MAYA PAYNE AT THE INTERNATIONAL SONGWRITERS CAMP

Maya Payne (Matt Power) has just finished attending the Blackrock Studios9th International Songwriters camp in Santorini, Greece.

She was partnered with many of the world’s top writers during the camp and has come away with great new friends and contacts and confidence to pursue her dream as a writer. She is now off to Berlin to work with some on new songs and has sessions also lining up in London and Amsterdam.  Huge thanks to Outward Sound for making it possible. One of the tracks from the camp, that she co-wrote with ex Kaiser Chiefs founder and drummer and often Mark Ronson co-writer, Nick Hodgson, has already been picked up by a major publisher in Europe and is being introduced to some top established artists out there. Mayas plan currently is to return to NZ before Christmas and attend Mainz in Auckland in the new year, studying a degree in Music Production.

Mayas new single 'Illuminate' is due out on Nov 11th.

AARADHNA HITS THE ROAD THIS SUMMER WITH KATCHAFIRE AND SONS OF ZION(joined sometimes by KORA)

Summer across New Zealand - It's time to fire up the barbie, slip into your jandals and celebrate the year that’s been, and the year to come. It’s also that time again when KATCHAFIRE round up their musical family and get their summer tour van fired up to head to some of the country’s most well loved summer spots. This summer they’ll be joined by AARADHNA (Andy Murnane), SONS OF ZION and sometimes by their brothers in arms KORA.

KATCHAFIRE + SONS OF ZION + AARADHNA (and sometimes KORA)
The tour bus departs just after Xmas and makes the following stops;

MON DEC 26 – Mangawhai Tavern – Magical Mangawhai
TUE DEC 27 – The Duke Tavern - Russell
WED DEC 28 – Coroglen Tavern - Coroglen w/ KORA
THU DEC 29 – War Memorial Hall – Whakatane w/ KORA
FRI DEC 30 – McEwan Park – Petone Beach w/ KORA
SAT DEC 31 NYE – Butlers Reef – Oakura, New Plymouth
FRI JAN 6 – Opononi Hotel – Opononi w/ KORA
SAT JAN 7 – Mangawhai Tavern – Mangawhai w/ KORA

Nominated for four 2016 Vodafone NZ Music Awards - Our leading lady of Pacific Soul, Aaradhna joins the caravan this year. Signed to Republic Records at the age of 29, Aaradhna has also extensively toured the US with the likes of the screaming eagle of soul Charles Bradley. This summer she calls NZ home and is packing her chart topping new album – BROWN GIRL + her suitcase of hits for summer tour. She’s also bringing her band on the bus featuring some of NZ’s top players - Jeremy Toy & Chip Matthews from the Opensouls + The Tornadoes and Tom Broome from Homebrew + Esther Stevens and The Means.

Katchafire have spent 2016 as they do most years touring the globe, taking our homespun Maori roots reggae to the world. The Burn It Down tour saw the band tour extensively throughout Australia, Europe, The States and Canada, once again spending more of 2016 out of the country than at home.
 
 
All aboard -  SONS OF ZION, they may be the kids on tour but with their fusion of reggae, heavy rock, dub and funk the Sons Of Zion know how to captivate audiences. They too have spent the year playing to audiences around the globe, including a recent tour in Hawaii, shows in Australia and their Hungover Tour of the North Island. With a new album on the way, you can guarantee Sons of Zion will be packing new songs including their latest singles NOW + HUNGOVER as well as all their hits you know and love.
 
PLUS JOINED SOMETIMES BY KORA …..
As one of New Zealand’s best-known live bands, Kora are confident both on stage and in the recording studio, and with good reason – they have (so far) claimed a platinum EP, a double platinum debut album, and two of their albums peaking at #1 on the NZ chart. Their sound straddles multiple genres, from reggae to metal, soul, and funk; but at their core, Kora’s unique and electric sound fits no pigeonhole.  With their brand new track CAROLINA, a tatse of what's to come we welcome Kora aboard the bus

CHRISTMAS IN THE VINES & CHRISTMAS ON THE HARBOUR - Special guests announced

Dave Dobbyn, Hollie Smith, Stan Walker, Hayley Westenra to join Sol3 Mio on stage accompanied by Orchestra Wellington, The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra & The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

Sol3 Mio (Scott Maclachlan) are delighted to announce that some local legends will join them onstage for their festive celebrations: Dave Dobbyn (Lorraine Barry), Hollie Smith (Dylan Keating), Stan Walker and Hayley Westenra.  

Stan will join all three shows, Hollie will perform in Wellington and Auckland, Dave will join in Auckland and Hayley will appear in Canterbury

The shows - a spectacular seasonal event highlight - will bring together some of the country’s most decorated and beloved artists for duets with Sol3 Mio amongst a mix of opera arias, hits from Sol3 Mio’s two albums, and everyone’s favourite Christmas carols.

