The Albert Street social media descriptor is about as succinct as it gets for a band; “4 lads from Hams, NZ. We make music, and we love it.” With a release history that dates back to 2020 when in ...
READ MORE >Independent Music NZ (IMNZ) has announced the 10 finalists for the 2026 Taite Music Prize, along with news that the annual celebration of independent album-making excellence will a public presentation, ...
READ MORE >The Spark Arena Community Events Fund (SACEF) has unveiled a small venue support initiative providing more than $100,000 in initial resource support to independent music and comedy venues across Auckland city centre. The 2025 pilot programme specifically targeted independently owned venues in central Auckland with a capacity of under 400 that focus on original live content. Funding was provided for artist-facing equipment such as microphone packages, monitors and professional DJ gear, directly ...
READ MORE >A giant Tōtara has fallen. Phantom Billstickers is deeply saddened to share the news that the business's founder Jim Wilson has passed away. He gave the Dance Exponents their first real run, plastered Split Enz across walls before they were household names, booked The Clean, The Verlaines, The Androids, and made sure theunderdogs got stage time. He turned The Gladstone in Christchurch into a crucible of Kiwi sound, a beer-soaked temple of energy. Long before there were charts or funding bodies ...
READ MORE >A new scholarship initiative is being offered by the Hawke’s Bay Music Hub to help musicians from the Hawke’s Bay region gain the skills needed to record and produce their own music. The Backline Charitable Trust (operating as Hawke’s Bay Music Hub) plans to award three scholarships each year, valued at $2,000 each, giving performers and singer-songwriters the opportunity to build practical skills, develop their sound, and release professionally recorded music. This scholarship programme ...
READ MORE >APRA AMCOS Aotearoa have announced that the 2026 Aotearoa Children’s Music Awards | Ngā Manu Tīrairaka entries are open, with the awards event scheduled to take place on Sunday June 28, at The Tuning Fork in Tāmaki Makaurau. The awards include presentations for the Recorded Music NZ Best Children's Artist award, the APRA Best Children’s Song award and the NZ On Air Best Children’s Music Video award. Entries for each of these awards will close at 5pm, Monday 16 March. There is also ...
READ MORE >Nikau Te Huki, the Wellington-based indigenous songwriter and multi-instrumentalist behind Casual Healing, has spent the past year crafting and releasing an eclectic, genre-bending body of work bound together with a message of connection with the natural elements. Te Huki chats with Dasha Koryagina about the project and the forces that drive him. A new-age charmer on a mission to better people’s lives and reconnect them with nature, during 2025 Casual Healing has released a series of four ...
READ MORE >Still (mostly) a high school band, HOON have enjoyed success in Rockquest competitions and become established, passionate members of the local hardcore scene in Hamilton. The five guys want their music to make a statement, emotionally, sonically and in the case of recent single, Blood On Your Hands, politically. In what was a good round for artists from the Tron, NZ On Air Music also included the big-statement BCHC track on their February NewTracks compilation. Who are the Hoon members? ...
READ MORE >Filipino-born indie pop/soul artist Natassja Kelly blends warm soul influences with the dreamy textures of bedroom pop. Witness her latest single Something That Feels Real and its accompanying music video, for which she received New Music Pan-Asian funding in June last year. NZ On Air Music also included the mood-up slow groove on their February NewTracks compilation. What’s your given name? Your pronouns? Where were you born and where do you live currently? Kia ora / Kamusta! My full name ...
READ MORE >By profession a junior doctor in Tāmaki Makaurau, navigating hospital corridors and clinical decisions – by passion Liv Beckett is an alt-pop artist, blending neo-soul with R&B, who has announced herself with a crafted seven-song debut EP called ‘Let Go’, released mid-February 2026. Developing the compositions with producer/musician/vocalist Baz Suamili (Seva Hifi) Beckett found inspiration from the likes of Olivia Dean, Billie Eilish and Kimbra. The result is a slick, smooth-paced ...
READ MORE >Bic Runga may have spent time away from the stage spotlight, but she 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 >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 been keen on the neo-soul label himself. Having used Instagram and YouTube in particular to build a following and reputation, Ashton has more recently pulled back from life online and the guitar, to instead focus on life in the studio, working as producer for exciting and ground breaking artists ...
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 >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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