For composer John Psathas, the opportunity to collaborate with Moroccan singer and poet OUM and oud virtuoso Kyriakos Tapakis on a work marking the fifth anniversary of the Christchurch mosque attacks was one he grabbed with both hands.

“It is not often one has the opportunity to offer a message of solidarity, love, and compassion through one’s artistic work,” the celebrated New Zealand composer says.

The NZSO programme Beyond Words, to be performed in Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland in March, will premiere the new collaborative work, Ahlan wa Sahlan.

Beyond Words bridges Eastern and Western music traditions and features Kyriakos Tapakis, a master of the Middle Eastern stringed instrument the oud, and Moroccan vocalist and poet OUM. The NZSO will be led by Muslim conductor Fawzi Haimor.

Beyond Words will also include Umoja, Anthem of Unity by Valerie Coleman, Funebre by Iranian composer Reza Vali and Silouan’s Song by Estonian composer Arvo Pärt.

“Together we are creating a musical message of welcoming – Ahlan wa Sahlan – a greeting used to tell someone that they’re where they belong, that they’re a part of this place and they are welcome here. It’s a way of saying ‘You’re with your people’,” John Psathas says.

In 2024 the NZSO will perform one of its largest number of works by New Zealanders and contemporary composers.

Visiting global music stars will include violinists Maxim Vengerov, Augustin Hadelich and Christian Tetzlaff, percussionist Jacob Nissly, and pianists Andrea Lam and Alexander Gavrylyuk.

Several of the world’s best conductors also join Artistic Advisor and Principal Conductor Gemma New, NZSO Music Director Emeritus James Judd and NZSO Principal Conductor-in-Residence Hamish McKeich in leading the orchestra next year. The stars include Dima Slobodeniouk, Stéphane Denève, Vasily Petrenko, Han-Na Chang, André de Ridder, Tianyi Lu and Thomas Blunt.

The NZSO begins the 2024 season with Mahler's epic Fifth Symphony in a concert that opens with New Zealand composer Salina Fisher's recent work Kintsugi and Emmy Award-winning American composer Adam Schoenberg’s Losing Earth, featuring the percussionist for whom it was written, Jacob Nissly of the San Francisco Symphony.

Schoenberg will be in New Zealand for the performances, and Nissly will collaborate with the New Zealand percussion community during his visit.

Gemma New returns for main stage concerts in September, performing revered New Zealand composer Lyell Cresswell's final major work Piano Concerto No. 3, alongside Copland's Appalachian Spring and Mozart's Jupiter Symphony. She will also conduct the 2024 season finale with Christian Tetzlaff and Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir in a programme of Kaija Saariaho, Elgar and Holst's Planets.

André de Ridder, who captivated NZSO audiences this year, returns to conduct three distinct concerts with Maxim Vengerov, Andrea Lam and a whānau-friendly concert featuring John Williams’ music from the Harry Potter films.

Dima Slobodeniouk leads the orchestra for Beethoven’s glorious Sixth Symphony and Debussy’s magnificent La mer.

Virtuoso Maxim Vengerov makes his New Zealand debut with the NZSO in August. The 49-year-old Grammy Award winner has been hailed as “one of the greatest violinists in the world” by Classic FM.

Also in August, Grammy Award-winning violinist Augustin Hadelich returns to perform Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.

Thomas Blunt leads the NZSO for Handel’s Messiah, featuring soprano Madison Nonoa, mezzo-soprano Bianca Andrew, tenor Filipe Manu and baritone Benson Wilson, along with renowned choir The Tudor Consort.

Celebrated pianist Stephen De Pledge, NZSO Section Principal Cellists Andrew Joyce and Julia Joyce and NZSO Associate Principal Cellist Ken Ichinose are among the New Zealand artists to perform in 2024. Thirteen-year-old pianist Shan Liu will play with the NZSO National Youth Orchestra, conducted by Tianyi Lu.

NZSO Concertmaster Vesa-Matti Leppänen directs an ensemble of NZSO string players for a programme of spiritual intensity, featuring works by Lilburn, Tchaikovsky, Bruckner and more. 

James Judd conducts Shostakovich's witty Ninth Symphony, and an equally humorous work Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme, alongside two works by young Kiwi composers Henry Meng and Sai Natarajan, both 2022-23 NZSO Todd Corporation Young Composer Awards finalists.

nzso.co.nz

Christchurch’s contribution to the Royal New Zealand Ballet story takes centre stage in the company’s 2024 programme with a production of Swan Lake that honours the legacy of the city’s own ballet star, Russell Kerr.

Russell returned to New Zealand in 1957 from establishing a dance career in Europe and teamed up with Danish dancer Poul Gnatt, considered the founding father of ballet in New Zealand. From 1962 to 1969, Russell was artistic director at the still fledgling New Zealand Ballet Company. In 1978 he took up the reins as director at Christchurch’s Southern Ballet Theatre, whose teachers have turned raw talent into members of the company ever since.

