Since her first release in 2017, Rotorua-born singer-songwriter Alayna Powley (alayna) has consistently developed a portfolio of singles, album and EP releases that’ve earned her more than 85 million ...
READ MORE >You can find plenty of video content online by and about Kiwi virtuoso guitarist Ashton Sellars, including a series of teaching videos called Advanced Neo-Soul Guitar Master Class – though he’s never ...
READ MORE >NZ On Air Music have announced results of the February 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. This month 144 eligible applications were considered and there are eight first-time NZ On Air New Music Single recipients within this first 2026 NMS funding round list. The judging panel members were: Amy Hollands - RDU; Calvin Culverwell - Parachute Studios; Charlotte Ryan; ...
READ MORE >To The Front youth music programme returns to Kirikiriroa in April 2026, with applications open now. Taking place from Monday 13th April - Thursday 16th April, To The Front Kirikiriroa is open to youth aged 12-18 who identify as women, intersex, trans, takatāpui, queer or gender-diverse. Participants will learn to play instruments, form bands, write original songs, and perform in a showcase, all with the guidance of professional musicians. In addition they will take part in workshops on DIY ...
READ MORE >Auckland's SAE Creative Media Institute has announced the launch of a new Graduate Diploma in Creative Business, designed to inspire and equip Aotearoa’s next generation of creative professionals and entrepreneurs. Responding to growing demand for creatives who can turn ideas into sustainable careers, the Graduate Diploma in Creative Business builds essential entrepreneurial, strategic, and commercial skills tailored to the creative industries. The programme will empower creatives to confidently ...
READ MORE >Results of the November 2025 Waiata Takitahi funding round have been announced with 15 waiata to benefit from grants of up $15,000 per single, to be released in the coming year. Waiata Takitahi looks to support bilingual waiata that has great broadcast and online audience potential, and incorporates a minimum 25% te reo Māori in the song lyrics. It is an annual Te Māngai Pāho and NZ On Air co-funded music round. The judging panel included Ani-Piki Tuari (freelance), Kara Rickard (RNZ), Moana ...
READ MORE >Bic Runga may have spent time away from the stage spotlight, but she still needs no introduction. Songs like Drive, Sway and Listening for the Weather are part of our collective consciousness, solidifying her as one of New Zealand’s most iconic artists and songwriters. Runga’s 2026 comeback album ‘Red Sunset’ sees her experimenting with synth sounds, while not forsaking her international career-defining acoustic roots. Nur Peach talked with her about the album’s genesis. When NZ Musician ...
READ MORE >Jet-propelled with a simple TikTok/Insta clip that gives a glance behind the studio curtain at her vocal recording process, Echo by Talia Perese has raced towards a million Spotify plays since its release in May. It’s just one of the eight 2025 singles that have since been rolled up into the 20-year old RnB artist’s self-titled EP, which dropped mid-November. From Manurewa in south Auckland, Talia grew up in a musical household, and credits her dad Richard and older sister Enya with coaching ...
READ MORE >Still only in relatively early stages of their career, the quirky and vivid world of Club Ruby makes them one of the most eye-catching up and comers in today’s NZ music scene. Having recently secured their first charting single with the sassy, explosive earworm Heartbreak Overtime, the Auckland five-piece have released their second EP, a pop-punk moment of girl power energy entitled ‘Don’t Gaslight Me!’ Nur Peach investigates. Fronted by the huge, effervescent personality of Jade Lewis, ...
READ MORE >Anna van Riel’s music career by now spans over two decades, but having spent the past 10 years or so focused on recording children’s music, along with writing and performing an environmental rock opera for kids, it’s been a long while since the release of her last adult album ‘Whistle and Hum’. With the late-January release of her diverse new alt folk album ‘Wooden Leg’, and backed live by The Back Road Revolution band, the Invercargill-born singer-songwriter is making a strong return ...
READ MORE >There’s A Tuesday seem to have an uncanny knack for generating attention, without necessarily intending to. 2025 has been a year in which the band released their debut full album, and appeared on stages in all manner of places, including South Korea. Guitarist Nat Hutton and drummer Gus Murray looked back over the year with NZM. When the Ōtautahi dream-pop band initially made waves in public they were named There’s A Tuesday Between A Monday And Between A Wednesday – a poster-filling hazard ...
READ MORE >Karl Sölve Steven will need little introduction to most NZM readers. Energised frontman of Supergroove in the late 1990s (and again since the band reformed a decade after), Steven went on to make music with other acts including The Drab Doo-Riffs and Heart Attack Alley. Along the way he completed a PhD in ancient Greek and Roman philosophy at Trinity College, Cambridge, before returning to Aotearoa to pursue a new more solo musical focus as screen composer. As composer Karl Steven has recorded ...
READ MORE >Lily Stiven isn’t mucking around. Releasing her first single of the ’25 year (williams tragedy) in May, she followed that up with two more by October, her own genre description changing up in the process, from indie-pop/folk to indie-pop/R&B. “At the moment I’m not too worried about having a set genre! Personally I listen to so many different genres in my everyday life and am really inspired by a variety of artists, so it’s hard to pin down one genre. In saying that, my number one ...
READ MORE >Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter, and musician Gregory Alan Isakov returns for two NZ gigs this February, ahead of the Australian leg of his ‘Appaloosa Bones’ tour – which has already sold out in Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne and Sydney. Performing in an intimate acoustic format the theatre shows will offer audiences a special opportunity to experience stripped-down acoustic arrangements of favourites from Isakov’s studio albums; ‘Appaloosa Bones’, ‘Evening Machines’, ‘The ...
READ MORE >Eclectic local electronic music artists MxDicey, Talmar and Vanessa Tottle are touring the country in March (and the last day of February) as the energising force Soundscape Sirens. Their 2026 four-date NZ tour promises to bring even more deeper, sonic soundscapes from this trio of Kiwi beat makers. Together with local support acts the three artists are planning on leaving you wanting more, clutching your chest as the 808s and synth waves wash over you - taking you out to sea. Heed the Sirens’ call! Step ...
READ MORE >Party Of Special Things To Do is a community focused adventurous music festival occurring in Ōtautahi most years since 2017. This year’s concerts will take place on February 7 and 8, two days of adventurous music and deep listening including a deep listening wananga, led by Mahina Kingi-Kaui. The festival brings together local and international artists from diverse disciplines and cultural backgrounds. The 2026 programme will feature some artists encountering each other in performance for the ...
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