Award-winning artist Theia to attend the 25th UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
Award-winning singer and songwriter Em-Haley Kukutai Walker (Waikato, Ngaati Tiipaa) – who releases music and performs under the stage names Theia and TE KAAHU – will represent her people and Aotearoa at the 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (April 20 to May 1).
Award-winning singer and songwriter Em-Haley Kukutai Walker (Waikato, Ngaati Tiipaa) – who releases music and performs under the stage names Theia and TE KAAHU – will represent her people and Aotearoa at the 25th Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (April 20 to May 1).
While in New York she will also attend and speak at several other UN-affiliated gatherings, including The Indigenous Peoples Global Caucus (April 19-20), which this year focuses on implementing the UN’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the historic Second Global Summit on Indigenous Peacebuilding (April 25-26) where Em will present research from Aotearoa and an article she has written about traditional Māori Peacebuilding Practices centering women, which will be published in a book on Indigenous Peacebuilding.
The news comes on the back of a packed few months for Em, who released her debut Theia album GIRL, IN A SAVAGE WORLD in November 2025. This Thursday, March 5 she will play the final show of her Aotearoa Tour, before heading to the UN and then on to Canada where she will perform and run workshops at several festivals. Em will juggle her work at the UN with her North American touring commitments and a return to study.
The news comes on the back of a packed few months for Em, who released her debut Theia album GIRL, IN A SAVAGE WORLD in November 2025. This Thursday, March 5 she will play the final show of her Aotearoa Tour, before heading to the UN and then on to Canada where she will perform and run workshops at several festivals. Em will juggle her work at the UN with her North American touring commitments and a return to study.
Em’s involvement in the forum and all UN-affiliated gatherings in New York is supported by the Indigenous Youth Storytellers Circle - an official project of the 2019 UN’s International Year of Indigenous Languages, for which she is the Ambassador for Oceania. She is also one of seven grantees – each representing the seven socio-cultural regions recognised by the UN – selected from more than 2000 applicants worldwide to receive a grant from the UN Voluntary Fund for Indigenous Peoples. The grant aims to help representatives of Indigenous communities to participate in UN processes most relevant to Indigenous issues. Grants are issued based on fixed criteria and reviewed by the Board of Trustees through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, who also serves as the Secretariat of the Fund.
This fund will cover the costs of Em’s travel and a small daily allowance for part of her time in New York. However, she still needs to raise more for accommodation and costs incurred during the extra time she is required to stay in New York.
As a fiercely independent artist for much of her 10-year career in music, Em has poured her heart, soul, and personal finances into the craft of songwriting, recording, and performing, which leaves little to help support her work in Indigenous advocacy. So she has launched a Givealittle campaign – graciously asking friends, family, and fans for financial support to assist her travels and work at the UN. All funds raised will go towards accommodation, on-ground transport, and daily living expenses while in New York.
WEST AUCKLAND’S DOUBLE PARKED ANNOUNCE RAW SOPHOMORE EP, ROSARY, WITH LATEST SINGLE ‘PLACE I HIDE’
West Auckland post-surf rockers Double Parked have released their sophomore EP Rosary, with latest focus single, ‘Place I Hide’, following the bands cult favourite 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove.
West Auckland post-surf rockers Double Parked have announced their sophomore EP Rosary, with latest focus single, ‘Place I Hide’, following the bands cult favourite 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove.
Rooted in raw shared experiences between five best friends and band mates, Tom Purdie (vocals), Travis Hassell (bass), Chad Mascelle (drums), Carlin Diprose (guitar/vocals) and Ben Woolford (guitar/production), Double Parked deliver some of their most confronting and confessional storytelling to date on Rosary. Reflected over the EP’s palette of both soft, stripped-back acoustic introspection and urgent, raucous guitar anthems, the project's seven tracks are deeply cathartic, crafting a record that radically breaks the stigma of sharing men's experiences with the complexities of mental health.