Accompanying Sol3 Mio and guests will be the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra at Waipara Hills, Orchestra Wellington at Waitangi Park and Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra at Villa Maria.

Tickets for these very special shows are now on sale from Ticketmaster for Auckland and Christchurch, and Ticketek for Wellington.

Tickets are priced at $85 (+ booking fees) for general admission field area, with general admission seated tickets available at $115 (+ booking fees). One child under 12 will be admitted free with a full paying adult in the general admission field area. All patrons must hold a ticket for the general admission seated area.

Civic Events presents Christmas In The Vines & Christmas On The Harbour 2016
With Sol3 Mio and special guests

DECEMBER
Thursday 15th
Sol3 Mio – Christmas On The Harbour  - Wellington - Waitangi Park
Featuring Hollie Smith, Stan Walker & Orchestra Wellington

Saturday 17th
Sol3 Mio – Christmas In The Vines - Canterbury- Waipara Hills
FeaturingStan Walker, Hayley Westenra & The Christchurch Symphony Orchestra

Sunday 18th
Sol3 Mio – Christmas In The Vines - Auckland - Villa Maria                    
Featuring Dave Dobbyn, Hollie Smith, Stan Walker & The Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra

MY NEIGHBOURHOOD | Māngere-Otāhuhu Community Visual EP

“Until we hear the stories we cannot make the connections”

By bringing together musicians, songwriters and lyricists in the Mangere-Otahuhu community, hip-hop producer Anonymouz (Noma Sio-Salapu) is giving them a voice on a platform they'd never imagine.

The initiative, funded by the Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board, will eventually become an album and it aims to give the community a way to express themselves and also show them a side of their hood they might not have known.

Matthew Faiumu Salapu goes by 'Anonymouz' in the creative world. He works from his home studio and says he has only slept for "three hours a day in the last three weeks".

Following a string of incidents recently, the Mangere-Otahuhu Local Board chairperson Lydia Sosene hopes this album will connect with youth and give them pride in their suburb. 

"It is a good idea for people in the community to talk about life through a different medium, to reach people of different ages."

Anonymouz contacted artists via community centres, schools and social media and he then took them around the neighbourhood to help them understand the history and ways of the area.

Initially, only four rappers were interested, but that changed to forty musicians from a variety of  musical and cultural backgrounds. They recorded a music video which quickly went viral .

Taking the unconventional approach, Salapu left it up to the artists to decide their lyrics and genre.

"I'm here to facilitate it. When similar themes pop up, I club them together."

The father of three is born and raised in Mangere and grew up learning classical piano and that skill is reflected in this album.

"I'm a big fan of Dr Dre ... how he layers his vocals - so sonically, that will be an influence on this work."

"But local artists have [also] influenced me and the south Auckland history of music is always in my work".

The album will be released on September 30 at the Mangere Town Centre Courtyard (opposite the Mangere Arts Centre) from 7-9pm.

Thanks to www.stuff.co.nz

THE WINERY TOUR 2017

The iconic summer tour returns for its 10th year featuring
Brooke Fraser, Bic Runga, and Benny Tipene

Celebrating its 10th anniversary, The Winery Tour will be returning in 2017 with an all star lineup featuring two of New Zealand’s most successful artists of all time, Brooke Fraser (Campbell Smith) and Bic Runga, and exciting newcomer Benny Tipene.

The Winery Tour 2017 will present twelve shows around New Zealand, celebrating the Kiwi summer in the best way possible, with outstanding music and great wine in some of New Zealand’s most idyllic wineries and outdoor venues.

Brooke Fraser and Bic Runga have each won the APRA silver scroll for Song of the Year, been awarded a total of 32 NZ music awards between them, and have combined catalogue sales of more than 650,000 albums in NZ alone (a whopping 43 x platinum), including 21 top forty singles. Their songs are woven into the very fabric of New Zealand life: Something in the Water, Sway, Better, Drive, Arithmetic, Something Good, Shadowfeet, Get Some Sleep, Deciphering Me and many, many more. 

Los Angeles-based Brooke Fraser will return home to headline the 2017 Tour, following the release of her first career retrospective album “A Sides”, which will include her upcoming single “Therapy”. “The Winery Tour is quite simply a dream to play, there is no better way to tour New Zealand. I am looking forward to getting home to play all the favourites from my career so far to the best fans in the world” says Brooke.

Having played on the very first Winery Tour back in 2007, Bic Runga returns to tour the vines once again. Bic will be celebrating her induction into the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame (the youngest ever inductee) and her brand new album “Close Your Eyes” (including the single of the same name), showcasing her interpretations of some of music’s most classic songs. Bic adds “I’m excited to rejoin the Winery Tour family, to hit the road again and to play all my songs and some of my favourite covers in the most spectacular venues”.

