01/10/2025
With little apparent background of single releases, and even less fanfare, Auckland singer-songwriter Ben Chavasse has delivered a self-assured debut album that delves into coming-of-age themes of institutional constraints ...
30/09/2025
Performing as Sahara, Cambridge High School student Sahara Stanton won first place in the Solo/duo category of the 2025 Smokefreerockquest in September, and the following night was called on to entertain the audience during ...
26/09/2025
Happy to admit that he's still learning his way around pro recording studios, Gisborne singer-songwriter and guitarist Jed Skuse has long shown ample mastery of the loop pedal. At 16 he claimed first place in the East ...
29/08/2025
In the decade since first coming to national attention as the 2014 solo/duo winner of Smokefreerockquest, Georgia Lines has risen to a main stage position in the NZ music scene. Her debut album ‘The Rose of Jericho’ was ...
05/03/2025
You can tell just by the band name that The Boondocks are happy in their own skin. Among other similar superlatives they lay claim to being 'New Zealand’s loudest little band', and it's most certainly true that for a two-piece ...
13/09/2025
Climaxing another year of record entry numbers the 2025 Smokefreerockquest national final took place at the ASB Waterfront Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau on September 12, with Burnside High School four-piece Equilibrium named ...
25/09/2024
The 2024 Smokefree Tangata Beats national final took place at Due Drop Events Centre in Tāmaki Makaurau on September 20, with the 10 finalists bringing the house down. After an exceptional performance of original ...
25/09/2024
37 years in and Smokefreerockquest continues to grow, the high school band competition having its biggest year yet in 2024 with nearly 900 school-aged bands competing across Aotearoa to win the national title. The ...
20/09/2023
Smokefree Rockquest 2023 winners have been announced at the 2023 National Final event staged at central Auckland’s Q Theatre on September 16. SFRQ continues to break its own records with more than 750 acts having played ...
20/09/2023
On September 15, Te Whānau Puoro from Flaxmere College and Tamatea High School took first place of Smokefree Tangata Beats 2023 held at Q Theatre in Tāmaki Makaurau. Shayne Te Kuru of Te Whānau Puoro said that winning ...
25/01/2021
The latest instalment of Music In Parks in Auckland was staged at Māngere's Waterfront Reserve on January 23. Presented by the Pacific Music Awards Trust the line-up featured performances by Silika, La Coco Band, Lepani, ...
22/06/2020
Teenage Auckland band Park Rd have a very real mission: they believe that music can form a lifeline to those who feel lost or alone, especially young people like themselves. Their own special all-ages Level 1 celebratory ...
04/03/2020
Returning to NZ for the second time in four months, Perth's cruisey indie rock four-piece Spacey Jane will be playing three shows next week, giving Kiwi fans in our main cities a chance to party with them before heading off ...
