Tea Party 2011

For the uninitiated, the Tea Party is a UCSA tradition going back years which sees about 3000 students spend the final day of lectures getting a real education in sunshine, music, and good times. Clad in costumes creative as they are cheap, they pack out a small area of campus to send off their university year in style.

This year the party has moved from its spiritual home of the UCSA Amphitheatre to an area over by the Staff Club – but don't worry, it's still got all the tunes, seemingly endless free food, and bevvies that make it the best day out there is. Tickets are on sale now from ucsa.org.nz for $35+booking fee, so get in quick – this always sells out!

Zowie

Auckland's Zoe Fleury has been called a "tiny dynamo of electrifying, positive energy", and listening to her pop sounds charged by a mastery of vocals, guitar, programming, and her first specialty, drumming, it's easy to see why.

Her live career over the past year and a half has seen her perform at The Big Day Out and Rhythm and Vines, serve as an opener for acts like The Kills and Peaches, and perform at New Zealand Fashion Week - all of which ought to have served as good preparation for what is surely her biggest step yet: The Tea Party.

The Checks

The Checks have been steadily building up a solid foundation as one of New Zealand's foremost rock acts since coming together as teenagers on the North Shore. Inspired by The Strokes' Is This It they started gigging, before hitting the big time at the Big Day Out 2005, which led to the band serving as support acts for all sorts of interesting young go-getters such as R.E.M, Oasis, AC/DC, The Hives, The Killers, and so on. They did the sign-up-to-an-overseas-label-thing and flew on over to England, where they recorded their debut album Hunting Whales, before coming back to New Zealand for their follow-up Alice by the Moon, which won Rock Album of the Year at the 2007 Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards. They're now about to release their third album, Deadly Summer Sway, after which they'll tour the country – but as they won't be coming by Christchurch way, the Tea Party is your best opportunity to catch them live.

Kids of 88 (DJ set)

Kids of 88 have proved their bona fides around campus more than once, performing on UCom's stage at The Perfect Storm last year, at Tea Party 2010, and at UC Accommodation's ball this year.

The new wave duo of Jordan Arts and Sam McCarthy have been best friends for a good decade, and forging their sounds through homespun production methods during their teenage years, they burst onto the scene in 2009 with their hit single "My House". From there came a record deal with Sony Music, their single and music video of the year-winning "Just A Little Bit", and debut album SUGARPILLS. Now they're taking the world by storm, having supported Scissor Sisters in Australia and Ke$ha on her European tour, and making headway into the US market.

Optimus Gryme feat. MC Tiki

Optimus Gryme has had a busy time over the past decade he's been working as a DJ, producer, label manager, and radio host. Having released New Zealand's first solo dubstep EP and 12 inch on his own imprint, along with his debut album, not to mention a double CD compilation, all while performing throughout New Zealand and Australia, he's evolved into one of Aotearoa's leading dubstep pioneers. And it's earned him due respect, collaborating with or remixing for the likes of Shapeshifter, Shihad, and Minuit, as well as serving as one of Tiki Taane's official tour DJs.

His DJ sets transform nightclubs into moshpits; his mixes receiving over 100,000 downloads over the past two years. Whether touring overseas or at home, always packs the dance floor to capacity, delivering epic sets you can't help but get grooving to. A veteran of Orientation and the Tea Party, you can rest assured he'll be doing the same this year.

Bad Ezzy and Kween G

Girl power comes to Tea Party this year as we are treated to two of Australia's up-and-coming MCs of power pop and hip hop. Bad Ezzy of HOOPs and Kween G of Killaqueenz are going to be double trouble and will have you sweating it out in the sun to their killer beats and hard-out hip hop flows.

Tommy Ill

Few who hear Tommy Ill perform live don't walk away fans – that is, assuming they weren't already. This Wellington-based artist may most simply be described as belonging to the hip hop genre, but his music is clearly infused with liberal doses of indie and electro goodness.

And there certainly has been a lot of it – the prolific MC has released three EPs since 2007, culminating last year with his debut self-titled LP (which he characterised as the Captain Planet to his LPs' Planeteers). Eclectic, quirky, and endlessly original, Ill's witty songs cover the gamut of topics from hangovers, heartache, bills, and professing one's love to a robot. His live performances are a haphazard tour de force; getting piggybacked around stage, tackling audience members, mounting furniture – he once even managed to break a tooth crowd-diving (don't worry; ACC had it covered). Tommy Ill has been making a big impact, and is a must-see of the Tea Party!

The Laon

Deserving champions of the recent UCSA Battle of the Bands competition, The Laon are a '60s-inspired psychedelic rock group. Forming at the beginning of March 2010, they've already established themselves as an energetic, great-sounding band with plenty to offer. Playing mainly around Christchurch, the boys quickly became regulars at AL's Bar, playing some memorable shows with other groups from throughout the country. They promise you'll be welcomed by a wall of sound that will thrill your senses and feed your soul. We're not ones to argue with that.