From Ōtautahi to Seoul: There’s A Tuesday’s global leap

In Seoul, the band got to perform, record, check out the music scene and explore the city

When Christchurch indie band There’s A Tuesday touched down in Seoul for a ten-day residency, they knew they were stepping into one of the world’s most competitive and influential music scenes.

South Korea’s capital is a city where K-pop reigns supreme, streaming platforms shape culture, and the indie underground thrives in basements and festival stages. For the quartet from Ōtautahi, the residency was more than a chance to play shows abroad — it was a chance to test their sound, learn from industry leaders, and see where Kiwi music might find its place in Asia.

The residency brought co-frontwomen Nat Hutton and Minnie Robberds, bassist Joel Becker, and drummer Gus Murray into the heart of Hongdae — Seoul’s beating creative district.

Over ten days, they sat in strategy sessions, wrote in recording studios, sweated through festival crowds, and played to packed rooms of new listeners. By the time they left, they weren’t just carrying guitars and notebooks, but also the beginnings of new collaborations, industry insights, and a vision for how far their music can travel.

Korea’s music market

For There’s A Tuesday, one of the biggest lessons of the trip came not onstage but in boardrooms. Meetings with Spotify Korea revealed a market where the streaming giant is far from dominant.

“In New Zealand, Spotify is number one,” Becker explained. “Here it’s only number three. Platforms like Melon dominate, and that changes how you think about reaching audiences.”

Murray added that the intense competition among digital streaming platforms [DSPs] drives innovation. “The competitive nature of DSPs [digital streaming platforms] here allows Spotify to take more risks and engage audiences more actively" he said.

Out and about in Seoul

For the band, it was a jolt of perspective. What works at home doesn’t automatically translate abroad. Success in Asia demands flexibility — learning the local landscape, adapting strategies, and recognising that global influence doesn’t always mean global dominance.

These insights weren’t just useful to the band. They hint at what New Zealand musicians more broadly must consider as they look towards Asia: local platforms matter, infrastructure is strong, and audiences are eager for fresh voices if artists know how to reach them.

Collaboration across borders

The residency’s defining creative moment came at CJ Azit, a cultural hub and performance space in Seoul. There, There’s A Tuesday spent an afternoon writing and recording with indie artist Kimseungjoo, whom they had first seen performing days earlier at the Pentaport Rock Festival.

“It was incredible to write with such talented musicians,” Robberds recalled. “Despite the language barrier, we just clicked.”

There's a Tuesday performed and recorded with indie artist Kimseungjoo

The session produced a new bilingual track tentatively titled Mean/Daebak — a playful blend of Kiwi slang and Korean expression.

The collaboration wasn’t just a novelty; it showed how quickly creative chemistry can spark across cultures. For the band, it was proof that their sound resonated beyond New Zealand’s borders, and for Kimseungjoo, it was a chance to experiment with a distinctly different style.

More importantly, it provided a glimpse of what residencies like this are designed to achieve: authentic cultural exchange through art, not just performance.

A showcase in Seoul

The trip culminated with a performance at TUNE UP MEETS FRESH FINDS, a showcase hosted by CJ Cultural Foundation and Spotify Korea. Sharing the bill with local acts like jisokuryClub and Can’t Be Blue, There’s A Tuesday walked onstage in front of a full house.

Performing at TUNE UP MEETS FRESH FINDS exposed the band to a new audience and new opportunities

From the opening notes of Bad Things to the closing chords of Margo, the Christchurch four-piece pulled the audience into their orbit. Between songs, they introduced themselves in Korean and sprinkled in small phrases and gestures that drew laughter and applause.

Hutton later reflected on the response: “We’ve had so many amazing meetings and conversations here. The biggest takeaway is knowing we can connect with people here and hopefully come back soon.”

The set was a turning point. For an indie band thousands of kilometres from home, it wasn’t guaranteed that their sound — soft harmonies layered over dreamy guitars and propulsive rhythms — would land. But the crowd’s reaction proved otherwise. By the end of the night, it was clear: There’s A Tuesday could hold its own in one of Asia’s toughest stages.

Pentaport and beyond

If Seoul’s studios and showcases taught the band about the industry, Incheon’s Pentaport Rock Festival gave them a taste of Korean music culture at scale. Under blistering summer heat, the band joined tens of thousands of fans to see acts ranging from British rapper Little Simz to Japanese lo-fi outfit Tempalay, Britpop legends Pulp, and Grammy-winning American singer Beck.

Nat Hutton and Minnie Robberds at Pentaport Rock Festival

Murray threw himself into the mosh pit, later describing it as one of the most respectful festival crowds he’d experienced. “As soon as someone went down, there was space cleared and they’d help them up. No elbows, no trampling. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone mad in that mosh.”

For the band, the festival wasn’t just entertainment. It was a masterclass in how Korean audiences interact with live music — enthusiastic, engaged, and deeply respectful.

And in quieter moments, Seoul’s everyday culture also left its mark. Convenience stores became unlikely highlights, with Hutton praising iced coffee pouches from GS25 and Robberds laughing about how “life-changing” the ubiquity of Korean convenience culture felt. Small details, yes, but ones that deepened their sense of connection with the city.

While their schedule was jam packed, the band did manage to find some time to hit the streets and check out the sights

The Seoul Residency wasn’t simply about giving four Kiwi musicians an overseas trip. It was about building pathways between New Zealand and one of the world’s most influential music hubs.

For There’s A Tuesday, the impact is clear: a new collaborative track, a showcase performance that proved their sound resonates abroad, and an expanded understanding of how global markets operate. For New Zealand, it demonstrates the power of cultural exchange — and the opportunities that exist for local artists willing to step into unfamiliar territory.

Residencies like this aren’t about instant fame. They’re about planting seeds. As Robberds put it: “We’ve created connections here that feel really special. Hopefully this is the start of something bigger.”

Looking ahead

Back home, There’s A Tuesday aren’t slowing down. With headline shows ahead and a slot at Australia’s BIGSOUND — one of the region’s biggest music industry events — their calendar is already filling. But Seoul has given them new confidence, new material, and new ambition.

Hutton summed it up best: “Despite the heat, the long days, and being so far from home, Seoul was one of the best experiences of our lives. We want to come back as soon as possible.”

Music doesn’t just cross borders. It thrives on them. And for There’s A Tuesday, Seoul was proof that their journey is only just beginning.

The Foundation's Arts Programme brings Asia into the mainstream of New Zealand arts by inspiring New Zealand arts professionals to grow their connections and knowledge of Asia. It also supports the presentation of Asian arts in partnership with New Zealand arts organisations and events.