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Kaylee Bell Wins Country Music Award in Nashville
Waimate musician Kaylee Bell, has become the first New Zealander since Keith Urban to win at America’s prestigious CMA Awards, 1 News reports.
Her song Keith – a tribute to Whangārei-born…
Tenth DJ Champ Title for Kalib Strickland
New Zealand DJ Kalib Strickland, 19, who goes by the name DJ K-Swizz, is on a massive high after winning his tenth world DJ championship title, going back-to-back at…
Beatles Fan Peter Jackson Directs Music Video
Following his acclaimed documentary Get Back, New Zealand director Peter Jackson is continuing his relationship with the Beatles by directing his first ever music video for the band’s final…
Producer 33 Below Shares New Club Cut
New Zealand-born producer Jack Laven, aka 33 Below, has shared his new single, “Hold Tight”, a hypnotising dancefloor number that’s likely to stay with you for some time, according…
Georgia Nott Reborn as Georgia Gets By
With four studio albums under their belt, the Nelson brother-sister act BROODS remains a beacon not just of radiant sound, but of soul-stirring emotion – and with the release…
Conductor Gemma New Makes Proms Debut
“Every musical era has its characteristic audience faux pas. Once upon a time it was failing to remove extravagant headwear, which obscured the view of those sitting behind. These…
Milky Day Draws on Struggles to Create New EP
Korean New Zealander Milky Day tells digital music site Atwood Magazine about changing his life path to music, wanting to be genre-fluid, and how he turned his personal struggles…
Marya Martin Talks 40th Summer Festival
New Zealand-born flautist Marya Martin is celebrating the 40th summer season of the Bridgehampton Chamber Music Festival, Long Island’s longest-running classical music festival. celebrates its 40th summer season. With 11…
Life is Good for Taika Waititi and Rita Ora
They fell in love in Sydney, so it’s fitting to shoot New Zealander Taika Waititi, 47, and British popstar Rita Ora, 32, for their first cover together against the…
Bi-Lingual Punk Trio Half/Time Tour Wales
Hamilton punk band Half/Time recently performed alongside Welsh artists who sing in Cymraeg as part of a musical cultural exchange, which aimed to spark important conversations about what it…
Benee Speaks to Interview from New LA Home
Auckland-born Gen Z leading light Benee, 23, who recently took the stage at Coachella – “a pretty surreal experience,” she says – spoke with Interview magazine from her new apartment…
Aldous Harding’s Brighton Show Enraptures
“Twenty minutes into Aldous Harding’s set, after a spellbinding version of Treasure, from her 2019 breakthrough album Designer, has provoked a particularly vociferous response from the crowd,…
SpongeBob Gets the Tami Neilson Effect
The favourite characters of SpongeBob’s underwater town Bikini Bottom are set to be given some Aotearoa flavours next year, Amberleigh Jack reports for Stuff. New Zealand-based artists award-winning Tami…
Kirk Harding’s Bad Habit Label Growing Roster
The self-styled “outsider” label Bad Habit, co-founded in 2015 by New Zealander Kirk Harding and Nigerian-American Matthew “Baus” Adesuyan, has added a live piece to its existing management, publishing…
How The Fall Nearly Sank Flying Nun
When the New Zealand indie label Flying Nun got a chance to record a live album by Manchester band the Fall, the tensions fraying the group almost destroyed the…
Our Musical Counterculture Like No Other
“Cut off from the ‘swinging’ innovations of 60s London, a generation of New Zealand musicians forged an underground scene that propelled the nation’s modern identity,” Garth Cartwright writes for…
Musician Lachi McBride One to Watch
In a new Rolling Stone AU/NZ series, the magazine takes a look at some rising Aotearoa artists who are looking to impress in 2023 and beyond. It may still…
Kimbra on the Ups and Downs of Fame
At just 21, the New Zealand musician Kimbra became famous for her part in smash-hit duet Somebody That I Used to Know. So what happened after? The Guardian’s Katie…
The Beths Gifted Fans an Outstanding 2022 Album
In a round-up of the year’s most outstanding albums, the Boston Herald’s Jed Gottlieb includes Auckland indie band The Beths’ Expert in a Dying Field in his top five.
