Each NZ Music Month of recent years, Phantom Billstickers have brought striking portraits of local musicians taken by Auckland photographer Hayley Theyers to walls and fences nationwide. We're pleased ...
READ MORE >In a break from its 14-year tradition, the 2019 Manager of the Year award will be presented as part of the Artisan Awards, held in Wellington in conjunction with Massey University’s School of Music and ...
READ MORE >It’s New Zealand Music Month and as fans of great Kiwi music, Sacred Hill wants to help you discover and celebrate the abundance of talented musicians in Aotearoa! Though the artistry of winemaking is quite different from that of New Zealand’s musicians, Sacred Hill’s winemakers understand what it’s like to share something that they’re passionate about with the rest of the world. To help you discover some fantastic live Kiwi music this month Sacred Hill is giving you a chance ...
READ MORE >Artist applications for showcases at Australia's biggest music industry conference, BigSound 2019 in Brisbane, have been extended to Thursday, May 16. You can apply here. (Quickly!) Now in its 18th year, BigSound 2019 will be held from September 3-6. Running across four days and four nights, you can meet, talk and listen to the brightest lights in the music industry. When the lights go down, your band could be wowing the global industry audience at some of Aussie's best live music venues ...
READ MORE >Few people have contributed to or intersected with the New Zealand music industry in as many ways as Malcolm Black. It is with great sadness that we hear of his death in Auckland on Friday, May 10. He was 58. Malcolm had been suffering from terminal bowel cancer for many months. His fighting spirit was illustrated with a feature appearance at the 2018 Silver Scroll Awards, and one final stage performance at Dunedin’s Captain Cook venue in late March. All proceeds of that show went to cancer ...
READ MORE >The 2019 Children’s Music Awards were presented at a family-friendly event at Auckland's Tuning Fork on Sunday May 5. Hosted by Suzy Cato, guests of all ages were treated to performances by Anna van Riel who was a finalist for all three categories, Levity Beet, Craig Smith and Marian Burns and kids. APRA Best Children's Song winner Cy Winstanley: Marley Sitting on a Pumpkin Seed Recorded Music NZ Best Children's Artist winner Craig Smith: 'Not Just For Kids 2' NZ On Air Best Children's ...
READ MORE >Publicly announced in 2018, the thinking and work behind the plan to get Auckland identified as one of the UNESCO Cities of Music goes back more than two years before that date. Employed by Recorded Music NZ as the organisation’s Marketing & Special Projects person, Mark Roach was integral in bringing this grand plan to fruition. Who better then to explain the background and future of Auckland as a ‘ City of Music ’? There is a growing recognition of music as a transformative power, not ...
READ MORE >Better known for her singing/guitaring roles in Dunedin indie bands Astro Children and Trick Mammoth, Millie Lovelock got some intrigued media attention for having written her thesis on UK boy band One Direction. Covering their songs online led to the genesis of her latest musical incarnation, Repulsive Woman. Stepping away from pop covers, for now, she released chest-baring single Rough Around The Edges (from upcoming album 'Relief') in late April, and promptly made it onto NZ On Air Music's ...
READ MORE >Although he recently released an album titled ‘Science Fiction’ under his own name, the music world knows Tom Bailey better as International Observer, and lingeringly best as the frontman of ‘80s superstar pop act Thompson Twins. (Hold Me Now – hello people!) He recently toured Europe and the States with Boy George’s Culture Club, confirming his apparent return to pop music. Alastair Ross grabbed the opportunity to talk with the sometimes Auckland-resident, permanent pop icon. Science ...
READ MORE >Sit Down In Front hail from Gisborne and beat Alien Weaponry to being one of the youngest acts in NZ rock right now – a different sort of rock, admittedly, but also great to listen to with the volume on high. They self-produced their first album in a garage when all aged 14 or younger, but for their latest output they accepted some help from renowned producer Greg Haver and travelled to Roundhead in Auckland. The resulting single, Rain, convinced NZ On Air Music to feature the young four-piece ...
READ MORE >Sumner-based band The Butlers have slipped in the back door of the NZ music scene with a laid-back groove well suited to any smokey bar scene from an old school movie. “We were just jamming a few jazz grooves around Christchurch,” says drummer George Berry, in explanation of how things got started with himself and his good mate Walt Robberds, who supplies guitar and vocals. Their jamming grew over time to envelop other musicians, including the solid bass of Jordan Kennedy, lead guitar of ...
READ MORE >The award for earworm of the month of April goes to Daily J's Black Lagoon. What a great tune by a literal band of brothers, Jesse, Jayden and Jonny Paul, and their brother from another mother Rick Everard. The three Pauls relocated to Auckland from Marlborough to give music "a fair crack", as Jesse puts it. They're one of the standout newcomers featured on NZ On Air Music's NewTracks compilation in April and are working hard to keep up the momentum. Who is in the band, where are you from and ...
READ MORE >In what can appear as a glamorous industry, where musicians, publicists and big label bosses garner a lot of the attention, often it is the somewhat overlooked aspects of the music industry that appear more interesting. Lyn McAllister Music has long been importing instruments to NZ for subsequent distribution to retail music stores, and have come to specialise in particular in Martin products and ukuleles. They have survived in a cut-throat industry despite the advent of the digital age and climate ...
READ MORE >Another year gone by, and photographer Trevor Villers still managed to get up and down that steep hill called Queen St on Record Store Day 2019, alongside many other folk. "Well rewarded we all were!" he says - not hard to believe when looking at the photos he shared with us.
READ MORE >This collection of photos by Trevor Villers represents a distillate of the many folks who came out to play at the Auckland International Culture Festival 2019 in Mt Roskill on April 7. Among the performers were Sacred, the Beijing Opera Society, Dominion Road - The Musical and Ethno - a diverse array to be sure. Trevor was particularly taken with Ethno. "They sure represent everything that is good about music. A mini WOMAD on one stage."
READ MORE >On March 21, Music In Parks 2019 held one of the last few gigs of the season at the Auckland Domain's band rotunda. Themed "Indie pop stars", the show featured Ha The Unclear, Boycrush and Dead Little Penny. Trevor Villers shares his photos of the day.
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