Festival's move to Auckland is a good thing ... right?

British electronic duo Disclosure are headlining the McLaren Valley Festival.

Opinion

The McLaren Valley Music & Arts Festival - renamed Echo Festival - recently announced it is moving to Auckland, but is this a good thing? Chris Schulz and Lydia Jenkin have their say.

Chris Schulz says yes:

I get it, I really do. I understand why you're complaining about McLaren Valley's move to Auckland, why you don't like its new name, or new venue.

You were picturing a summer music festival in a beautiful bush setting, eating picnic lunches next to rivers and slumbering under the stars while catching some top-quality acts. Instead, you're getting something altogether different: an urban festival in a concrete jungle that's not unlike Laneway.

No one wants to spend more than a few hours slipping on spilt beer and sitting on those vile plastic seats at Vector Arena. Spending two whole days there doesn't exactly thrill me either. But here's the thing: what's a sore bum and wet shoes when you get to see quality acts this close to home?

There's no way I was going to take time off work so soon after the New Year break, re-pack the bags I'd only just unpacked, and head to the Bay of Plenty for three nights of camping. I hate camping. I hate sleeping bags. I hate roughing it. I hate mosquitoes.

Moving McLaren Valley, now Echo Festival, to Vector Arena and cramming it into two days means I get to see The Flaming Lips, Young Fathers, Kurt Vile and Jamie xx, then head home each night to a proper shower and a clean bed. We lost Soulfest, but we gained Echo Festival, so in my books, the ledger is balanced.

Lydia Jenkin says no:

McLaren Valley Music & Arts Festival was a whole different ball game to me when it was held at McLaren Falls Park. You see, my favourite festivals are all about the experience rather than the line-up.

They're like a mini holiday in a great location with a whole bunch of like-minded music fans. Festivals like Splore and Womad transport you out of the everyday, take you to a beautiful location, and put as much emphasis on the colourful presentation, multi-media and audience participatory aspects, as they do on the quality line-up. It's all-consuming - you're in your own little world of fabulous musical good times, while also soaking up the great outdoors.

I realise McLaren/Echo Festival are making the best of a crappy situation, and I'm not saying a two-day festival at Vector can't be fun and memorable. But where I was really looking forward to camping on the outskirts of Tauranga, enjoying the trees and grass, the stars and the glow worms, I'm just not as enthusiastic about spending two lovely summer days inside the cavernous, dark, sterile arena, which is only a five-minute walk from the office.

An amazing outdoor music festival was going to be a great addition to the Bay of Plenty; another couple of nights with bands at Vector Arena won't be such a significant addition to Auckland.