Russell’s acclaimed production of Swan Lake was first performed in the 1960s and reprised in the 1990s. Next year’s Swan Lake, touring nationwide from 01 May - 02 June, will showcase the dazzling designs created by Kristian Fredrikson for the 1990s’ production.

Also on the busy schedule is the ever-popular Tutus on Tour coming to a regional theatre near you from 23 February to 16 March. The RNZB will visit Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch next August, with Solace: dance to feed your soul followed by another nationwide tour of A Midsummer Night’s Dream from 24 October to 14 December.

Solace: dance to feed your soul, is a programme of new and recent ballets by choreographers Wayne McGregor, Sarah Foster-Sproull and Alice Topp.

For the RNZB, getting Britain’s Wayne McGregor to premiere his Infra, created for London’s Royal Ballet in 2008, represents an artistic coup. Choreographed for an ensemble of 12 dancers and set to a slowly drifting, soulful score by Max Richter, Infra is a profoundly moving meditation on the loneliness, connections and consolations that lie beneath the surface of a city. Julian Opie’s mesmerising 18-metre LED artwork echoes the constant movement of the dancers below as a steady stream of anonymous figures walk purposefully towards destinations unknown.

RNZB Choreographer-in-Residence Sarah Foster-Sproull (Despite the loss of small detail, Artemis Rising, Ultra Folly, The Autumn Ball) creates her fifth work for the company, collaborating with the dancers on a ballet that takes a new look at the astonishing machine that is the human body: shape-shifting, endlessly inventive and always greater than the sum of its parts. Music by Eden Mulholland pushes and pulls the dancers through the space with urgency and power.

Following the dazzling impact of her Aurum (Venus Rising, 2022) and Logos (Lightscapes, 2023), RNZB alumna and Resident Choreographer at The Australian Ballet Alice Topp creates High Tide, her first original work for the Royal New Zealand Ballet, inspired by the music of Australian composer Graeme Koehne. High Tide is a tender depiction of the never-ending morphosis from birth to death and is inspired by the human condition: growing pains, growing apart and growing together and learning to love and live with the light and shade, youth and age, within us all. Alice’s regular collaborator Jon Buswell will again work with Alice to transform the stage into a living sculpture of light and shadow.

November’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is a co-production between the RNZB and Queensland Ballet of a ballet created for the RNZB by Liam Scarlett and premiered in 2015. It played to capacity audiences throughout its first New Zealand tour and went on to wow Hong Kong in 2016. New Zealand designer Tracy Grant Lord created the glorious vision of Shakespeare’s characters and enchanted wood, illuminated with lighting by Kendall Smith.

rnzb.org.nz

The Royal New Zealand Ballet celebrates its platinum anniversary this month with Lightscapes. Over the decades, Christchurch’s community of studios and teachers has produced many a company member. One of these is former principal dancer Abigail Boyle.

After a false start to her dancing career and some time off, Abigail came to Christchurch to study under Sherilyn Kennedy at the city’s acclaimed International Ballet Company. Through that, in 2006, she was part of a group of South Island dancers invited to spend a week in Wellington at the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s rehearsal studios. That’s when she was spotted by then Artistic Director Gary Harris and invited to join the national company.

Looking back on her 13 years with the company, Abigail remembers the family feel, the lack of hierarchy and the camaraderie. Everyone had their own superpower or speciality.

Others were better at this or that – leaps, fluidity, artistry. But there was no jealousy. “We all just wanted to put on a good show. And we also learned from each other.”

Christchurch has been part of the Royal New Zealand Ballet story since at least 1978, when dance pioneer Russell Kerr took up the reins as director at Southern Ballet Theatre.

Russell returned to New Zealand in 1957 from establishing a dance career in Europe and teamed up with Danish dancer Poul Gnatt, considered the founding father of ballet in New Zealand. Since 1953, Poul had been working with a group of dancers in Auckland to establish a ballet company.

The thriving Christchurch ballet community of studios and teachers has been turning raw talent into members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet throughout those decades.

From 2006 to 2019, Abigail danced soloist and principal roles for the Royal New Zealand Ballet. Principal roles included Carmen in Didy Veldman’s Carmen, Odette/Odile in Russell Kerr’s Swan Lake, Aurora in Greg Horsman’s The Sleeping Beauty, Myrtha in Ethan Stiefel and Ada in Jiří Bubeníček’s The Piano: The Ballet. She also starred in the TV series The Secret Lives of Dancers.

When the company toured overseas, its multi-talented versatility was on show for all to see. Choreographers loved the freedom that came from working with a company where they could choose the dancers they felt would deliver on their vision.

“We were like a box of chocolates that choreographers could choose from, depending on what they were trying to do. And no one was upset by that.”

For Abigail, the mix of dances in the Lightscapes programme – classical, neo-classical and contemporary – will be the perfect platform to display that versatility.