Opening the show will be Winery Tour newcomer Benny Tipene, an exciting new talent rapidly making a very big name for himself in NZ. Benny exploded onto the airwaves with four hits from his debut album ‘Bricks’ including the #1 platinum single “Walking on Water” and top ten gold single “Lonely”. Benny is busy completing his second album in time for the Winery Tour, an album which will include his brand new single “Where Love Comes From”.

“Touring all around New Zealand, playing amazing places, sharing the stage with two musical icons – what a great way to spend summer!” says Benny.

Promoters Brent Eccles and Campbell Smith are delighted that The Winery Tour has reached the ten year milestone: “We love the Winery Tour, it's simply the best and most fun tour we produce” says Smith. “We can scarcely believe that we have clocked up 139 shows over the past decade, most of them truly amazing gigs, by great NZ artists in stunning NZ locations. We just want more of the same and we know the fans do too. We couldn't think of a better bill to celebrate this milestone, the 2017 Winery Tour is destined to be one of the very best”.

Tickets go on sale on midday 31st October at an Early Bird price of $69 (+booking fee), until 30 November 2016. On 1 December full price tickets will go on sale for $79 (+booking fee). Children under the age of 12 will be granted free entry when accompanied by an adult ticket holder (one child per ticket holder). For ticket information and to purchase please see The Winery Tour website www.winerytour.co.nz - special bus tickets will also be available.

Civic Events presents The Winery Tour 2017
With Brooke Fraser, Bic Runga, and Benny Tipene

JANUARY

Friday 27                     Tauranga                    Wharepai Domain
Saturday 28                New Plymouth            TSB Bowl of Brooklands                    
 

FEBRUARY

Friday 3                      Hamilton                     Mystery Creek
Saturday 4                  Matakana                   Ascension Wine Estate
Sunday 5                    Whangarei                  Toll Stadium
Friday 10                    Havelock North          Black Barn Vineyards
Saturday 11                Wellington                  Basin Reserve
Sunday 12                  Palmerston North       Central Energy Trust Arena, Fields
Tuesday 14                Blenheim                    Vernon Station
Friday 17                   Upper Moutere            Neudorf Vineyards
Saturday 18               Waipara                       Waipara Hills
Sunday 19                 Auckland                     Villa Maria Winery

DON McGLASHAN & SHAYNE CARTER - ON TOUR AROUND AOTEAROA

Two of New Zealand’s indie rock heavyweights have joined forces for a formidable collaboration. In spite of weaving disparate paths over the past few decades, eminent local songwriters Don McGlashan and Shayne Carter are now taking their recently developed team show of songs on tour around the country.

These guys don’t need much introduction, but here’s a taster: Having cut his teeth with bands Blam Blam Blam, the Front Lawn and the Mutton Birds, Don McGlashan has a penchant for reflecting the landscape and people of this country in his songs, and more than a few New Zealanders would consider them the soundtrack of their lives. McGlashan has five entries in APRA’s 100 Best NZ Songs of All Time and two Silver Scroll wins, and his 2006 song “Bathe In The River”, sung by Hollie Smith, is one of the biggest NZ singles of all time. His 2015 album Lucky Stars was highly regarded, described by Metro as “spine-tingling” and by Simon Sweetman at Blog On The Tracks’ as “his finest yet.”

Rock’n’roll has taken Shayne P. Carter everywhere from the Dunedin WINZ office to the Arista offices in New York. Starting out writing songs as a Dunedin teenager on one string of the guitar, he quickly earned accolades and fans as the unstoppable force behind Bored Games and the DoubleHappys. It was Carter’s involvement in Straightjacket Fits through the 80s and early 90s that cemented his status as one of New Zealand’s most impressive songwriters (honoured with a Legacy Award at the 2008 NZ Music Awards). His work that followed with Dimmer went one better - the 2004 Dimmer album You've Got To Hear the Music (2004) won New Zealand Music Awards for Best Album and Best Group. Carter announced his first solo album, titled Offsider, to be released in August 2016. Influenced by classical piano music (Schubert's Lieder, Chopin's Nocturnes, Debussy's neo psychedelia, Mozart's pristine classicism, Beethoven's cosmic exploration), it’s a thrilling sidestep and new evolution for Carter.

Now, the pair hit the road together, sharing stages from the far North to the deep South. While they won’t hold back on renditions of some of their best known songs, it’s no reunion show, nor a nostalgia trip - more an adventurous wander down the dusty alleys of their musical inventories. The pair’s surprise alliance was first debuted at the 2016 Auckland Arts Festival, wowing crowds and critics alike. David Larsen gave the show a rave ‪10/10 review in Metro Magazine, saying “the only thing wrong with this concert was that it was too short by half.” In the New Zealand Herald, Russell Baillie hailed the show as “neatly unpredictable… highlights were the hypnotic spells cast by both of McGlashan's Envy of Angels and Seed from Carter's Dimmer days.”

