Name: Newtown Rocksteady - Wellington
Start: 2026-01-10T11:00:00+13:00
Location: The Rogue & Vagabond

The mighty Newtown Rocksteady Return with their massive house of sound.
The bonfire will be lit with bass, dowsed in drums, and then fed with vocals, guitars, keys, horns, dancing, banter, laughter and special guests.
Watch them burn! After years of smash hit, full houses all accross Aotearoa, the boys are hitting the Rogue and Vagabone to shake things up, BIG time!
Did we mention the special guests' Not just guests, special guests! Who will they be' Come find out.
Hear some bangin new tunes alongside some choice rocksteady classics.
It could be the best night of your life! Fullas, you might find a pretty lady in the crowd' Ladies, you might get yourself a cashed-up musician (get in quick -they're flying out the door!)
Whatever happens, it will be hearty good times.
The band has its roots firmly embedded in the traditions of Jamaican rocksteady, ska and reggae music and is further nourished by its connection with its community. They will be spreading this love on their South Island tour in January 2026.
Be sure to bring your dancing shoes for one of Wellington’s biggest, best-loved, longest-running and grooviest vintage reggae bands: Newtown Rocksteady!
Possibly one of the greatest dance bands to have played the Mussel Inn in the past eighteen years. These guys are rock steady in every sense of those two words.
- Andrew, Mussel Inn - Takaka
I love it when I go to a concert expecting to see my favourite band and discover that the openers are almost better than the headline act. Numbering twelve on the stage, Newtown Rocksteady damn near threatened to demolish the stage by sheer force of numbers!
These guys are hard-hitting aficionados of ‘70s dub classics as per Lee Scratch Perry and Augustus Pablo, and their particular delivery quickly fuel up the lukewarm Sunday audience. Story goes that the Black Seeds caught their act at the recent Newtown Festival and were so taken they asked them to open for their Wellington homecoming gigs.
I can see why. Big horns, smatterings of conscious roots, deep, soulful grooves – tunes are well crafted, a little righteous but, ultimately, perfect to wiggle to. Special mention goes to ‘So Long’, with brilliant lines “oil on the water – pain in my soul” – a reference to BP, oil slicks, Nigeria and the evils of the oil industry.