The Racket Lounge

Its been a few weeks since we wrapped up the 2025 season of The Racket Lounge, and what an incredible season it was! We had:

🎻 4 concerts in 4 months
🎸 31 incredible artists
🎶 6 brand-new pieces of music by local emerging composers
😎 1 very cool Events Coordinator that brought it all together

Ella spent the better part of 2025 working in the NZSQ office as part of a internship opportunity designed to help emerging musicians gain valuable behind-the-scenes skills to set them up for a sustainable, multi-faceted career in the arts. Ella's main project was producing The Racket Lounge. She has now finished up her time in the NZSQ office, so we caught up with her find out the highlights, surprises and wisdom gained from running the 2025 season of The Racket Lounge.

Go read the full story 🔗 https://www.nzsq.org.nz/post/the-highlights-surprises-and-wisdom-gained-from-the-racket-lounge-2025

And finishing with a bang, we have come to the end of The Racket Lounge for 2025! Thank you all for jamming with us whether as a musician or audience member (especially to those of you who made it to all four concerts!) and we hope to see you all again for 2026 👋

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💖 A huge thank you to Wellington City Council for supporting our 2025 season!

Finishing our line up for The Racket Lounge: Evolve we have composer Cadence Chung's piece 'Four Songs of Myth', from the text by poet and musician Jackson McCarthy. We hope to see you all on Wednesday night!

🎵 The Racket Lounge: Evolve
📅 Wednesday 8 October, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../the-racket.../wellington

👏 With thanks to Wellington City Council!

Make sure to join Leila and Lana for some Brahms at The Racket Lounge: Evolve next week! Be there or be square 🟪🟪🟪

🎵 The Racket Lounge: Evolve
📅 Wednesday 8 October, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../the-racket.../wellington

👏 With thanks to Wellington City Council!

Introducing Windrose - a new ensemble headlined by composer and perfomer Zoe Ioannou. Catch them at The Racket Lounge: Evolve next week to hear their sonic landscapes 〰️

🎵 The Racket Lounge: Evolve
📅 Wednesday 8 October, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/the-racket-lounge-session-four/wellington

👏 With thanks to Wellington City Council!

📢 Are you ready for the FINAL Racket Lounge concert for 2025? Featuring up and coming local composers with some brand new music to grace your ears, make sure to grab tickets to catch these good vibes before they're gone!

🎸 The Racket Lounge: Evolve
📅 Wednesday 8 October, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/the-racket-lounge-session-four/wellington

👏 With thanks to Wellington City Council!

Thanks to everyone who joined us at The Racket Lounge: Medley! We had a great time listening to some sweet tunes, and hope you did too!

Keep your eyes and ears peeled as we prepare for the final session of The Racket Lounge 2025 on October 8 👀

📷 .art
Ft. Antipodes Quartet

👏 With thanks to Wellington City Council!

Ya like jazz? El Jagor will be keeping things fresh next Wednesday - come along and listen! 🎺

🎙️ The Racket Lounge: Medley
📅 Wednesday 3 September, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../the-racket.../wellington

Sophia Acheson is going to be hanging out with us at The Racket Lounge: Medley sharing some familiar and not-so-familiar tunes on solo viola with loop pedal 🎛️

🎙️ The Racket Lounge: Medley
📅 Wednesday 3 September, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../the-racket.../wellington

Joining us between legs of their national tour, we have the Antipodes Quartet! Be sure to catch them at The Racket Lounge: Medley before they speed off for the rest of their tour... keep an eye on them - they're out making a splash!

🎙️ The Racket Lounge: Medley
📅 Wednesday 3 September, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/.../the-racket.../wellington

Hungry for more chill sounds from some super cool Welly musicians? Come along to The Racket Lounge: Medley on Wednesday 3 September!

Keep an eye out friends, the program is coming soon 👀

🎙️ The Racket Lounge: Medley
📅 Wednesday 3 September, 6.30pm
📍 Bedlam & Squalor
🎟 https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2025/the-racket-lounge-session-three/wellington

The Racket Lounge: Tandem was fantastic! We had so much fun with you all and can't wait for the next one 👀 see you on September 3rd!

📷 .art (ft. everyone's favourite purple lamp 💡)