Lightscapes includes the world premiere of Whenua, by Moss Te Ururangi Patterson, inspired by haka and powered by the strength of the men of the company. Also on the programme is Serenade, George Balanchine's first full-length ballet in America; Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s Requiem for a Rose, created for Pennsylvania Ballet in 2009; and Logos, by company alumna Alice Topp and created for The Australian Ballet in 2020.

In 2019, Abigail completed the Professional Dancers’ Postgraduate Teaching Certificate with the Royal Academy of Dance and founded her own ballet coaching company, Abigail Dance Coaching.

Then in 2021 she went full circle, taking up the role of Ballet Mistress for the New Zealand Youth Ballet Company in Christchurch, helping to develop the next generation of classical and contemporary dancers.

Abigail is still humbled by the opportunity to be part of the Royal New Zealand Ballet story, and she has memories she will hold on to forever. Touring with your best mates. “Even the stuff-ups on stage when we would forget the choreography and just look at each other and know what was going on in each other’s head.”

Isaac Theatre Royal,
Sat 5 – Sun 6 August,
isaactheatreroyal.co.nz

A retrospective exhibition honouring one of New Zealand’s most decorated and best-loved contemporary artists, Dame Robin White, opens this weekend at Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū.

In the last of four shows across Aotearoa, Robin White: Te Whanaketanga | Something is Happening Here will showcase about 50 iconic, diverse and innovative works.

The exhibition, developed by Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki and the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, profiles White’s celebrated 50-year career in contemporary art and demonstrates the cultural significance of her work in Aotearoa and beyond.

Co-curators Dr Sarah Farrar, Head of Curatorial and Learning at Auckland Art Gallery, and Dr Nina Tonga, Curator Contemporary Art at Te Papa, sourced the collection from public art galleries and generous private owners throughout the country.

Dr Farrar says White’s paintings of the 1970s drew acclaim for their stylised depiction of everyday, small-town Kiwi life.

“Inspired by her surroundings, White’s iconic paintings feature local landscapes, distinctive buildings, and communities and people close to her.”

Included in the exhibition are famous early works like Sam Hunt at the Portobello Pub; Mere and Siulolovao, Otago Peninsula; Fish and Chips, Maketu; and the self-portrait, This is me at Kaitangata.

The collection also includes drawings, woodblock prints, woven works and tapa, bringing together – in the words of the artist – a “family reunion” of works.

Dr Tonga says White’s versatility as a contemporary artist speaks for itself in the exhibition.

“The multiple series of large-scale tapa cloth White developed with local Fijian and Tongan artists are extraordinary. Her exploration into different art forms and her collaborative and innovative practice have been significantly influenced by the places she’s lived, worked and travelled across the Pacific.”

Director of Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū Blair Jackson says the exhibition presents a rare opportunity for people to experience White’s extensive and varied collection of works first-hand and learn more about an incredible New Zealand artist.

“We have two artist talk sessions on the exhibition opening day, where Dame Robin White will be joined by Dr Nina Tonga and Dr Sarah Farrar, which will be very special,” Jackson says.

Commemorating the exhibition is the publication Robin White: Something is Happening Here, which was published by Te Papa Press and Auckland Art Gallery and released in May 2022. Edited by Sarah Farrar, Jill Trevelyan and Nina Tonga, the book was a finalist in the 2023 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Robin White: Te Whanaketanga | Something is Happening Here
Sat 22 Jul – Sun 5 Nov
Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū
christchurchartgallery.org.nz

With its key themes of teen sex and suicide, it would be hard to get this one past the censors these days. But our star-crossed lovers will not be denied – the Royal New Zealand Ballet’s passionate re-telling of Shakespeare’s great tragedy is bring the heat to Wellington, Auckland, Dunedin, Christchurch, Palmerston North and Napier.

Romeo and Juliet was first seen onstage in 2017, when the mesmerising choreography by Andrea Schermoly (Stand to Reason, Within Without) and the sets and costumes by Academy Award-winning designer James Acheson (The Last Emperor, Dangerous Liaisons) wowed audiences at every stop.

We know the story. Set amid the splendour and seduction of Renaissance Verona, two families are at war. Our lovers reach across the battle lines, with tragic results.

This production captures the colour and vitality of the marketplace in which bawdy laughter turns to horror in the blink of an eye, the grandeur of the Capulet palazzo in which love blooms, and the intimacy of balcony, bedroom and tomb. All swept up in Prokofiev’s exhilarating, sensuous score. 

Royal New Zealand Ballet, Romeo and Juliet

• Wellington, 4 – 6 May, St James Theatre
• Auckland, 11 – 13 May, Kiri Te Kanawa Theatre, Aotea Centre
• Dunedin, 20 May, The Regent
• Christchurch, 25 – 27 May, Isaac Theatre Royal
• Palmerston North, 3 June, Regent On Broadway
• Napier, 9 – 10 June, Municipal Theatre

rnzb.org.nz

We've been waiting (im)patiently since the Rocket Man's last New Zealand shows were cut short at the beginning of 2020, and now our patience has finally been rewarded.

