The First-Timer's Guide to: Port Noise Festival 2026

Saturday 21st February, from 3pm
Lyttelton, New Zealand
From $109 (+BF)
Buy tickets here

- Delaney Davidson’s Surprise Revue: a cabaret-style variety show curated by Delaney Davidson, where local talent meets the familiar and the unexpected.
- Lines & Freq.: Aotearoa poets and avant-garde improvisers collide live at Ōhinehou Coffee Company, bringing words directly into the sound field.
- Hands Across the Water: artists from Aotearoa and Australia join forces for a fully charged, trans-Tasman gig on the eve of Port Noise.
- Noa Records presents - Taha Tau: Ōhinehou: A cinematic taonga pūoro performance adding strings and electronics from Tāmaki, Pōneke, and Ōtautahi, drifting toward the casually transcendent.
- Open Space: a pop-up exhibition bringing Ōtautahi and Ōhinehou creatives together in a romantic industrial port space.

Some of these are ticketed, some are free, and all of them are designed to ease you into the Port Noise world. You might recognise artists later on the main day. You might meet people you’ll bump into again in the courtyard. Either way, the festival will already feel underway before Saturday arrives!

There’s no single “right” arrival time. Some people come early to settle in, some arrive mid-afternoon, and others show up later once the sun starts to drop. Entering the festival precinct, you will find yourself in the courtyard – the heart of Port Noise. This is where the outdoor stages live, where people gather, eat, drink, talk, sit, stand, and work out where they want to go next. From here, everything branches out into venues and secret shows. A unique Port Noise pick-a-path experience.

Port Noise is big enough to blow your mind, but contained enough to feel held in a unique festival experience.

Two outdoor stages run in the courtyard through the afternoon and evening, bringing energy, scale and those shared moments where everyone seems to be watching the same thing at once. Three indoor venues open directly off the courtyard. These host more intimate sets – darker rooms, closer crowds, different moods. Moving between them is simple. You’re not trekking across a city or rushing between distant sites. You’re walking a few minutes, often just through an alleyway or doorway, and suddenly you’re somewhere new.

You might catch half a set then wander off, stay in one space for a while, pop into a venue because you heard something interesting, sit outside for a drink and regroup, go for a wander down the street because your secret show invitation is about to start...

Every Port Noise ticket includes access to a limited-capacity secret show hosted somewhere in Port during the festival. On arrival at the festival, you will receive a slip of paper with a time and address on it. Should you choose to venture out, you will be treated to a one-off micro performance in a truly unexpected space with a certain kind of energy. Often commented on as people’s favourite moments of Port Noise, the appeal comes in following an address, turning up somewhere unfamiliar, and realising you’re exactly where you’re meant to be.

And what acts will you be seeing? Shhh, it’s a secret.

As evening arrives, the energy shifts. Outdoor stages feel fuller. Indoor sets get sweatier and more intense. The courtyard becomes louder, warmer, more animated. People you’ve been seeing all day start to feel familiar.

Port Noise isn’t about trying to see everything or be everywhere. It’s about a meandering walkable setup, big moments balanced with quieter ones, Food, drink and rest built into the day, Freedom to dip in and out and don’t forget a week-long build that gives context and depth.

If you can picture yourself moving through that – arriving when it suits, finding your rhythm, taking breaks, discovering things – then the decision to buy a ticket is no longer a leap. It’s just the next step.

Bomba on Lyttelton’s bustling London Street celebrates two of Italy’s greatest gifts to the culinary world… pizza and gelato. During opening hours there is a steady stream of customers and they travel from all over Christchurch to get their hands on a slice or scoop of Bomba’s best.

A standout eatery where you can expect to find perfectly charred pizzas and a plant-filled atmosphere.

A quirky place humming with activity, this place is home to a coffee roastery and a cafe big on sustainability, community and authentic fare.

This Lyttelton spot offers a well thought-out sharing menu dotted with memorable plates along with excellent wine, beer and cocktails.

Lyttelton’s Asian-fusion eatery, SUPER, is nothing short of what the name suggests.

If you’re wondering — did streaming kill the video star? — the answer is not quite, thanks to neat people like Evan at Dead Video.

A must-visit spot brimming with homewares and more made by good people.