For the first time in over two decades the Smokefreerockquest 2026 National Finals were held in Aotearoa’s capital, with the 15 rangatahi acts finalists across the Solo/Duo and Band categories performing ...
READ MORE >With his debut album due this year alternative R&B producer 44kyn (Kayne Paranihi) reckons he struck a rich seam when he composed Live It Up and shared the track with Tāmaki Makaurau-based sultry ...
READ MORE >Australian roots-rock act John Butler Trio is the first major artist from outside New Zealand to join the Kiwi-made 'digital box set'-style album app Lume. Lume are releasing a 25th anniversary version of the multi-ARIA Award winning trio’s breakout album 'Three', along with a trove of unreleased material, and a four-part podcast exclusive to the release. “I’m really excited to be working with Lume with the intention to create a more personal, immersive and satisfying experience for all ...
READ MORE >Thousands of young musicians from schools across the country will converge on Te Whanganui a Tara from 21-25 September, for MEFA – the MusicWorks Ensemble Festival Aotearoa, a home-grown national festival that is reshaping what a school music festival can be. Across the five days Wellington will be filled with young performers representing their schools in everything from orchestras, concert and symphonic bands and choirs to jazz big bands, combos, chamber groups and smaller instrumental ensembles. Organisers ...
READ MORE >Finalists have been announced for 2026 APRA Silver Scroll Award | Kaitito Kaiaka and associated awards including the APRA Maioha Award, SOUNZ Contemporary Award and a newly added Kapa Haka Songwriting Award. The five Silver Scroll finalist songs are: Afters, written by Troy Kingi and Maarire Brunning-Kouka, performed by Troy Kingi feat. MĀ Lalelei written by David Feauai-Afaese, Navakatoa Tekela-Pule, Levi Gemmell, Larsen Taylor, and performed by LEAO One Stop, written by Hannah Topp, ...
READ MORE >NZ On Air Music have announced results of the September 2026 New Music Single funding round. NZ On Air will be investing up to $11,000 in 25 songs by local artists to be released in the coming months. The funding supports artists' recording, video and promotion costs. The 25 were chosen from 137 eligible applications received, and include four first-time New Music Single funding recipients. The judging panel included: Audrey Siataga - Midnight Swan; Hannah Brewer - ZM; Mikee Carpinter - August ...
READ MORE >Richard Langston, author of the richly insightful oral history of The Clean published in April 2026 by Auckland University Press, has his own storied history in and around the melee of NZ alternative pop music. Raised in Dunedin he has written about that city's music scene since the 1980s, including as editor of the fanzine Garage from 1984 - 86. Langston's creative contribution to the Aotearoa art landscape has also included poetry, journalism and as a director of Kiwi television gem Country ...
READ MORE >Six years and two EPs on from her first single releases as HINA, Amy Boroevich found inspiration in a period of emotional conflict and contraction to compose and release an album she’s described as arriving like a prophecy. Recorded live with a top notch band as well as a string ensemble, ‘Descending Dreams’ provides a bountiful illustration of her genre-crossing musicality and timeless songwriting, that’s increasingly being recognised. Nur Peach talked with her. Back in 2023 Amy Boroevich ...
READ MORE >Flamingo Pier's dancefloor-filling exploits date back over a decade, supporting an international club and festival reputation built since they first came together as a trio in the east London district of Hackney. Their self-titled debut album served up ‘euphoric disco hooks, to classic house choruses and forays into Latin funk, balearic and psychedelia’, and Flamingo Pier have a second album due later in 2026. The album's first single, Cool Nights, featured on NZ On Air Music's August NewTracks compilation. Who ...
READ MORE >From six separate duchies they rode, forging together their various genre superpowers in the heat of music-magic, creating a sonorous hexapartite kingdom. Earth, air, fire, water, and two other ones combined in the fecund plains of the Manawatū to produce the musical Scylla-beast that is Pāmutana six-piece Kokoa Nashi. Comprising Christian Perry - guitar, Levi Lewis - vocals, Jimi Afeaki - keyboard, Shay Wright - bass, Daniel Ashcroft - drums, and Alex Debenham on guitar, the band has been in ...
READ MORE >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 ...
READ MORE >Northland alt-country duo The Advocators titled their 2024 debut album ‘Songs from an Endless Night’, explaining to NZM that disillusionment was kind of what they were both going through at the time. In late August 2026 Leroy Brown and Mark Bruce unveil their second album, ‘Beyond the Palisade’. Described as a gritty blast of alt country noir, this collection looks well past the blurred, rainy windows of its predecessor, shifting between swamp rock, Americana carnival music, and trademark ...
READ MORE >August 2026 sees the release of ‘Ego Trip’ the second EP from independent hip hop producer/artist NOÉ (Seru Tuivoavoawho). The Pōneke rapper finds inspiration from the diverse likes of Saba, Childish Gambino and Smino. Earworm track POP OFF, the third single released ahead of the EP, also features Vallé and found a place on the August NewTracks compilation from NZ On Air Music. Where do you hail from and where do you live currently? I was born in Wellington, grew up here, there ...
READ MORE >The New Existentialists, along with special guests House of 2000 and Shotgun Wedding, play Pearl Diver in Dunedin on September 25, 2026. The New Existentialists is the west Auckland based outfit of former Dunedin and Flying Nun underground legend George D Henderson (The Puddle, Mink, Burner Phone), and they're playing Dunedin for the first time since the release of their critically acclaimed 'Bad Astrology' album (#27 in Chuck Eddy's 150 top albums of 2025). The New Existentialists, best ...
READ MORE >It’s Election time. Youth enrolment is too low. Young voters aren’t engaged. The Ōtepoti youth music community is gonna do something about that... together they present: ROCK THE VOTE - Live at Southern Lights. An all day, all ages, alcohol free music festival reminding you, your vote counts, your voice matters. Saturday 3 October @ Southern Lights Yard, 18 Devon Street, Dunedin. Live music from 1pm - 8pm with on-site voter enrolment. Featuring: Bunchy’s Big Score, Coward, Deaf Raccoon, ...
READ MORE >The Going Global Music Summit 2026 is taking place in central Tāmaki Makaurau with conference presentations over Thursday 27 and Friday 28 August at Q Theatre, along with the Going Global Artist Showcase in which 23 acts perform brief live sets across both nights, at Whammy! on K'Rd. Since 2011, Going Global has created a pathway between Aotearoa artists and the international music industry – bringing artists at pivotal stages of their careers into the same room as festival programmers, ...
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