From lead single ‘Necklace’ and it’s introspective lyrical purge, to second single ‘Buttercup’s high-charged anxious energy, to the hopeful glow of ‘Lighthouse’, the lofi, stripped-back fragility of ‘Reaching Out’, resilient songwriting of ‘Survive’, and poetic spoken word meditation of closing track ‘Rhythm of Silence’, each of the projects 7 tracks unpack the non-linear process of navigating mental health and healing - somewhere between breakdown and breakthrough. While sonically still steeped in their signature guitar driven post-surf sound, Rosary EP pushes the bands pens to reveal intimate new layers of their artistry, documenting their growth not only as a band, but as friends and confidantes figuring out the pits and peaks of life in their twenties together.
The EP’s latest focus single, ‘Place I Hide’, marks the project's climax. Driving with jangling guitars and moody reverb, lyrically the track purges a pensive account of coping mechanisms and survival strategies. “Selfish and bleeding, as the sun is receding, holding onto my friendship hard, pull it out, simmer down, watch me drown,” Tom's gritty vocals sing. “When I'm in this frame of mind, waiting on the borderline, take it all in all your stride, darkness creeping into this place I hide”.
“Place I Hide might be my favourite track,” Carlin reveals. “It was the first one we wrote, and we started recording it nearly a year before the rest. Originally it was the planned third single that we didn’t have time to record last year, during the ‘Dopamine’ and ‘Scars’ sessions. We all frothed it so hard, we knew we had to record it ASAP, and we kinda ended up writing this project around it. For me, and I’m sure the other boys feel similar, it really is the centrepiece of the album. The climax of the journey.”
Of the band's growth on the upcoming EP, Travvy details: “I believe that as people and musicians we’ve all grown in different ways since our first EP, but the essence of our creative process hasn’t changed too much. We write exactly what we are feeling at the time and make decisions on the music democratically as a band.”
He adds, “This project came to life at a time when we were all battling demons. This feeling of despair and defiance can be felt in the deep and reflective lyricism, but this energy also molded and sculpted how the guitars, bass, and drums were written and recorded. We didn’t intend for this EP to sound as it does, but it was the only music that could have come of us at the time.”
In the past two years since the success of their 2023 debut EP Lost in the Groove, Double Parked have cemented themselves as one of New Zealand’s most exciting acts on the rise. The group have quickly developed a cult following with their rowdy live shows, festival sets, and tours with celebrated local and international acts including The Butlers, Lazy Ghost, and most recently supporting Australian indie-rock band The Terrys across their New Zealand tour this past September. This Summer, the band are set to perform at the country's biggest new years festival Rhythm & Vines, and perform a headline show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork on (insert date).
Pushing forward the traditional surf-rock sound with their own genre-defying fusion labelled “post-surf”, Double Parked are redefining the subgenre for a new generation. While making music that’s quintessentially rooted in New Zealand, the group pull from a melting pot of global influences including Indie, Alternative, Post-Punk, Psych and Surf, laced together from their distinctly West Coast lens.
Sunday Sessions Launches at The Oakroom A Weekly Home for R&B
The weekly live music platform returns to Auckland this March, bringing together some of Aotearoa’s respected R&B musicians in a relaxed Sunday gathering centered on connection, musicianship and community.
The weekly live music platform returns to Auckland this March, bringing together some of Aotearoa’s respected R&B musicians in a relaxed Sunday gathering centred on connection, musicianship and community.
Sunday Sessions, hosted at The Oakroom in the historic Victoria Park Market, will run every Sunday from 11am–7pm, with live bands performing from 3pm–6pm. Entry is free, with guests invited to arrive early for lunch and drinks from 11am.
Made possible through the support of Rohini Jacob of The Oakroom, who has
provided the space to support this kaupapa, Sunday Sessions continues to provide a platform for artists while creating a welcoming environment where our music community can gather, connect and experience powerful live music together.
The series reopens for 2026 Sunday, March 15, with Saylene Tanielu-Ulberg and Allegro, a reunion of musicians whose roots stretch back to the early 2000s when Allegro first formed. Reuniting through friendship and a shared love of soulful music, the band returns to honour the legacy of Aotearoa’s musical pioneers while sharing that spirit with the next generation.
The weekly programme features a rotating lineup from Aotearoa’s R&B community, including Saylene Tanielu-Ulberg and Allegro, Lady Lyric with Band G-Spot, and Tereo Malosi Lepou and Band, performing on alternate Sundays.
