new website UNDER CONSTRUCTION
MAJOR UPDATE
Howdy all DTG FANS, BANDS, ARTISTS & LOUD LOCALS that love experiencing the power of live music here in Aotearoa...
DIG THE GIG is five years deep - a heap of insane moments and superb rock n' roll memories have gone down since 2021 - a new website is being rebuilt to handle all the insane memories, posters, recoding tracks, music videos, photos, moving pictures, blogs and our new kick ass merchandise store - In the meantime the note below will keep you up dated with all the good work DIG THE GIG has been achieving for our outstanding university bands & artists here in Aotearoa that took a leap of faith - registered, performed and blew our minds across their live DIG THE GIG show
DIG THE GIG NZ 2026 KICKS OFF IN MAY
BREAKING NEWS!! DIG THE GIG NZ is about to become the coolest Tertiary band comp on the planet - after FIVE kick ass years we thought it was time to open DTG it up to all tertiary institutions as well as the university's which gives the FANS, the BANDS and our awesome sponsors bigger audiences at the live shows + online with amplified opportunities on and off the stage for our epic bands and artists.
DIG THE GIG will open up to all TERTIARY organisations across 2026 & beyond as well as our universities here in NZ.
There will be 21 live DIG THE GIG shows played across our four largest NZ cities from May 1st through to October 18th 2026
DIG THE GIG 2026 Schedule:
DTG CHRISTCHURCH: x5 shows
DTG AUCKLAND: x5 shows
DTG DUNEDIN: x5 shows
DTG WELLINGTON: x5 shows
DTG Nationwide Grand Final Extravaganza - the four winning bands from each DTG Comp will fight it out in the DTG Ring of Rock N’ Roll for the grand prize! - this show will be played in Christchurch late October 2026 - this will be a ticketed event - the venue tbc.
DTG's amended model will keep our superb university bands on their toes - introducing all tertiary institutions to strut their swagger and perform their original songs to live audiences will be a game changer for all concerned!
More good news…The DIG THE GIG Nation Wide Grand Final is back and will be staged here in the Garden City in October.
The DIG THE GIG Nationwide Grand Final was introduced into the stable in 2024. For the first time in 'NZ University Folklore History’ we witnessed the best four DTG NZ University Bands (chosen by the FANS) fighting it out in the DTG Ring of Rock N' Roll to claim the prestigious Californian-Kiwi Connection Music Award - Bliss won the Award and will be flown to L.A in September last year to play a two shows at the legendary Whisky A Go Go on the Sunset Strip.
For 2026 the winner takes it all - Juicy details relating to our rock n roll trip of a lifetime prize pack award will be confirmed soon!
Registrations will open for DTG CHCH & DTG DUN February 20th
- Our new website goes live February 15th
The DIG THE GIG model is funded by awesome sponsors - 2025 was a tough year but the power of live music pulled us all through. As you know music is medicinal, it is a crucial part of every community and we need to keep movements, opportunities and events like these rolling. Our creative youth need platforms and opportunities like DIG THE GIG to make them shine, be heard and be felt! There are too many incredibly talented individuals that a are falling through the cracks here in NZ and we all need to do our part to stop the gaps getting friggin wider!
True Story…
The DIG THE GIG brand and MOVEMENT is alive & kicking!
DIG THE GIG was established in twenty twenty one to create a musical movement - a movement to get our student bands out their flats/halls of residents and into a live music venue (off campus) to put on a kick ass show and connect to humans that should know about them but don’t.
There hasn’t been a musical vehicle or platform that bridges the gap between RockQuest (NZ high school band comp that began in 1988) and the real world for our live bands & artists leaving high school.
DIG THE GIG has proudly taken care of this - our high school students that got a kick out of RockQuest (or never played at RockQuest) and are planning on a tertiary education, DIG THE GIG will be their musical LIFE LINE.
DIG THE GIG connects the bands & artists to the real world of performing live, recording in studios, marketing, promotion, building a FAN base and provides crucial connections with industry heavy weights domestically and internationally.
To date DIG THE GIG has exposed, promoted, nurtured & celebrated over 286 NZ University Bands over five seasons across our four boldest NZ University’s.
A total of 646 original songs have been played live across the five seasons of DIG THE GIG to audiences in the thousands across four awesome live music venues across Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Dunedin.
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36 bands have won recording sessions and have recorded and launched their singles through DIG THE GIG NZ
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12 bands have had music videos produced and activated by DIG THE GIG NZ
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2 bands have been flown to L.A to play shows at the Whisky A Go Go + meetings with industry heavy weights & moguls that have shaped their careers off shore
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5 DTG UC bands have been given slots at Rhythm & Alp’s Festival (Wanaka)
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5 DTG UC bands have been given slots at GO LIVE Festival (Christchurch)
The DECIBEL METER has been running hot for the past five years!
Our Credo here at DIG THE GIG is simple...
Giving the characters and personalities behind our incredible NZ tertiary bands a chance to strut their swagger live on stage is what DIG THE GIG lives for - showcasing & promoting the bands live shows and songs to our domestic & international audiences that should know about them but probably don't is our PROMISE.
DIG THE GIG is now the coolest Tertiary Band Competition in the world that exposes and unearth's the bands through the FANS. There are NO JUDGES - the bands are carried through the heats and into the grand final by a DECIBEL METER.
That’s right the band that brings the best live show and the LOUDEST crowd night after night will be crowned winners of DIG THE GIG - We say ROCK N' ROLL DEMOCRACY at it’s finest!
Each DIG THE GIG Tertiary Competition has four heats and the final.
Each band has to play three songs in their heat - one cover and two originals.
DIG THE GIG has been created to nurture, mentor, expose, celebrate and help guide our incredible NZ Tertiary Bands through to the next level of their musical careers. The colourful doors DIG THE GIG is opening for these awesome bands here in NZ and abroad is heartwarming to say the least.
It is important work and we need to keep it going!
No one wins unless everyone wins - every band that registers and performs wins - the performances are next level and so are our prizes and opportunities for these incredible artists and bands.
DIG THE GIG has been nationwide since 2023:
DIG THE GIG University of Canterbury (fifth season 2025)
DIG THE GIG University of Otago (second season 2025)
DIG THE GIG Victoria University of Wellington & Massey University (third season 2026)
DIG THE GIG University of Auckland (third season 2026)
The DIG THE GIG comps/shows are played at a reputable local music venue in each city. The reason for this was simple - to get the bands and fans off campus/out of their flats and out into a music venue that they should know about but don’t - DTG supports venues that simply know how to host a great gigs - we need to keep supporting our live music venues here in Aotearoa.
DIG THE GIG pulls student bands out of their flats and into a venue that will make them feel like rock stars on their given night.
DIG THE GIG connects bands & fans to a live music venue that they should know about but don’t.
DIG THE GIG pulls locals and good humans out mid week to listen and dance to our up and coming university bands.
DIG THE GIG connects brands, products and experiences directly into the HEARTS, SOULS and MINDS of students & locals in a 'captive audience music experience' off campus.