Within months of getting started, energetic young indie pop rock band Juna had established a reputation for their musicality and innovation, becoming an in-demand live act for community festivals and under-age shows in Te Whanganui-a-Tara.

Intending to establish a covers band, drummer Hayden Lam and Max Horn (guitar, synths and vox), asked Hannah Patterson to join them as vocalist. A few rehearsals in their combined aspirations turned to making original music.

“We were initially a trio because we were in the transitional stage of finding a bassist, but we were so keen to start making music that we planned our first gig before we had one,” Hannah laughs. “We were very lucky to find Evie because she jumped straight into playing with us, learning the songs and playing super well with only a few short rehearsals.” 

Evie Patterson (the girls are cousins) was then in Year 13 at school, while the band’s oldest member Hayden was in his first year of study for a Bachelor of Popular Music, as well as doing part of the jazz program at the NZSM. The other two will finish their schooling at the end of this year.

Explaining the name choice Max says they just thought it sounded cool, and fitted well with the alt-pop/indie sound they were going for. The band reference inspiration from the likes of 1975, Sam Fender and Olivia Dean.

Released right at the start of 2026, their debut single, Say So Little, burst into streaming success, revealing an energetic, fresh and powerful sound. In tandem with an equally instant reputation for exhilarating all-ages live shows, Juna suddenly found themselves in demand.

“We were super excited about the response to Say So Little, and were pleased to have a lot of listeners from overseas. I think most of it came from a mix of social media organic promotion as well as algorithmic Spotify playlists, which was awesome to see,” says Hayden.

Both he and Max had connections to Kahu Sanson-Burnett, and thought he would be a great fit to help them record their first singles as he’d produced and mixed for other local pop acts. Hayden had got to know him well through doing sessions for Imani-J, and says the band really wanted his unique sound. 

Hayden has experience in pop/R&B music production himself, having recorded several songs with his previous band in Christchurch, as well as releasing a few songs under his own artist name.

Juna’s high-fiving second single SHUT UP came out of a songwriting jam. 

“Max was the one who envisioned all the synths you hear and produced it up fairly quickly. We are still definitely experimenting with our music and are still trying to find our sound, but SHUT UP is definitely something we are keen to try develop even further.”

With their plaintive third single skin on skin released following a bunch of NZ Music Month gigs, Juna are closing in on the goal of completing recording a debut EP, set for release later this year.