Added to successful tours of both the South and North Islands, Coast Arcade have in recent months played two showcases at Brisbane’s BIGSOUND industry event, along with headline shows in Melbourne and ...
READ MORE >Drawing threads from legend, current friendships and religion, the six songs on Michaela Tempers’ ‘Good Woman’ EP bridge contemporary and classic folk styles. Rich with meaning and coloured by excellent ...
READ MORE >NZ On Air have announced the results of the November 2025 New Music Single funding round, with 30 songs by local artists receiving funding of up to $11,000. New Music Single funding is to support the recording, video and promotion costs of the songs. 148 eligible applications were received for the November round, and there are 13 first-time NZ On Air funding recipients among the 30 funded artists. This round’s judging panel included: Ashlee Brice - The Hits; Fenella Stratton - Twice ...
READ MORE >The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi Springboard awards aim to kickstart sustainable arts careers for Aotearoa artists at a formative stage of their practice. Springboard has been supersized for 2026 - instead of the usual six awards they’re offering 16 awards for rising artists, to help them step up into the next phase of their creative journey. 'We’re on the lookout for artists from all disciplines - those brimming with potential, ready to grow, experiment, and take daring creative leaps. Each ...
READ MORE >Winners of the Aotearoa Alternative Awards 2025 (formerly the Student Radio Network Awards) were announced in a ceremony hosted by Massey University's Radio Control 99.4FM, in Palmerston North on Saturday November 8. In a live-streamed event that was not without its hiccups, representatives from the five SRN stations announced the winners of their three respective regional awards, along with the nine national awards presented as detailed below. Congratulations to all the winners: Te Tohu Hopunga ...
READ MORE >The Arts Foundation Te Tumu Toi has announced Bill Direen as one of eight 2025 Arts Foundation laureates - outstanding practising artists recognised for their world-class work and profound impact on Aotearoa New Zealand’s culture and communities. Direen was given the Joanna Hickman, Waiwetu Trust Award, in the dual disciplines of music and literature. Each laureate receives a no strings attached $50,000 gift - given in recognition of their extraordinary contribution to date and as a nudge to keep ...
READ MORE >From the glossy electropop of 2016 breakout single Roam to the sharp-edged hyperpop of ‘99% Angel’ EP, to the soft, organic reo Māori of her side project TE KAAHU, Em-Haley Walker’s artistry has evolved considerably over the past decade. ‘Girl, In A Savage World,’ Walker’s long-anticipated debut album as the artist Theia pushes that evolution still further. Melding folk, electropop and her Māori roots, the album sees Theia finding her own unique and purposeful voice. She talked with ...
READ MORE >The name will take many Kiwi readers back to 2021, and the NZ Popstars TV series that saw Christabel Williams announced as grand prize winner. Now recording as Christabel she released her debut album ‘INTUITION’ in October this year, including the single Done For, which was included on NZ On Air Music's October NewTracks compilation. Where were you born, and where are you living now? I was born in National Women’s Hospital in Greenlane! I lived most of my life in Howick, Auckland ...
READ MORE >Since first emerging in 2018, Aaliyah ‘Baby’ Zionov has been a growing and active presence in Aotearoa’s underground electronica scene. The Tāmaki Makaurau DJ and ‘happy-hardcore’ electronic producer’s second album, ‘Raceways Of My Heart,’ is an effervescently melodic and visual offering, further showcasing that Baby Zionov (she/her) brings something quite new to the table. Nur Peach talked with her about laying tracks for the raceway. Raceways Of My Heart by Baby Zionov Born ...
READ MORE >The artist known as PRINS, singer, dancer, actor and model, was formed in Christchurch. Developing as a big stage electro-pop performer after gaining a Performing Arts degree, her 2022 debut EP ‘Life Is Better Now’ was evidently prescient, because life for PRINS seems to have been getting better with each year since. These days kept busy travelling the world, her new 2025 single COOL was included on NZ On Air Music's October NewTracks compilation. What’s your given name, where were ...
READ MORE >Goldsmith Baynes is a project combining the soulful vocals of Allana Goldsmith and jazz piano prowess of Dr. Mark Baynes, well known as a Tāmaki Makaurau-based musician, composer and educator. Critical acclaim for the duo’s debut album ‘E Rere Rā’ has cemented Goldsmith Baynes’ reputation as pioneers in blending jazz and te ao Māori. 2025 has been something of a break out year for the duo, performing at the International Indigenous Music Summit in Tkaronto (Toronto), and subsequent ...
READ MORE >Make some room on the dance floor, Merv Pinny is back with Hold Me, Love Me, Tell Me, a tightly produced, feel-good track built on Pinny's soulful vocal delivery. With a message of love, connection and belonging, it’s the second single ahead of the release his late 2025-scheduled new album, ‘Hard Road’. While pulling back on the brassy, rock’n’roll confidence of Shake for Me, the album’s first single, Hold Me, Love Me, Tell Me carries a similarly infectious energy, showcasing Pinny’s ...
READ MORE >The August 2025 release of first single Love Isn’t Always introduced Auckland four-piece Echomatica to an audience wider than those, fans of shoegaze and dream pop mostly, who had already discovered them through live performances. The band’s self-titled album debut followed within two months, a stylish analogue-recorded fusion of lush atmospheric synth pop, indie guitar rock and emotionally charged vocals. Richard Thorne caught up with the Auckland band’s core songwriting duo of Charlie Maclean ...
READ MORE >Wellington pop-punk artist Dani Josie is stepping into the spotlight with her first-ever headline tour. The SUCKERPUNCH Spring Tour will hit Wellington, Christchurch, Dunedin, and Auckland this September and October, with special guest Emerson joining the run. Tickets are available at danijosie.com
READ MORE >From 15-19 October, the annual Wellington Jazz Festival returns to the capital with a powerhouse programme of internationally acclaimed artists making their Aotearoa debuts, leading homegrown musicians, and fresh new music. More than 100 gigs will take over Te Whanganui-a-Tara, transforming the city with the sounds of jazz - soul, swing, funk, and everything in between. Featuring some of the finest musicians from across Aotearoa and around the globe, for 2025 the festival’s First Release acts will ...
READ MORE >Bic Runga & the Auckland Phil will be together in concert at the Aotea Centre, Saturday September 6. One of Aotearoa’s most highly awarded and cherished recording artists, Bic Runga's iconic tracks have woven themselves into the country’s cultural tapestry for more than two decades. This extraordinary concert will feature a soul-stirring performance of her greatest hits, with a setlist including beloved classics like Something Good, Precious Things and Bursting Through, re-imagined with ...
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