Elton John is the most successful male performing solo artist of all time, and this incredible worldwide tour is the last-ever chance to see an absolute legend perform live. He is returning to Auckland for two rescheduled shows at Mt Smart Stadium, and has just announced the addition of a Christchurch show. This will be the first time Elton John has performed in Christchurch for thirty years, a special thank you to fans who have been waiting years for his return to Aotearoa. 

Hailed by fans and critics worldwide, the Farewell tour has left audiences universally spellbound, a truly daring and intimate celebration of an incredible 50-year career. Elton embarked on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour in September 2018 – its milestone, multi-year itinerary comprising over 300 shows across five continents. The rescheduled New Zealand leg will now kick off with the Christchurch show on Tuesday January 24 at Orangetheory Stadium, before returning to Auckland's Mt Smart Stadium on Friday 27 and Saturday 28 January. It’s a fond farewell to a nation he first stepped foot in five decades ago.

Elton’s legendary catalogue includes beloved songs ‘Bennie and the Jets’, ‘Rocket Man’, ‘Tiny Dancer’, ‘Crocodile Rock’, ‘Philadelphia Freedom’ and many, many more. These final performances celebrate Elton's collaboration with lyricist Bernie Taupin, their pairing one of the great song-writing partnerships of all time.

Whether you missed out last time, or if once just wasn't enough, now's your chance to see a musical icon live on stage. Tickets go on presale July 28, and general sale August 1.

ticketmaster.co.nz

As we gear up to welcome Guns N' Roses back to New Zealand this December, we're stoked with the great news that local legends Alien Weaponry are going to be bringing the noise as special guests for the gig.

They'll be joined by Australian punk rockers The Chats, and the main event Guns N' Roses will feature the classic band lineup of Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan. Safe to say both gigs are going to be big nights.

Recently hailed as the "future of metal” by esteemed music bible Metal Hammer, and “one of the best young metal bands in the world right now” by Revolver Magazine, Alien Weaponry have taken their raw energy and unique sound on the road around the world. Combining thrash and metal with lyrics in te reo Māori has gained the band huge fan and media acclaim around the world.

Since the release of their lauded debut album Tū in 2018, Alien Weaponry have been touring extensively through North America and playing some of the biggest metal festivals in Europe. Currently on the road with heavy metal gods Gojira on their exhaustive European tour, Alien Weaponry will return in superb form to deliver their trademark adrenaline-charged performance in Auckland and Wellington.

Known for their whiplash-paced, adrenaline-fuelled slices of punk brilliance and a smoking hot live reputation, The Chats have been tearing up international stages and festivals across the UK, US, and Europe through the course of this year and already count Iggy Pop and Queens Of The Stone Age among their fans. No stranger to our shores, the band played the mainstage at 2020’s Auckland Laneway Festival pulling one of the biggest and rowdiest crowds of the day. The Chats’ second album, Get F-cked!, is scheduled for worldwide release on August 19. On July 12, the band release their rip-roaring new single: ‘I’ve Been Drunk In Every Pub In Brisbane’, which clocks in at just 89 seconds of mayhem and is about to be served up worldwide.

The Gunners themselves need no introduction. After touring their rapturously received sets across America and Europe featuring wall-to-wall smash hits from the band’s astonishing back catalogue, Guns N’ Roses have never been more ready to rumble.

Wellington & Auckland
Thursday 8 & Saturday 10 December
premier.ticketek.co.nz

Award-winning Kiwi musician Mel Parsons is treating our ears to a brand-new album, Slow Burn, and is hitting the road for a nationwide tour.

The title track of the new album sounds great. What can we expect from the songs that aren’t released yet? It’s quite a mix I think. It’s still me writing songs, so I don’t think it’s any great departure from what people know of my music already, but there are a a few more upbeat songs on there that head towards a bit of indie-new-wavey kind of a vibe.

Tell us about your experience recording this album. We made the record at LOHO Studio in Christchurch, with my band and a few guests. Being local was actually really awesome, getting to head home and regroup at the end of each session made it really relaxed process. We had a lot of fun in the studio, after the uncertainty of the last wee while we were excited to just be back in a room playing together. Pre-production meant the songs were pretty well shaped before we went in, but actually the band hadn’t heard anything before we set up. They’re all such brilliant players in that way. There’s a lot of energy in the recordings rather than it being too laboured.

It sounds like the album name is a bit of a commentary on the process? Haha it sounds like it should be! Slow Burn comes from the title track which was the first song I wrote for the album, but I guess everything for everyone these past couple of years has slowed down too, and the album-making process was no exception.

What influence did your Lyttelton location have on the writing? I think it’s hard not to be influenced by your environment, and Lyttelton probably has just the right balance of grit and beauty which appeals to me. Ultimately though, my writing is a very unconscious process in that I write what comes out, so probably I could have been anywhere and these songs would have arrived in a similar form.

