Crowds rock to Synthony at the 2025 event in Auckland Domain.
Synthony has become a global phenomenon – this weekend’s festival in Auckland Domain will showcase new music, which will feature in top European and US cities later this year.
A small city is sprouting in the Auckland Domain for the biggest one-day music festival in Australasia.
And on Saturday, more than 35,000 fans are expected to fill the lower and upper fields of the park for the fourth annual Manuka Phuel Synthony Festival, with its promoter promising the biggest production yet.
“Event promoters are a bit like property developers – once they’ve built a big flash building, the next year they want to build an even bigger, even flasher building,” says Duco Events founder David Higgins.
“And with an event like Synthony in the Domain, no matter how much you want to limit yourself, you end up investing more and more into the staging.
“This year, 2026, we’ll have the biggest production investment that Synthony has ever seen. There will be the mind-blowing expanse of the LED screens, laser lights, sound equipment, four delay towers and the biggest stage we’ve ever done.”
Both the main stage and the second, DJ stage host a range of top music acts and major drawcards from mid-afternoon, including Kiwi musicians Kaylee Bell, The Exponents, Nice ‘n’ Urlich, Shapeshifter, and The Black Seeds.
Australian electronic music duo Peking Duk hit the main stage at 6.40pm and the Synthony set starts at 7.40pm, with Higgins promising surprises.
“We’ve doubled the content creation budget. There’ll be a world-class show accompanying the music – something really special that we haven’t really seen before. We’ve got a special show.”
The cost of that alone is in the low millions.
That content will then be used around the world.
“I see it as capital investment,” says Higgins.
“We use Auckland, which is where Synthony was born and bred, like an R&D engine to make a new show. So there’ll be a new setlist with new tracks. We’ve made a new set of orchestrations and a new visual laser lighting show. And that capital investment can then tour around the world – people in Las Vegas will see that show later in the year.”
Synthony will appear in some 40-50 locations around the world this year, following a successful foray into 12 European locations in 2025.
This year Synthony will venture to 26-30 European cities, including Frankfurt, Stuttgart, Cologne, Hamburg, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Geneva, Vienna, Paris, Amsterdam, Prague, Krakow, Warsaw, Barcelona, Madrid, Rome and Milan.
Synthony will also venture to London for the first time, with a famous venue pencilled in. “We’d love to do Royal Albert Hall,” says Higgins. “That’s a bucket list - like the Sydney Opera House, which we performed at in December last year.”
WATCH: SYNTHONY ON THE STEPS OF THE SYDNEY OPERA HOUSE:
Synthony will also debut in the US, with shows already confirmed in New York, Denver, Tampa and Las Vegas.
“We’re breaking a whole lot of cities and markets,” says Higgins. “The goal is to become the world’s biggest covers act and we seem to be well on our way.”
Higgins paid tribute to his Duco staff, including Nicky Wall and Craig Cotton, for their work in pulling Synthony together.
As some 35,000 fans pour through the gates on Saturday, Higgins will be purposely mingling with them, and not behind the scenes, to ensure he has the same experience as everyone else.
He says he enjoys having the Domain as the venue - “it’s not a concrete jungle” and it’s central for much of the fanbase.
Higgins himself has come a long way since establishing Duco more than 21 years ago.
“If you hone your craft at something – it’s a good lesson for young people – once you find something you like or are good at, whether it’s being a plumber, a builder, whatever, and it feels right, try to be the best in the world.
“If you spend 20 years at something trying to be the best in the world, the financial rewards should follow.
“In my case, I’ve had my ups and downs, but I’ve kept at it.
“The rewards have come when I looked after myself and backed myself. I feel a bit of serenity now, but it wasn’t always that way. It’s been a bit of a roller coaster along the way. It’s a fun business.”
2.30pm: Gates open
2.45pm: Made You Look
3.15pm: Kaylee Bell
4pm: The Exponents
4.35pm: Nice ‘n’ Urlich
4.55pm: Shapeshifter
5.45pm: The Black Seeds
6.40pm: Peking Duk
7.40pm: Synthony
9.25pm: Hot Dub Time Machine
10pm: Faithless