Whanganui music festival 3 Days Deep bringing big names to city

Whanganui locals (from left) Lez Kiriona, Liana Kiriona, Cassidy Longie and Des Te Weri, the brains behind LCD Entertainment. Photo / Supplied

Whanganui's battered event calendar is about to get a much-needed boost.

The debut of drum and bass/house music festival 3 Days Deep is set for Wellington Anniversary Weekend (January 20-22), with names like Concord Dawn, Alix Periz and State of Mind just three in a 30-strong line-up.

Also on the bill are local heroes Machete Clan and Mungbeanz.

The festival has been organised by Whanganui locals Lez Kiriona, Liana Kiriona, Cassidy Longie and Des Te Weri, who together form LCD Entertainment.

Lez Kiriona, the owner of Mint Cafe and Frank Bar, said putting on a big festival had always been on their radar.

"We've done seven block parties since we [Mint] opened nine years ago, and there were 1100 people at one of our biggest ones.

"The time came when we thought 'Yep, it's time to go try something even bigger now'."

The inspiration for the name of the festival came from Machete Clan's 2016 hit "On The Rark", he said.

"It's actually 'four days deep' in the lyrics, but four is quite a lot for Whanganui. We thought we would start with just the three.

"For us drum and bass and house music works. It's what we're into.

"Des was actually more in to reggae, but we had Carl Cox come and play one Boxing Day and he was hooked, just like that.

State of Mind will headline on Friday, January 21. Photo / Supplied

"He was like, 'yep, this is me now'."

As for the line-up, Longie said she began by writing her musical "wishlist" to Lez for consideration.

A lot of the acts have never been to Whanganui before.

"We managed to get a lot of artists from Forte Touring, who are awesome," Longie said.

"It's great to be able to have one main group, local guys, and then some bigger names. It actually wasn't too hard to pull it all together."

The location is the War Memorial Centre forecourt, with entry from the top of the Veterans Steps at Queen's Park.

Grass banks overlooking the forecourt are also part of the set-up, with bean bags available for those who need to chill out for a bit. Food trucks will be on site.

"I love the fact that it's not just one flat paddock, it's a bit more interesting," Liana Kiriona said.

"You don't have to go to the whole three days either, there are day passes available as well."

Keeping things "contained and controlled" for the festival's first edition was important, Lez Kiriona said.

"We've got to make sure the residents aren't put out either, that's a priority. It is in town, so we've got to control that noise and stay within the guidelines."

Extensive advertisement of the festival in centres such as Wellington, New Plymouth and Palmerston North would hopefully attract out-of-towners to Whanganui for the long weekend, he said.

Whanganui locals Machete Clan will hit the stage with Mungbeanz on Saturday, January 22. Photo / Supplied

"We want Whanganui to buy into it as well, because it belongs to them.

"Every year it can be someone's pilgrimage here, to see your mates from Whanganui, camp in their back yard and come down to 3 Days Deep.

"This is a good time to give Whanganui a better profile. When people do come here they just go 'wow'."

All going well, the festival would become be an annual event, Lez Kiriona said.

"Hopefully next year we will have a campground, and we're in talks with City College at the moment.

"It would be ideal to park up your car, camp at City, walk up town and come to the gig. If it's not City then it might be the racecourse, we've just got to work it out.

"Getting this first one under our belts is key though, and each year we can keep growing on it."

Headliners at the festival are Concord Dawn and Flowis (January 20), State of Mind, Zeisha and Sly Chaos (January 21) and Alix Periz and Lee Mvtthews.

"It's pretty much fully local acts, so it's a great chance to showcase what New Zealand has got to offer," Longie said.

The festival is R18 and Covid-19 vaccine passes are required for entry.