| The Powerstation | |
| Former Names: | Galaxy, Bar Retro |
| Address: | 33 Mount Eden Road, Eden Terrace, 1023 |
| City: | Auckland |
| Country: | New Zealand |
| Coordinates: | -36.8662°N 174.7612°W |
| Capacity: | 1,000 |
| Opened: | 1950s |
The Powerstation is a music venue in Eden Terrace, Auckland, it is one of the few remaining small music venues in New Zealand.[1] [2] The building has been used as multiple different music venues since the 1950s.
First opened in the 1950s as a hotel lobby, the Powerstation soon become a "dine-and-dance" venue. The space later became the Galaxy venue.
In 1986, Simon Grigg, Roger Perry, and Tom Sampson opened the house music club 'Asylum' within the Galaxy venue.[3] [4] Whilst initially starting as a club playing hip hop, soul, and pop music, it soon gained a reputation for playing house music, making it the first house music club in Australasia.[4] Grigg described Asylum as "one of the first clubs that had no colour or race barriers, so the crowd came from south, west, north, east, and central Auckland and mostly happily mixed."[5]
In 1989, Galaxy started to host five bands for five dollars glam metal shows - sparking a renewed interest in the genre in Auckland.[6] [7]
By 2008, Galaxy had turned into an 80s-themed bar called Bar Retro. In 2009, Bar Retro went into receivership and Peter Campbell bought the venue, branding it as the Powerstation.
The Pixies performed their first show in New Zealand in 2010 at the Powerstation.[8]
Lorde's 2017 show had to be urgently rescheduled from the Powerstation to the Bruce Mason Centre as there were liquor-licensing issues for an all-ages gig.[9]
In 2018, the Powerstation agreed to host - then cancelled - an event hosted by far-right speakers Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux, generating controversy first for agreeing to host it, and then for cancelling it.[10]