The pair recorded their set live at Auckland studio The Lab the day following the Auckland Arts Festival show, and will have CDs available exclusively at the shows. While Shayne Carter will be on the road in late August promoting his new album Offsider, you won’t want to miss the double-barrelled impact of Shayne Carter and Don McGlashan performing live around Aotearoa. Two of the country’s finest songwriters sharing the stage for a rare occasion.

See below for a list of full dates. Tickets are available from donandshayne.com.

‪Thursday October 13 Wellington – Paramount

Friday October 14 Nelson - Founders Park (Nelson Arts Festival)

‪Saturday October 15 Havelock North - Pacific Crystal Palace (Harcourts Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival)

‪Thursday October 20 Christchurch - Aurora Centre

‪Friday October 21 Stavely - Topp Lodge

‪Saturday October 22 Wanaka - Luggate Hall

‪Sunday October 23 Dunedin - Fortune Theatre

Mon October 24 - Dunedin - Fortune Theatre

‪Thursday October 27 Kerikeri  - Turner Centre

‪Friday October 28 Auckland - Crystal Palace

‪Saturday October 29 Hamilton - Meteor Theatre

‪Sunday October 30 Leigh - Leigh Sawmill Café

NB. Tickets for the Harcourts Hawke’s Bay Arts Festival and Nelson Arts Festival are available from Thursday August 4th 

BAKERS EDDY 'BIG MAN'

Bakers Eddy (Claire Gormly) release their new single on Friday 21/10 - Big Man

It has been a big year for the band in 2016.

They have achieved 2 lots of NZ on Air funding, been invited to play industry showcases (including "Going Global") and have had airplay on The Rock and Hauraki.

Their previous single "Wallbreaker" was playlisted on Edge TV, they opened for Gang of Youths and Highly Suspect in February this year and The Rubens last weekend in Wellington. They are opening for Villainy this Saturday at Bodega.

2017 promises to be even bigger starting off by playing 2 New Zealand music festivals ( including Homegrown )

 

WOMAD 2017 Line-Up announcement

With much excitement UK 2 Tone and Ska legends The Specials were the first announced to play WOMAD NZ 2017. 

Now, WOMAD NZ is over the moon to announce that joining them are: from Brazil, Grammy-nominee Bebel Gilberto, daughter of renowned singer João Gilberto performing her own laidback style of bossa nova; the French-Chilean musician, Ana Tijoux, whose sound captures where the street meets tradition; Vietnamese musicians Hanoi Masters who use half-forgotten traditional instruments to convey deep, personal connections to the upheavals of the Vietnam War; the New Orleans brass group Hot 8 Brass Band (USA), who will bring their signature blend of hip-hop, jazz and funk; "The Songbird of Wassoulou" Oumou Sangare (Mali) who is known for her seamless mix of old and new sounds that create a haunting backdrop for political lyrics, making her passion clear in any language and Sudha Ragunathan (India) who will take you to the heart of Carnatic music with her voice of gold.

Local artists include Wellington producer and multi instrumentalist Lord Echo (Craig Pearce) who blends boogie-laced Funk, disco-primed Reggae, futuristic Soul, and timeless African rhythms. Hailing from Auckland is Mt Eden, expect them to fire up their trademark extended build-ups, drum solos, double and triple drops and Auckland based Sons Of Zion whose fusion of reggae, heavy rock, dub and funk will get you dancing.

There are many, many, more exciting artists to discover at the WOMAD 2017 Festival, more below.

In alphabetical order: 9Bach (Wales), Ana Tijoux (Chile), Archie Roach (Australia), Aziza Brahim (Western Sahara), Bebel Gilberto (Brazil), Brushy one string (Jamaica), Emir Kusturica & the No Smoking Orchestra (Serbia), Hanoi Masters (Vietnam), Hot 8 Brass Band (USA), Inna Modja (Mali), La Mambanegra (Colombia), Lord Echo (Wellington/Aotearoa), Mercedes Peón (Spain), Mt Eden (Auckland/Aotearoa), Oumou Sangare (Mali), Rob Ruha (Matakaoa (Gisborne)/Aotearoa), Sinkane (Sudan/USA), Sons Of Zion (Auckland/Aotearoa), The East Pointers (Canada), The Soil (South Africa), The Specials (UK), The Swan Sisters (Christchurch/Aotearoa), Sudha Ragunathan (India), Swamp Thing (Tauranga/Rotorua/Aotearoa), Warsaw Village Band (Poland)

Tickets on sale from the WOMAD site, for ticketing options click here.