On June 10 this year Bernie Griffen and the Thin Men were the last act to perform on Rotorua’s Rogue Stage, a “live music appreciation movement” with a roaming stage that Karin and Barry Vincent had been running for six years. Around 200 shows and three festivals later they decided to call it a day, a reluctant decision which in just the few months since has already had a huge impact on touring acts being able to play the central North Island town. NZM asked a tired but rightly proud Karin ...

Still attending Christchurch Boys’ High, Tarn PK wrote a song about teenage experimentations with alcohol that he initially titled Hurricane. Deciding later that was a bit too Bob Dylan-like he re-named the song Caught In The Wake, and submitted it to NZ On Air for consideration in the August 2018 NewTracks application round. It was one of seven ‘pop’ songs among the 28 songs that got through. We asked Tarn a few questions to introduce himself. What's your given name and musical background ...

It was through word of mouth that Aro aka Emily and Charles Looker got into performing on cruise ships. Though they say that personally, it’s not their ideal holiday, working on a big boat is essentially paid travel that Emily describes as “hard to say no to”. She was kind enough to write about their experience as performers aboard the Pacific Jewel this winter.  Charles and I make up a duo called Aro, a husband and wife combo who live on the road pursuing music full time. We had just finished ...