You’ve collaborated again with your cousin Jed Parsons on some of these tracks – what’s he like to work with? We joke around and tease each other a lot, but really he’s one of my favourite people. Jed has been playing in my band since 2015 and honestly I can’t imagine not having him in there. He’s brilliant musically, a very sensitive ear which makes him a natural harmony singer, and beautiful feel as a drummer as well. He’s such a mellow and fun person to have around too which is really key to the vibe of everything. We also have a secret agreement where we have to say extremely nice things about the other person in interviews. 

Our lips are sealed. What do you do when you’re not writing, recording or touring? Gardening, playing the drums, cooking, hanging around. I’ve got a mild obsession with water blasting, so quite a bit of that. Lawn mowing. I like to ski in the wintertime.

Are you planning anything special for the tour? I feel like being able to tour at all is special in itself, so we are just focused on putting together a really great show, staying healthy and having as much fun as possible on the road.

What’s one thing people probably don’t know about you? My favourite instrument is actually the drums. Hands down the most fun.

Best piece of advice you’ve ever received? To just keep turning up. I think as a creative person it’s easy to get bogged down in critiquing yourself and thinking something is never going to be finished or good enough or just never going to happen full-stop. But I guess through my career I’ve found if you just keep turning up to whatever it is you’re doing, eventually there will be an outcome. Songs are like that for me, I have to just make myself sit down with the guitar or at the piano, even when I might not feel like it, and see what comes out. It might not be that day that the gold turns up but if you don’t turn up you’ll never know.

What music have you got on high rotation at the moment? I’ve been listening to a lot of old stuff, digging back into the '90s actually. We listen to a lot of classics at home, jazz, soul, a lot of '60s and '70s songwriters. Khruangbin I love the sound of. Also there are a bunch of great artists coming through from Canterbury which I find really exciting, acts like Pretty Stooked, Goodwill, MIM, Emma Dilemma, Sam Heselwood to name a few.

How do you relax? Catching up with friends, I like the drop in culture in Lyttelton. Our house is quite hectic so people know just to turn up and there will be coffee or wine and maybe a fire going outside to sit around. I’ve gotten quite into gardening lately too, veggies mostly.

If you could invite any three people to a dinner party, who would they be? I’m obsessed with British comedy, so probably Ricky Gervais, Dawn French, John Cleese.

What’s next for you after the tour? A cup of tea and a little lie down to start with. But really, when you’re an independent artist things don’t really stop in between tours and albums. There is a massive amount of planning and organising to keep things rolling. But I feel lucky to be able to do it at all, so will just carry on working towards the next thing.

October – November
Nationwide
melparsons.com

This Friday is the first time we will celebrate the rise of Matariki as a nation with a public holiday. If you ask us, it's a perfect time to acquaint yourself with the stars that announce the new year in te ao Māori.

You can see the Matariki star cluster in the sky now. Well, perhaps not right now, depending on what time of day you're reading this, but this is the right time of year to catch it popping up over the horizon.

To get a good view of this constellation, you'll need to get up before dawn. The good news is that the sun comes up late right now so you don't have to get up at an ungodly hour – between 5:30 and 6:30am is perfect.

We recommend getting up early, donning some woolies, filling your themos with hot choccy, and heading somewhere coastal or up high. You want a good view to the north and east.

You're looking for a group of seven stars visible with the naked eye (you can see a lot more with a telescope). To find them, start by spotting 'the pot' or Orion's Belt (the bottom three stars of the pot are known as Tautoru) in the east not far above the horizon. A little to the north of there, you'll see a bright orange star – this is Taumata-kuku. Draw an imaginary line between Tautoru and Taumata-kuku, then keep following that line further to the north until you hit a cluster of bright stars. Congratulations! You've found Matariki.

We've been eagerly anticipating the release of The Black Seeds' new album, and now it's out the band are hitting the road with a good old-fashioned national tour. We caught up with founding member Barnaby Weir.

Congratulations on the release of Love & Fire! What’s the feeling the band brought to this album? Thank you. It feels great to finally be able to share our little musical treasure, we've been working on it for a while. I think the general feeling the band brought to the album is one of hope. It's been tough times for a lot of people around the world and more so than the pre covid years. We've all had some kind of struggle during this time but having a sense of hope through our music and this album project helped to get us through it and brought us together creatively even though we were separated physically.

Love & Fire is dedicated to your manager Matt McLeod – tell us about his contribution to the band. Matty was there from the start. He did the hardest of yards,  managed the band from a novice party band into an album-releasing, touring entity. He brought a lot of laughs and love and a real sense of ethical strength to how we operate. He sacrificed a hell of a lot for us and chose The Black Seeds as a major long term project through thick and thin. As of recently he is no longer our manager but we wanted to acknowledge our respect for him in the dedication.

Is it hard collaborating remotely on an album with such a big band? Yes it is. It's certainly not ideal but it's better than doing nothing.

