bReview: The Others Way 2025
across Karangahape Road, Saturday 28 November 2025
Written by Elle Daji
Photography by Max Corlett
It was an oasis of a sunny day, after a particularly rainy week in Tāmaki Makaurau, Karangahape Road awash in the late afternoon glow of late spring sun. Almost as if the weather knew not to mess with such a stacked lineup. What awaited Others Way goers was a classic night of running into everyone you have ever met and those you have yet to. A night that unequivocally refuted any claims that the community was dead, with a sold-out crowd of music fanatics.
In a brief side note, one of the best birthday gifts you can give someone is a concert ticket, especially to a music lover who claims never to want anything. Those are the thoughts I had when I purchased a ticket to The Others Way for my dad, who, in his life, had yet to see The Bats live, despite the litany of Robert Scott Records sitting in our living room. A tragedy, now thankfully, solved, thanks to the brilliant team at The Others Way.
JackaltheBlackal
As we meandered down into Whammy Bar, we were met with engulfing plumes of dry ice. JackaltheBlackal was the first artist of the evening whose percussive speech patterns pierced the backs of the Whammy Bar walls. The experimental rapper’s sound completely transformed on stage, backed by his full band.
Connan Mockasin
Back in the light on the mainstage, we headed out to see Connan Mockasin. I wish I had known about his somewhat bewildering stage presence as Mockasin walked on stage, glass of wine in hand. Let me tell you, I was not prepared for the amount of crowd work. Urging the crowd to make what can only be described as monkey noises, asking the crowd if there was anyone out there who had never cried, a ridiculous question, but I laughed when someone put their hand up; it was a man.
Such is the joy of festivals, where you want to see absolutely everyone, only to find yourself standing at the very back of a crowd, trying to get in, or pushing your way through a crowd to reach the next set. I, in fact, dragged my poor father through many of these, sorry, Dad.
Romi Wrights
What awaited gig goers in Galatos was an infectious sense of joy which permeated through the air, causing even the most stoic in the crowd to get up and dance. The walls were ablaze with the warm reflections of a disco ball, which somehow made the fake greenery look lush and forest-like. Seeing Romi Wrights live, after hearing her music on the radio, cemented her in my mind as one of the greatest voices in Aotearoa.
As her first song closed out, she humbly remarked, to a packed out hall, that their ethos that evening was ‘whether there are five or six people in the crowd, let’s just have some fun.’ Her soul-jazz fusion of sorts is best experienced live. The band, equipped with sax, trumpet, and flute they played through shining crowd favourites Without You, and her latest release Shine Your Light. We were also treated to some soon-to-be favourites, including 'I Hope You’re Happy', 'Actually Maybe No I Don't', and 'Special'. The latter a song written because she was worried her discography was missing a ‘love song’
The Bats
I love The Bats. I made no notes. I was too busy dancing with my dad.
The Phoenix Foundation
What a special thing it is to hear an album played track by track. As a personal preference, I’m listening to albums mainly front to back, only when I’m not tuned to 95bFM, of course. So what a treat it was to hear Pegasus the whole way through.
Luke Buda told 95bFM that it is no easy feat revisiting their earlier albums. Having to recreate songs they made twenty years ago, with sparse references to how they actually made the album. He even mentioned on stage that some of the songs have never been played live before.
After Morning Pages, they remark that this would probably be the most mellow set of the show; however, during Damn the River, I’m pretty sure the crowd was louder than the band. A mosh that gave the Pearly* audience a run for their money in rowdiness.
Sharon Van Etten
The magnetic pull Sharon Van Etten had on The Others Way crowd comes as no shock. Performing songs released under Sharon Van Etten & The Attachment Theory, I was excited to wallow in her synth-laden vocals for a moment. Sharon writes lyrics that hold you, empathise with you and tell you that all will be well.
After playing through a bulk of her latest album, including After Life, Idiot Box and Trouble, all stunning, she expresses gratitude for the stage in Aotearoa: “I always say there is never enough time.” The vibrancy of the audience and palpable love for music are clear even to someone not in the crowd.
As the first chords of Seventeen played, I grabbed the hand of a girl I had only met once before, and we danced so hard I was reminded how unfit I truly am.
It is here, where I made a poor execution decision. My dad and I were too late arriving at WITCH, and at that point in the night, I didn’t have it in me to drag my poor father through the crowd. However, I have it on good authority (Rachel Ashby told me later) that a lot of fruit was eaten on stage. Gutted I missed it.
Instead, we wound up at Womb, where Cello Forester called out to everyone in the smoking area, urging them to come in.
Elliot and Vincent
The guitar-drums duo were characteristically good. Each time I see them, their sense of ease on stage increases, as they relax into their distorted, fuzzed-out soundscape. Their individual parts somehow intertwine to make the audience forget that only two people are performing.
Most of the time, drummer Elliot’s face is covered with cascading black hair. But each time her drumming got particularly frantic, I caught a glimpse of her face, and she was absolutely beaming from ear to ear.
Growing up, my dad introduced me to The Phoenix Foundation and The Bats. He introduced basically all the music that has soundtracked my life thus far. It’s music that has shaped me and many others, without which I would not be the same person. But tonight as I drove us home, he said that the turns have tabled. As I took him around The Others Way, it turns out I, too, can introduce him to music he has never heard before. Music that will now soundtrack and stay with him for the rest of his life.
LISTEN: 95bFM Breakfast hosts Rosetta & Milly talk to the artists performing at The Others Way from the 95bFM Bus.
WATCH: The full length interviews from the 95bFM Bus.
95bFM 
