told 1News the four-day festival brings about 4 million NZD to the local economy each year and that “our whole community is quite sad” ¹⁵. For visitors in 2026, the practical result is a farewell programme: the Chapter 24 title, the home-page line “The Final Dance Starts Here” and a lineup set called “The Final Sunset” ^{2 4 6}.