Grounded in depth, honesty and cultural integrity, Sunday Sessions creates space for meaningful live performance experiences that connect artists, audiences and community.
More than a gig, Sunday Sessions is about building a weekly musical home where artists, audiences and community can gather through music and connection. Sunday Sessions invites Auckland’s music lovers and community to come together each week to celebrate live music, connection and the artists shaping Aotearoa’s rich musical landscape
Rising NZ Pop Artist Flynn Adamson Delivers Nostalgic New Single “2016”
Rising New Zealand pop artist Flynn Adamson captures the pull of nostalgia on his new single “2016,” a glossy, hook-driven pop track about the person who brings you back to the best version of yourself.
Rising New Zealand pop artist Flynn Adamson captures the pull of nostalgia on his new single “2016,” a glossy, hook-driven pop track about the person who brings you back to the best version of yourself.
Driven by Flynn’s warm, heartfelt vocal and grunty pop production, the track balances emotional honesty with undeniable pop energy. With its memorable hook — “hold me that way, I don’t need space” — “2016” blends reflective storytelling with an infectious ear-worm chorus that lingers long after the song ends.
For Flynn, the song is deeply personal. “Writing ‘2016’ was a sweet experience because I moved away from my family home this year. It’s about someone who reminds you of your childhood and the best parts of where you came from. I felt that was worthy of a song.”
“2016” continues to position Flynn Adamson as one of Aotearoa’s emerging pop voices to watch in 2026.
Flynn Adamson is a Christchurch-born pop artist delivering bright guitar-driven hooks, smooth vocals and the energy of a live band. Blending modern pop production with a grungy live edge, his performances feel both intimate and stadium-ready.
Flynn has appeared at major New Zealand events including Christmas in the Park and Selwyn Sounds, sharing stages with leading Kiwi acts such as The Butlers and Will Swinton.
Mazbou Q Blends Afro-Fusion and Melodic Metal on Reflective New Single “If E Dey Go”
“If E Dey Go” builds on the sonic foundation Mazbou Q consolidated with “Survived,” continuing his fusion of Afro-diasporic rhythm, hip-hop expression, and heavy guitar textures, this time through a more melancholic, midtempo lens.
“If E Dey Go” builds on the sonic foundation Mazbou Q consolidated with “Survived,” continuing his fusion of Afro-diasporic rhythm, hip-hop expression, and heavy guitar textures, this time through a more melancholic, midtempo lens.
Carried by a rolling groove reminiscent of Burna Boy’s Afro-fusion sway and layered with melodic metalcore-inspired riffs in the spirit of early Killswitch Engage, the track balances warmth and weight in equal measure. Rather than leaning on aggression, the guitars serve as emotional release with chords that lift the track's deeply reflective character.
"If E Dey Go" traces the inner dialogue of someone coming to terms with a breakup - the tug-of-war between mind, heart, and soul when something meaningful reaches its natural end. Yet the relationship serves as an extended metaphor for releasing anything once held dear: a person, a season, a version of oneself. The refrain “If e dey go, e dey go… we gon’ make it anyway” shifts the focus from desperation to acceptance and the freedom of surrendering to timing and season.
The release arrives ahead of his upcoming Rap Science Tour of the Netherlands this March, extending the momentum of RAP SCIENCE. and its APRA Silver Scroll-nominated single “TORQUE.” With “If E Dey Go,” Mazbou Q demonstrates that heaviness can be intimate, and that letting go can be as powerful as survival.
A.R.T Release New EP Blank Canvas
Wellington based female trio A.R.T have released their EP Blank Canvas, marking a clear shift in direction for the group. Known for their three part harmonies and blend of R&B; with island influence, the trio chose to approach this project differently. Rather than continuing with the sound that first introduced them to audiences, they treated this EP as a reset and rebuilt their direction from the ground up.
Wellington based female trio A.R.T have released their EP Blank Canvas, marking a clear shift in direction for the group.
Known for their three part harmonies and blend of R&B; with island influence, the trio chose to approach this project differently. Rather than continuing with the sound that first introduced them to audiences, they treated this EP as a reset and rebuilt their direction from the ground up.