Other…
Jazz Pianist Mike Nock Relearns Seminal Album
At 82, the exuberant Christchurch-born, Sydney-based pianist Mike Nock has a lifetime of stories to share, and an abundance of insights to accompany them, Jessica Nicholas writes for The…
Violinist Bryony Gibson-Cornish Appointed at RCM
New Zealand-born violist Bryony Gibson-Cornish is one of five new professors appointed to the String Faculty at the Royal College of Music (RCM), London.
Gibson-Cornish, who performs as part of…
New Zealand’s Indy Forging Own Pop Path
Last month, a new indie pop star emerged – and she’s making the main character anthems of everyone’s dreams, according to Brittany Spanos writing for Rolling Stone. After nearly…
Cult Guitarist Roy Montgomery Records New Music
Beloved by the likes of Dry Cleaning and Grouper, New Zealand guitarist Roy Montgomery’s life has been hit by more than one tragedy, stories he traces in meditative instrumentals,…
Gemma New Makes Houston Symphony Debut
Gemma New has studied under conductors whose names are familiar well beyond the cloistered halls of classical music: Dudamel, Salonen, Michael Tilson Thomas. The 35-year-old New Zealand native, recently…
Titan to Tachyons’ Sally Gates Talks Surrealism
New Zealand-born composer Sally Gates, a member of New York experimental metal band Titan to Tachyons, has been described by renowned musician John Zorn as “a powerful young…
Studio Kind of Green Performs for Scotsman Sessions
With the performing arts sector still impacted by the pandemic, The Scotsman is commissioning a series of short video performances from artists all around Scotland and releasing them online, with…
Maxine Funke’s Pieces of Driftwood Appraised
“Over a decade and four extraordinary albums, Maxine Funke has established herself as New Zealand’s premier purveyor of lightness, of songs whose beauty and mystery are only sharpened by…
Pandemic Responses to Music from The Beths
“Thanks in large part to an early 80s explosion of talent centred on Dunedin, and shared with the world via the Flying Nun label, New Zealand played a pivotal…
Singing Shared Just How Marlon Williams Likes It
Group singing has been central to New Zealander Marlon Williams’ life, journalist and author Jenny Valentish writes for The Guardian. He likens it to a spiritual practice, “without the…
Famed Manager Alan Niven recalls G N’ R Days
Former Guns N’ Roses manager Wellington-born Alan Niven, who ushered the band through their Appetite for Destruction era, has shared his first thoughts on meeting the band in 1986,…
Around the Back of the World Tall Dwarfs Alchemised
“The New Zealand duo of Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate have influenced generations of lo-fi rockers. This 55-track box set reminds us why,” Louis Pattison writes in…
Marlon Williams Finds a Sunnier Mood
On his new album My Boy, New Zealand singer-songwriter Marlon Williams experiments with electronic flourishes in search of a lighthearted groove, Rumaan Alam writes in an article published in…
Conchord Bret McKenzie on His Serious Solo Debut
He has written duets for man and Muppet, parodied Morrissey in The Simpsons, and become Hollywood’s go-to for bringing ‘heart’ to the movies. Now Academy Award-winning Wellington musician Bret…
Pop Idol Benee Voice of Pandemic Generation
Fresh off a world tour, in an interview with Dazed magazine, New Zealand singer Benee, 22, opens up about her viral rise to fame on TikTok, writing about Gen…
Washington D.C. Out in Numbers for Aldous Harding
New Zealand singer-songwriter Aldous Harding, who is currently on tour in the United States, performed songs from her latest album Warm Chris, to a capacity crowd at Washington D.C.’s…
Country Queen Tami Neilson at Her Imperious Best
“She’s laden with every music award her adopted homeland New Zealand can muster, but the queen of Kiwi country deserves a wider audience,” The Observer’s Neil…
Emotional Homecoming for Tami Neilson
Canada-born, New Zealand-based singer and songwriter Tami Neilson is back in Ontario to tour new album Kingmaker, her first visit since the pandemic began. She talks to Toronto Star…
Looking at the Origins of Shanty The Wellerman
The sea ballad, “The Wellerman”, the meaning of which is both curious and historical, was born in New Zealand 150 years ago. Jacob Uitti investigates its catchy origins for…
London-Based Finnegan Tui on His Unique Sound
New Zealand singer-songwriter and producer Finnegan Tui discusses his new nature-inspired EP Zephyr and how he developed his unique sound with Wonderland magazine journalist Britany Josephs.
