Rhythm and views among the vines

It was about this time eight years ago when a group of mates at Otago University decided they wanted to throw the ultimate New Year party.
With some financial backing from one of their dads they secured The Black Seeds for entertainment and a Gisborne vineyard for the venue.
Eighteen hundred people turned up and Rhythm and Vines was born. Since then the festival has gone from strength to strength, morphing from a Kiwi music gig into an award-winning, internationally respected music festival.
This year will be the eighth Rhythm and Vines and a sellout crowd of 20,000 are expected to see in the New Year at Waiohika Estate. Not only have its founders grown up, the event has too.
Two years ago they took their biggest gamble so far, moving the festival to a three-day format. It could have spelled the end, but founder Hamish Pinkham knew it was a risk they had to take and says: "If we were going to develop Rhythm and Vines as an international brand we needed to take it to the next level." They secured acts including The Kooks, Public Enemy and Franz Ferdinand. The audience loved it, the gamble paid off.
Although the festival is much loved by teenage university students looking for an adventure during their summer holidays, it is increasingly popular with more mature people keen to take in world-class music in a world-class setting. In response to this, R&V is offering a VIP package for those who want a little more comfort, the best views in the house, their own bar, seats, shelter and - importantly - flushing toilets. "We really want to attract a diverse audience and while some of our festivalgoers love getting a bit down and dirty, some are after a more sophisticated experience," Pinkham says.
But ultimately the thing that sets Rhythm and Vines apart from other New Year events is the music.
It was passion for music that started the festival, and this remains the heart and soul of the business.
Seeing in New Year will be international acts which will include Pharrell Williams' N*E*R*D, British hip-hop/rap star Tinie Tempah, DJ Carl Cox, and top New Zealand acts Hollie Smith, Dragon and Shihad.
"We scour the globe looking for the best, up and coming, cutting edge bands, but most importantly acts who are the right fit for the crowd and the occasion," Pinkham says.
The festival now fields calls during the year from promoters throughout the world wanting their acts to play at R&V. The Times' in Britain listed it as one of the top five places to spend New Year's Eve and the team just won NZ Tourism's award for best event.
"There is a great infrastructure in place now to support the festival," Pinkham says. "We have a good range of accommodation options.
"And we can promise you the supermarkets won't be running out of bread or milk," he says, referring to the year the city was caught short by the number of people who flooded in for the festival. The R&V event, injecting $48 million into the local economy, now has the wholehearted support of the Gisborne community.
As for the future, as long as they are passionate about putting on New Zealand's best New Year party, Pinkham says Rhythm and Vines will continue. "We love what we do and we believe there is a real demand for it."