The release follows the response to “Over Now,” which dropped in early February and gained traction across Instagram and TikTok, with listeners using the track for breakup and empowerment content. The momentum signaled that the group’s new direction was connecting.
Blank Canvas moves through different stages of relationships including independence, reflection, desire, and commitment. The focus track “Full Attention” leans into reassurance and presence, highlighting the vocal chemistry that defines A.R.T.
“This project forced us to be honest about where we are now,” the group says. “We did not want to repeat ourselves. We wanted to start fresh and see what came out of it.”
As a female trio operating in a space often dominated by solo acts, A.R.T have taken a deliberate step toward defining their sound on their own terms.
Blank Canvas is available on all streaming platforms now.
PAUL MCLANEY RELEASES NEW INSTRUMENTAL ALBUM ‘EXEGESIS’AS BANDCAMP EXCLUSIVE
Paul McLaney’s new instrumental album ‘EXEGESIS’ compromises two 23 minute long pieces of music built upon the hypnotic and ever evolving melodic interplay of an almost chamber style collection of instrumentation. Acoustic guitars and pianos weave their way between glockenspiels and mellotrons, celestas and organs. It follows hot on the heels of his debut as a producer for another artist; Seraphim Night’s album ‘CERCA TROVA.’
Paul McLaney’s new instrumental album ‘EXEGESIS’ compromises two 23 minute long pieces of music built upon the hypnotic and ever evolving melodic interplay of an almost chamber style collection of instrumentation. Acoustic guitars and pianos weave their way between glockenspiels and mellotrons, celestas and organs. It follows hot on the heels of his debut as a producer for another artist; Seraphim Night’s album ‘CERCA TROVA.’
“The thoughts and ideas I want to express with words at the moment are better suited to poetry rather than song, and the things I wish to express musically don’t want to be shackled by the specificity of lyrics.
Purely instrumental music can convey thoughts and emotions without prescribing them. Every listener paints a different picture in their mind when they truly engage in the considered art of listening. Really listening, like a meditation.
These two, long form compositions are an invitation to that kind of listening. They are a journey and a destination combined; a sanctuary. Music has been that sanctuary for me since I was a child and it continues to be that respite.
I’m interested in the miniature majestic; the inverse of the modern lexicon of epic textures. I’m interested in lattices of small melodies intersecting like the veins of a leaf or the subtle play of reflected light.
There is something of the way memories scaffold in the interplay of harmony and counterpoint. In their repetition and insistence. We are the stories we tell ourselves, the stories we continue to tell ourselves , the stories we repeat.”
The album is the first in a planned series of Bandcamp exclusives. Unlike major streaming services that pay miniscule amounts per stream, Bandcamp operates on a “fan-first” model, where artists typically retain 82-85% of their revenue. Bandcamp has created a community of music lovers; engaged listeners as opposed to passive consumers. Bandcamp encourages buying albums, fostering a listening experience where fans listen to the whole project, rather than skipping songs in a playlist.
Wellington-based pop artist Emma Rutherford releases new single Gracie, a tender and timely reflection on growing up in a complicated world.
Following a run of emotionally driven releases, Emma Rutherford opens 2026 with Gracie, a song inspired by her niece but written as a wider metaphor for young people everywhere. Addressing themes of pressure, perfection, and the search for validation, Gracie offers reassurance and hope, centering on the message that no one is truly alone.
Following a run of emotionally driven releases, Emma Rutherford opens 2026 with Gracie, a song inspired by her niece but written as a wider metaphor for young people everywhere. Addressing themes of pressure, perfection, and the search for validation, Gracie offers reassurance and hope, centering on the message that no one is truly alone.
Produced by Toby Lloyd (Tiny Triumph Recordings), Emma leans into a softer, more reflective sound, allowing her honest songwriting and soulful vocals to take centre stage.
As her first single of 2026, Gracie sets the tone for a new creative chapter and arrives ahead of Emma’s debut live show in Wellington, which she plans to take on tour across Aotearoa. With each release, Emma Rutherford continues to carve out a space within the New Zealand music industry.