New Zealand Music Month – Coming Up This Week

New Zealand Music Month 2021 | Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa continues. Here’s what you should be looking for this week. The theme for this year is Access All Aotearoa – celebrating local music for all New Zealanders, in every place, for every age, and in every genre.

KEY NEWS:

• After a successful week at Auckland’s Monster Valley, The Art of the Record exhibition is now in the Capital. Displayed at Wellington’s Te Auaha on Dixon Street, the exhibition will be running all week before heading down to the South Island. (Read Marty’s review HERE.)
• The Great Escape festival in the UK has hosted some of New Zealand’s most prominent acts in the past such as The Beths and Leisure, and now in 2021 they’re taking the festival online and continuing to promote some of the great talent from Aotearoa. This year’s Kiwi line-up features a wide range of genres including Teeks, Reb Fountain, Purple Pilgrims and Merk. Check it out on Saturday morning, with all details available on the website.

• On Wednesday May 13th, Spark Sessions returns for NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa with R&B/pop hybrid artist Mikey Dam. Fresh off his latest single ‘Would You’, Dam will be performing via a free livestream on Spark’s Facebook page.

KEY EVENTS:

• This weekend, Hamilton will host the inaugural GrrrlFest, a showcase of female and non-gender conforming artists. Starting off on Friday with two cabaret shows, Saturday and Sunday will showcase artists across a range of genres at Nirvana Lounge and Brewaucracy.

• Wellington’s Neptune Collective will be celebrating the opening of Art Jam in collaboration with Newtown Community Hall. Art exhibits, light installation and graffiti showcases will all be on display between 14th – 16th May, with live performances from Soul Drop, Will McClean & The Zooks and Nahbo.

• The Auckland’s Writers Festival will be hosting A Celebration of Song with Marlon Williams, Tom Scott and Reb Fountain. As part of the festival, these artists will share their insights into the songwriting process. Following the panel discussion, the audience will be treated to a very exclusive acoustic performance. Tickets are available here.

• Wellington Museum Sonic Explorers series in the Captain’s Cabin continues this Thursday midday with Neil Feather and Rosie Langabeer. This week’s focus will be inverted instruments and accordions, so get down to Wellington Museum to immerse yourself in the world of experimental sound!

• The Rotorua Night Markets are getting in on the action for NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa every Thursday in May, with local performers amongst the delicious food stalls. This Thursday, students of Western Heights High School and Back Porch will be entertaining attendees.

• The ever-so scenic Space Place museum sitting in Wellington’s Botanical Garden continues with their Sunday night sessions this weekend. Paddy Free of iconic New Zealand experimental electronic act Pitch Black will be joined by DJ duo The Audio Mechanics. For just $20, you can get tickets to the Sunday performance here.

• The beautiful Kapiti Coast will be hosting a marathon of local talent at the Tuatara Brewery, with over 40 local acts taking the stage across Saturday and Sunday. Open to all ages, it’s a fantastic reason to get out the house this weekend and get amongst some great local talent. Tickets start at just $10 for both days, with tickets available here.

• After rolling out Waiata Anthems last week, TVNZ On Demand have ‘Uke Can Do It’ over on their kids channel HeiHei, taking talented ukulele-wielding kids and pairing them with iconic New Zealand music icons such as Six60, Troy Kingi and Jamie McDell. Catch the full season now over at TVNZ On Demand.

• The Invercargill Repertory Society will be presenting Pictures In Her Head, a celebration of female songwriters and composers this Saturday, celebrating wāhine from all different backgrounds. Tickets are still available for this intimate evening.

• Crumb Café in Grey Lynn, Auckland, are hosting a pop up shop for merchandise from artists all over Aotearoa with t-shirts, totes, socks and more. You can find out more about what is available here, with 100% of the sale price going directly to the artists.

• JBHiFi have partnered with NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro O Aotearoa to stock the ‘Collector’ tee from the official NZMM 2021 merchandise line, with proceeds from sales going to MusicHelps. The design features drawings of ten different NZ musical instruments designed and made in New Zealand. If you’d like to know more about these pieces of NZ music history, you can read about them in the brand-new edition of NZ Musician magazine, out this week.

KEY RELEASES

• And That released their new single I Am The Mirror last week, which is the perfect tune to pretend it’s still summer. Scott Clearly of And That spoke to Euphoriazine about the song: “The core of the song is about how I feel like a lot of people in my life look to me to be the light (the candle) when in reality I feel more like the mirror.”

• Mara TK – the former frontman for Electric Wire Hustle – has released his debut album Bad Meditation. The golden-voiced singer of the Kiwi future soul has his first solo release available digitally now and on vinyl soon, courtesy of Tom Scott’s Years Gone By Records.

• The late Malcolm Black’s family have released his posthumous album Songs for the Family. “Our family are very excited to finally be able to share Malcolm’s musings on life, love and death,” says his wife Julia. All proceeds from the sales of Songs for the Family will go to the University of Otago’s Centre for Translational Cancer Research.

• PollyHill aka Paloma Schneidman has shared her new track ‘Chilly’ about the culture of cool. As a director and film nerd herself, PollyHill uses ‘Chilly’ to drive home the truth that it’s actually cool to be your weird little self.
• Northland-based singer-songwriter Tazman Jack released his debut album Eyes Closed last Friday, with songs about love, life, mental health and more. “With the entire album project, I wanted to make songs that express or show that things can be more than what they seem — just looking at the surface doesn’t give you the full picture,” says Taz (Ngāpuhi and Te Roroa).

• The Two Daze compilation is back for 2021, featuring tracks by 15 local artists that were all strictly written and recorded in two days. With tracks by Kraus, Lévyne, Van Staden & Böhm, PARK RD, T.G. Shand, Lucky Boy, Richard Dada (of Glass Vaults). Grab a copy of the compilation over at Bandcamp.

KEY TOURS

Just like last week, there’s a huge range of tours planned for the next seven days, with something for everyone’s tastes. Auckland indie rockers Mini Simmons kick off their nationwide tour this week, while Dianne Swann is taking her debut solo album on the road from this weekend. Miles Calder continues his tour this week, and Nadia Reid and her band take the stage in Hastings to kick off theirs. Check out the full range of tours and gigs happening around the country here.

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