Were there any unexpected advantages to remote songwriting? The upside is you get to manage your contribution how you like and in your own space and timeline to a degree. This can mean some really great individual contributions that are born free to be absolutely original and not as controlled through the producer. I think this was fairly liberating and at the same time scary for us, but ultimately resulted in some great work.

What’s your personal songwriting process? Mine is based almost entirely around capturing a moment or moments of inspiration and getting onto it with a demo recording. Inspiration for me may come through a riff on the guitar but usually a beat and bass line, a feeling, a groove or a feeling inside. The challenge is to explain yourself through the music and lyrics, but once you have a sense of what it is you're feeling, usually the song starts to reveal itself fairly obviously and all you have to do is follow the breadcrumbs to the I don't know about the other guys.

What’s your favourite track on the new album, and why? Today it's The title track 'Love & Fire'. Simple lyric, catchy melody, killer beat and straight to the point. Bittersweet Seedpop.

Does it feel good being back on the road? Yes it feels great to be busy with The Black Seeds again. So much thought and passion and creative power has gone into this release. A lot of admin, a lot of discussion and so on. Feels good to be finally sharing and playing some of the new stuff and getting on with it. I was definitely getting sick of the same old questions, "What have you guys been up to? Are you still doing stuff? Why have you not played recently? Are you playing anytime soon?. Do you have any new material?". Seeing our fans and friends on the road and playing live is probably the best part of a fairly exhausting schedule. What you don't see is all the rehearsals and promo engagements, meetings and planning that goes on behind the scenes. All worth it when you're feeling and sounding good.

What do you do when you’re not making music? They call it parenting, haha. I am, we are, raising a family in New Plymouth. We love it here, recently moved, and a lot has happened in one year to be honest. I help with my mum's cocktail bar Poquito Bar at 11 Tory Street in Wellington, and basically hustle different music jobs and projects around The Black Seeds, Fly My Pretties, some casual DJ'ing and solo gigs. Yup, mainly music, parenting, cooking, sleeping, I think.

What music are you listening to at the moment? All Black Seeds currently for me, but hot tips for other artists, I recommend you download and turn up Pino D'Angiò 'Okay Okay', Steve Monite 'Only You', Sam Evian 'Time To Melt' and Slim Harpo 'Shake Your Hips'. PS, just buy the tracks so you always have them as a proper file forever. You wont need the internet to play them and you will feel better about yourself actually supporting an artist you like.

If you could jam with any musician, living or dead, who would it be? Today, it's Slim Harpo.

What’s something people probably don’t know about The Black Seeds? The Black Seeds is a special musical potion that cures everything except death.

Any up-and-coming Kiwi musicians you’d like to shout out to? Big ups to Seamus Johnson and Sam Fowles, my faves The Nudge, and me old mate Aaron Tokona, RIP, nothing but love.

What’s next for you after the Love & Fire tour? Counting money, a face lift, blood transfusion, more parenting, baby delivering, cooking, sleeping, repeat.

Love & Fire tour
Nationwide
Thursday 23 June –Saturday 9 July*
theblackseeds.com
*Note some shows in this tour are postponed due to band members testing positive for Covid

There's a scent in the air... the sweet scent of toasted cheese on bread. That's right, it's Toastie Takeover time again, and the 13 national finalists have been announced. Is your local toastie chef one of the lucky few?

With a whopping 100,000 toasties served up since the first round of judging began on April 13, the competition’s more than 180 entries have now been whittled down to 13 finalists across six regions.

Those finalists hail from Auckland, Ngatea, Okere Falls (Rotorua), Ohakune, Havelock North, Palmerston North, Greytown, Nelson, Christchurch, Queenstown, Twizel, and Dunedin, and encompass local eateries, rural roadside cafes, breweries, a food truck, a fish farm, a burger bar, an artisan food store, and a newly opened toasted sandwich bar.

To qualify for the competition, sandwiches needed to be toasted between two slices of bread and – like all respectable toasties – able to be eaten by hand. The toasted sandwiches also needed to contain cheese (or a vegan substitute) and the sponsor's McClure’s Pickles, with all the other ingredients left entirely to the entrants’ imaginations.

A variety of smoked and slow-cooked meats can be found among the ingredients in this year’s finalists, including pork, brisket, lamb shoulder, and salmon. Delicious cheese blends also feature, while several finalists have made inventive use of the McClure’s Pickles range, including using pickle brine and crispy fried pickles. Some finalists also chose to extend the toastie experience by including sides and tempting dippers, like gravy and tomato soup.

The second round of judging starts next week, with the winner announced on July 27.

The finalists

Archie Café (Auckland): Pepper Pig: Hot pork, double cheese blend, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, mustard and sriracha on toasted sourdough.

Wynyard Pavilion (Auckland): Low 'n Slow: Low & slow smoked wagyu brisket, Massimo's mozzarella, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, truffle aioli and Old Yella habanero mustard.

