Independent Music NZ (IMNZ) has announced finalists for the 2025 Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award, the recipient of the IMNZ Classic Record, and three finalists for the NZ On Air Outstanding Music Journalism Award. The awards will be presented alongside the Taite Music Prize 2025 ceremony on April 15 at Tāmaki Makaurau’s Q Theatre.

The Auckland Live Best Independent Debut Award winner will receive a $2000 cash prize and technical upskilling opportunities courtesy of Auckland Live, including a studio recording package from Parachute Studios. The four creative acts in the running for this prize package are Pony Baby, VIDA , Bylie-jean and 花溪 Flowerstream.

Pony Baby – ‘Pony Baby’
Pony Baby is the combination of Aotearoa musical talent Arahi (Te Matau-a-Māui) and songwriter Jazmine Mary (Gippsland, Australia). Their self-titled debut embraces country music to explore themes of love, vulnerability and belonging.

VIDA – ‘Aquatopialien’
The debut EP from Tāmaki-based artist VIDA Gibson fuses soul, art pop, jazz, and funk. VIDA crafts immersive, ritualistic soundscapes that blend performance, storytelling and music. 

 花溪 Flowerstream – ‘Flowers Dream’
The Māori/Chinese psychedelic noise duo from Auckland use electric guzheng and drums to create experimental music rooted in Chinese traditions. Their ‘Flowers Dream’ EP weaves dreamy textures and experimental noise into something uniquely their own.

Byllie-jean – ‘Filter’
The debut solo EP from Māori artist Byllie-jean, ‘Filter’ blends experimental sounds and lyrics that explore themes of cultural identity, healing and memory. 

Finalists for the NZ On Air Outstanding Journalism Award are Karl Puschmann, Newzician Magazine and Chris Schulz. 

In the year that sees the band’s retirement from our stages, Shihad‘s ‘Killjoy’ EP (Wildside Records 1995) will be honoured as the 2025 IMNZ Classic Record. ‘Killjoy’ included two still-popular Top 20 singles, You Again and Bitter, and won four Aotearoa Music Awards.