Meeting of Two Minds: Behind burgeoning city dance music fest
You might think that, for an event promoter, getting your first ever party shut down by the local police would be a career-limiting move. But for Corban Tupou and Dan Stewart – the duo behind burgeoning Christchurch dance music festival Two Minds – the experience was a valuable right of passage.
In 2020 as students in Christchurch, the pair threw a house party of ambitious scale, with a live music stage outdoors and DJs in the garage.
In a city where many venues were still in post-earthquake shutdown, understandably it attracted a healthy-sized crowd of fun-starved students. And equally understandably, police interest wasn’t far behind.
But the shut-down opened Tupou and Stewart’s eyes to the possibilities of Christchurch club culture. And after getting their hands dirty promoting some 50 events over the next few years, in 2023 they launched the first iteration of the Two Minds Festival, which returns next weekend.
Although the festival was named after the live-music-versus-DJ ethos of their first party, the focus is now solely on the dance side of music.
And the event has developed considerably beyond the pair’s initial student-house offering. “It’s been a steep learning curve,” Tupou says, “as our attitude has always been to learn by doing.”
Staged in the forested reserve of Spencer Beach Holiday Park, the Two Minds Festival presents DJs and electronic musicians on small hand-built wooden stages. There is no main stage – they all get equal billing – and the performance areas are programmed along the lines of musical style and vibe.
This year, two of the highest-profile acts are Kiwi brothers Chaos In The CBD, and London DJ Sherelle. But Tupou is keen to emphasise that the main part of the line-up consists of “the broad range of local artists and promoters who uphold the week-to-week nightlife here in Christchurch for young people”.
And having benefited from their steep learning curve, these days the Two Minds boys are unlikely to get a knock on the door from the law.
The Two Minds Festival takes place from March 15 to 17. More information is available on the festival’s website.