The Public Office (Ngatea, Coromandel): The Smoky Pork & Pickle: Cider braised pork, smoky wood sauce, melted gouda and McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, topped with crispy fried pickles.

Okere Falls Store (Rotorua): Get Smoked, Pickled + Toasted: House smoked, beer brined brisket, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, hop salted mozzarella, smoked cheddar, watercress and horseradish on Bread Asylum X Lumberjack Brewing spent grain sourdough with pickle brine sour cream and a beer gravy dipping bowl.

Toastie Ohakune (Ohakune): Owen's Missus, Who Takes No SCHMACK: Corned beef, pickled carrots, Pepper & Me 'Schmack Sauce,’ McClure's Bread & Butter Pickles and four cheeses.

Best Burgers (Havelock North): A Cluckin Patty Melt: Chicken fried Best Burgers patty, Swiss cheese, bacon & onion Jam, McClure’s Bread & Butter Pickles, Best Burgers Special Sauce on house potato bread.

Brew Union (Palmerston North): Pork & Rye: Pickled pork, jalapeno, date and smoked gouda cheese sauce, American mustard mayo and McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles on rye bread.

The Offering (Greytown): Beef Greytown (Our take on a classic): Four cheese blend with Parkvale mushrooms, onion and baby spinach, thyme and parsley to form a spread, French mustard, pulled hot smoked rump beef with a chipotle BBQ Sauce, McClure’s Bread & Butter Pickles, white cheese sauce, all nestled between toasted marble rye bread.

Little Nessie Café (Nelson): Toasted Reuben: Pastrami, Swiss cheese, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, sauerkraut, secret sauce.

BEERS (Christchurch): Lamb Margera: Smoked lamb shoulder, Swiss cheese, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, kimchi and onion rings on sourdough.

Morning Magpie (Dunedin): Tickle My Pickle: Organic sourdough, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles with house pickles, a big slab of Evansdale cheese, served with a dipper of tomato soup. (Also a finalist in 2021)

High Country Salmon (Twizel): Loco Mexicano: Cold smoked salmon, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, corn salsa, avocado, cheese, spinach, cornflakes and chilli mayo, in toasted rye sourdough. Served with fries.

Johnny Crema (Food Truck, Frankton, Queenstown): Reubie Roll: Corned beef, horseradish béchamel, McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, all rolled up on a divine slice of European Bakery jumbo loaf, served with crisps.

toastietakeover.com

This August, Kiwis will be treated to a marquee line-up of the world’s best and brightest writers and thinkers, as they descend on Tāmaki Makaurau for one week only.

Each year the world-renowned Auckland Writers Festival defines the cultural agenda in Aotearoa. As borders have shuttered the world for two years, Aotearoa’s annual celebration of words and ideas returns in full-form with live and streaming events in Auckland from 22 to 28 August.

As part of the 22 festival, attendees will hear from world-leading experts on Putin and Afghanistan, a Golden-Globe winning actor turned New York Times bestseller, Māori and Pasifika stars lighting up the international poetry and spoken word scene, a two-time Oscar winner, and one of the UK’s most acclaimed philosophers, as well as iconic comedians, award-winning screenwriters, celebrated scientists, and prize-winning novelists.

Taking place in the Aotea Centre and other Auckland venues this winter, the festival will tackle themes as complex and varied as war, celestial navigation, abortion rights, Auckland’s architecture, wild weather, misinformation vs disinformation, and how three kiwi police officers became crime novelists. In addition to the festival’s signature mix of conversations and panels, across the week, Auckland will be host to a series of stirring theatre performances, poetry installations and public documentary screenings.

More than 30 international literary luminaries sit alongside more than 200 New Zealand writers, thinkers, facilitators, and panelists in the 2022 programme. Check out the full programme at writersfestival.co.nz.

Live events include New Yorker journalist and Putin expert Masha Gessen; two-time Oscar winner Jane Campion; preeminent philosopher A.C Grayling; feminist icon and bestselling author Clementine Ford; multi-million-copy selling novelist and TV-producer phenomenon Liane Moriarty, and former soldier, diplomat, and counterinsurgency expert David Kilcullen.

In a very special slice of kiwiana, The Naked Samoans will join John Campbell live on stage in a one-off and highly-anticipated reunion; Jack Webster Te Kapene Thatcher will offer a beginner’s guide to the artful science of celestial navigation; and Hēmi Kelly and the Embassy of Ireland come together to celebrate their work on the launch of Ngā Whakamāoritanga – a te reo Māori translation of Brian Friel’s Irish literary masterpiece Translations.

Special events include Art and Power, a music and readings performance from the Sydney Art Quartet; a celebration of Stephen Sondheim with guests including Hayden Tee and Jennifer Ward-Lealand; theatrical works Hello Darkness, Ka-Shue, and Paragon Dreams; rising hip hop and spoken word stars in New Dawn; and a sound journey through the night with Annette Lees, Rewi Spraggon and Riki Bennett.

