Mostly school teachers, hailing from a variety of southern hemisphere backgrounds, and aged around the 40 mark, The Mentalist Collective are a musically eclectic Ōtepoti songwriter five-piece, with roots ...
READ MORE >Indie-folk singer Ali Whitton’s journey to his debut album has incorporated beginner bands, solo stints in London and Paris, romance and heartbreak, relocation to Aotearoa and an assignment from superstar ...
READ MORE >The Global Music Awards competition results announced in April 2026 included just one New Zealand entrant, with silver medal recognition for Christchurch country artist Steffany Beck with her song Country Strong. Released in May 2025 her single was acknowledged for both country rock and music video content. The California-based Global Music Awards is an international music competition celebrating independent musicians. The Lost Melody were awarded Global Music Award’s Best in Show honours for ...
READ MORE >NZ On Air Music have announced results of the April 2026 New Music Single funding round, with 30 songs by local artists receiving grants of up to $11,000 to support the singles' recording, video and promotion costs. 149 eligible applications were considered for the April round, and there are eight first-time NZ On Air New Music Single recipients included. The judging panel members were: Cushla Aston - Aston Road Management; Greg Prebble - NZME; Karl Lock - JB Hi-Fi; Lani Purkis - artist; So'omālō ...
READ MORE >The three finalists for the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards Te Iti Rearea o te Tau | Breakthrough Artist of the Year award have been announced by Recorded Music NZ. The winner of the Breakthrough Tūī is determined based on data illustrating audience growth and commercial performance of recordings in terms of radio airplay and streaming/sales in Aotearoa during the 2025 calendar year. The artists named as finalists in 2026 are indie pop group Borderline; alt singer-songwriter, producer and sound ...
READ MORE >Recorded Music NZ has announced the finalists for the 2026 Aotearoa Music Awards (AMA), who will be celebrated on Thursday 28 May at The Civic in Tāmaki Makaurau. Marlon Williams leads this year’s AMA nominations with his own long list of six Tūī-winning opportunities, on the strength of his first fully te reo Māori album, 'Te Whare Tīwekaweka'. The album debuted at #1 on the Top 40 Albums Chart - one of only three local albums to do so in 2025 - becoming the first album of original waiata ...
READ MORE >Aotearoa-adoptive American/Spanish citizen of the world, Anderson Rocio has worked in various aspects of the music industry since heading to Los Angeles in 2017. Success arrived in 2020 with a song she’d written being heavily used on the Netflix series Lucifer, which opened up different opportunities and drew her to create music for her other passion, ocean conservation. Returning home to Te Waipounamu in 2025, she also that year launched Riverine Records, her own independent record label. Amanda ...
READ MORE >Church provided Myshaan with his first stage. His storming 2023 single Sway and 2024 follow up Carry My Heart have each enjoyed 5M+ Spotify stream numbers, introducing his smooth R&B and Pacific soul sound to audiences across Aotearoa and throughout Samoa, Tonga and Fiji. Brown Skin, a track from the 23-year old’s recently released EP ‘My Love’, was included by NZ On Air Music on their April NewTracks compilation. What’s your given name? Where are you originally from & ...
READ MORE >With a release history that dates back to 2015, including a couple of albums, We Will Ride Fast isn't exactly a new on-the-scene Kiwi artist, however 2026 is shaping up as a year of accelerated activity for the Tauranga-based darkwave / post-punk act. With its retro-futurist combination of synths, drum machines and motorik vocals Unfurl Your Weeds grabbed the attention of NZ On Air Music enough for the single to be included on the April NewTracks compilation. Who is We Will Ride Fast and ...
READ MORE >Tusekah Njote’s debut single Childhood Friends came in 2021, the same year she began performing live. Favouring quality over quantity, the richly-voiced Wellington alternative pop/soulful RnB singer has been economical with single releases since, finances limiting the flow of recordings. “I write all the time, and I sometimes think of how much of a shame it is that there are so many songs I wrote that I’ve moved on from, before they got to be released. “I have no doubt that I will get to ...
READ MORE >Louis Godfrey’s Instagram tags him as a visual enthusiast. The 28-year old grew up in Christchurch and graduated from University of Canterbury with a law degree. While not really following that path he almost inadvertently found himself involved in music management, and for much of the last four years he’s been working as day-to-day manager as well as on the creative team of the Australian house music DJ, FISHER. Travelling all over the world with one of the world’s top dance DJs, ...
READ MORE >With her developing indie pop project Bridges, Christchurch-born singer-songwriter Rachel Hamilton is emerging as one of Aotearoa’s most compelling new voices. Blending shimmering pop melodies with atmospheric guitars and emotional honesty, her music moves between intimacy and scale; confessional, yet expansive. What began as a private outlet - a teenage songwriter processing the world from her bedroom - has grown into a fully realised creative project, shaped by collaboration and craft. Released ...
READ MORE >It was only after completing a communications degree that Amelia Power realised a career in music was what she really should be pursuing. In the few years since the Nelson-born artist has independently released a handful of singles, revealing her evident talents as both songwriter and singer. Working with several different producers since 2024 Amelia has explored a repertoire that’s progressed from dreamy bedroom pop towards more upbeat indie pop and neo soul singer-songwriter sound. Though able ...
READ MORE >West Auckland organisation The Trusts (Portage Licensing Trust and Waitākere Licensing Trust), are joining in NZ Music Month with The Trusts Live!, five Saturday nights of live music in the intimate wine cellar at Corban Estate Arts Centre, Henderson. With a diverse line-up of local artists across funk, soul, electronic, hip hop, indie and more, The Trusts Live! programme will also shine a light on the emerging artists and sound engineers from Crescendo (the Henderson-based music programme supporting ...
READ MORE >The 2026 Official New Zealand Music Month Summit will be held on Saturday May 2nd, at The Tuning Fork in Parnell, Tāmaki Makaurau. Presented by MMF Aotearoa and the NZ Music Commission with support from other industry organisations, this year's summit centres on the theme of NZ Music Month 2026 ‘Our Sounds, Our Spaces’, celebrating our music and all the places it's made and enjoyed across Aotearoa - live music venues, community halls, schools, libraries, marae, public parks and all ages ...
READ MORE >The Mount Maunganui music community will come together in a show of unity late April, with a landmark fundraising concert set to raise money for families affected by the tragic Mauao landslide. The event will be hosted by Totara Street live music venue in Mount Maunganui, and run from midday to 11pm on Sunday 26 April, 2026. Spanning two live stages and a DJ courtyard, the Mauao Landslide Fundraiser event will feature more than 25 local artists and acts. Tiki Taane headlines a bill that includes ...
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