“ a kind…
High Praise for Lorde’s London Night Out
Lorde is Kitty Empire’s ‘Artist of the Week’, The Guardian reviewer deeming the pop singer’s sold-out Alexandra Palace concert a “magnificent night out”.
“By turns tearful and rocking out, the…
Peter Jackson Has Hand in Beatles Duet
Paul McCartney and his late Beatles songwriting and singing partner John Lennon haven’t sung together in 53 years, but thanks to New Zealand film director Peter Jackson, they got…
Michael Braithwaite Builds Story of Military Tattoo
The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo has revealed it wants to attract more local audiences to and transform “elitist” perceptions under a new direction for the annual cultural showpiece, arts…
How Chelsea Jade Joined a Dazzling Constellation
With her second album Soft Spot released, Chelsea Jade, 32, is firmly established as a bright star in a constellation of dazzling New Zealand musicians chasing pop careers far…
In San Francisco Lorde Shines Like the Sun
It’s been nearly a decade since New Zealand pop star Lorde rocketed to stardom at the age of 16, propelled initially by the chart-topping single “Royals” and then a…
Singer-Songwriter Emma G Specialises in Empowerment
When Covid-19 closed venues and cancelled concerts, Waikato-born Emma Ghaemmaghamy, like many of her peers, took to new avenues to connect with audiences, including live-streaming and podcasting, Chris Kelly…
Joel Little’s Big Fan a Gift to the Music Industry
Walk into the unembellished black building tucked away in Morningside, Auckland, later this year and there’s no telling what musical superstars one might find, Leena Tailor writes in an…
Star of 32 Sounds is Composer Annea Lockwood
New Zealand-born composer and academic musician Annea Lockwood features in American filmmaker Sam Green’s documentary about the physics and emotions attached to sound. The film, called 32 Sounds, recently…
Aldous Harding’s Latest a NY Times Critic’s Pick
“On her fourth album, Warm Chris, the New Zealand singer and songwriter delivers unpredictable but enchanting vocals and enigmatic lyrics that revel in simplicity,” Lindsay Zoladz writes…
Solar Power the Best Song in the World
Lorde’s ‘Solar Power’ has won Best Song In The World at the BandLab NME Awards 2022, with the title track of the New Zealand pop star’s latest album, beating…
Lychee a Mark of Benee’s Distinct Voice
“Where 2020 debut album Hey U X saw Benee gather an impressive guest list (Lily Allen, Gus Dapperton, Bakar) to pepper her bedroom pop with outside influences, the seven-track…
Will the Real Aldous Harding Please Stand Up?
New Zealander Aldous Harding remains in an off-kilter space throughout Warm Chris, her third collaboration with producer John Parish, who’s worked alongside PJ Harvey and Jenny Hval, among others,…
US Shows for Auckland band The Beths
As The Beths make their way across the United States for a sold-out gig in Boston, it’s a good time to celebrate a strange band on a normal rock…
Gang of Youths Bassist Max Dunn on the Bigtime
Music magazine NME sits down with one of Australia’s biggest bands, Gang of Youths, in their adopted home of London to talk fame, grief and their powerful new album…
Leave No Girl Behind Sings Kimbra in Campaign
Grammy award-winning artist, New Zealand-born New York-based Kimbra, has released an original song to launch the Leave No Girl Behind initiative with the not-for-profit So They Can, Leah…
Finnegan Tui Releases a Reflection of Darkness
New Zealand-born multi-instrumentalist and producer Finnegan Tui “has released a haunting electronica ballad, ‘Spring’, describing the search for hope at the darkest time of year,” the UK’s Notion magazine…
Gemma New a Highlight of 2021 Classical Calendar
The year in classical music was marked by challenge and determination as the pandemic continued its cultural stranglehold for much of 2021. But for the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO),…
