Who will play at Homegrown when it returns to the Waikato?
The first drop of 40 local names has been announced for the 2026 festival returning to Hamilton’s Claudelands Oval.
Big New Zealand acts Six60, Devilskin, Supergroove and Hello Sailor have been named on the bill for Homegrown 2026, returning to its original site in the Waikato.
The first drop of 40 local acts set to play at the festival was released Tuesday morning, including Aaradhna, Ladi6, Paige Julia and Blindspott. A second announcement is due on 7 October.
In January, Homegrown announced it would be finding a new home after calling it a day after 18 years in Wellington.
Director Andrew Tuck said in March they were forced to choose between moving on or risk stagnating in the same location.
Hamilton’s Claudelands Oval, which can fit up to 50,000 fans, will host the 14 March, 2026 show. The spot gives organisers three times as much room to play with.
Homegrown began as X*Air festival, an extreme sports event located on the Waikato River with NZ music as a sideline attraction. Claudelands hosted X*Air for three years before it moved to the Wellington waterfront and eventually evolved into Homegrown.
It’s a boon for Hamilton, which stands to potentially attract between 20-25,000 people with an economic benefit of somewhere between $4 and 6 million for that weekend, according to previous economic development reports for the annual event.