Aotea Square hosts documentary screenings of Martin Hill & Philippa Jones’ epic Fine Lines sculpture project and Gaylene Preston’s Keri Hulme tribute Kai Purakau, as well as a poetry installation work.

The inaugural Auckland Writers Festival was held in 1999. Founded by award-winning Kiwi novelist, poet and playwright Stephanie Johnson and the late filmmaker and historian Peter Wells, it delivered a modest programme of 40 events to around 5,200 people. AWF has grown to become one of the most highly anticipated cultural events in the New Zealand landscape, and one of the best attended writer’s festivals, per capita, in the world.

Public tickets are on sale from 9am Friday 17 June via Ticketmaster.

Monday 22 to Sunday 28 August
writersfestival.co.nz

Wellington musician Bianca Bailey AKA Wiri Donna’s new record is out, and she heading out for a nationwide tour.

The six-track EP Being Alone is written by Bianca Bailey and co-projected by James Goldsmith, featuring singles ‘Dream of Me’ and ‘No Follow Through’ .

“The EP is a sort of coming of age record, less of things you learn as you’re growing up, more things that you discover when you’re alone,” Bianca says.

“The title track ‘Being Alone’ is a point of realisation, that you’re allowed to grieve things that are intangible, like losing your sense of self, that people can simultaneously love you and hurt you and how incredibly difficult it is to hold people accountable for their actions if they don’t see them as wrong.”

It’s been two years since Wiri Donna’s first release – a double single featuring ‘Manuka Money’ and ‘Wandering Willies’. Wiri Donna began as a sensitive indie folk act that was rooted in a time of finding her feet. Now two years later and an experienced tourer, she is breaking her stride with a larger and emphatic rock sound.

Wiri Donna is heading out on her nationwide EP release tour, with the full live band in tow, including members Harrison Scholes (Arjuna Oakes, F.A.I.R.Y), James MacEwan (Arjuna Oakes), & Elliott Dawson (DOONS). The tour kicks off in Wellington on June 10 before heading to Hamilton, Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin and Queenstown.

Known for her stage presence and energy in front of a live crowd, Wiri Donna will be warming hearts around the country this winter.

Being Alone tour
Nationwide
June – July
wiridonna.com

2022 is a year of expansion at Devál Boutique. What's Hot New Zealand gets acquainted with the iconic Wānaka store and finds out what’s coming next.

Visiting Devál Boutique is like walking into a sleek Paris boutique. Racks of chic European apparel for the trying on, bubbles in hand. This is shopping with taste. Founder Debbie Lawson has effortless style and each curated piece in her collection tells that tale. Like a fashion genie, she manifests optimal outfits, dressing you top to bottom with the likes of Philippe Model shoes, Ivy Copenhagen Alice army pants, Anine Bing knits and a Zadig&Voltaire blazer. Devál can reinvent your wardrobe, one carefully selected piece at a time

I’m greeted at the door by boss dog Cooper, then Debbie and her style team immediately thrust me into a dressing room armed with Caitlin Crisp and Frame pieces, very much to my liking. All the incredible items on display could prove overwhelming, but thanks to the spontaneous shopping happy hour (a glass of bubbly is an iconic element of shopping at Devál), I’m soothed while being styled.

Devál is the definition of style in the South Island, with a curated collection of international and local designers. Now Wānaka based and ideally situated in The Precinct, Devál got its footing in Christchurch before moving to Central Otago (no fear Canterbury, the online shop is slick and easy to click).

After over 15 years in the business, Debbie and her Devál girls are going strong with big plans for expansion later this year. New additions will include a lush lounge, and more designer details to be revealed later in 2022.

Devál goes beyond the thread and brings in labels that aren’t seen just anywhere in New Zealand, boasting brands like Laing, By Charlotte, YSL and Smythe. And let’s not forget the resurgence of the namesake brand, Devál, with fresh New Zealand-designed women’s apparel dropping now.

I make the fashion pilgrimage to Devál whenever I’m in Wānaka, and know the team give open and honest feedback on what I’m trying on. At the end of my session, they approve one of my selections as the winner of the day.

Devál creates an exclusive shopping experience for men and women, offering complementary styling either at your home or hotel while visiting Wānaka. Savvy shoppers can also book after-hours appointments to get the ultimate exclusive style session. Ready to level-up your fashion game? Private styling appointments come with chauffeur service in your choice of a Land Rover original 110 Defender or P400 Defender.

devalboutique.nz

Emerging Ōtautahi singer-songwriter Sam Heselwood hit No. 4 on the charts with his single ‘18’, and now he’s following it up with his latest tune, ‘Don’t Speak’.

Fluttering synths and warm guitar lines set the scene, and Sam puts forth a mesmerising vocal performance throughout ‘Don’t Speak’. Once again, the Christchurch boy proves he can deliver an authentic and relatable track.

Sam says he wrote the emotive track after his grandad died. “After my grandad passed away early last year, I started to reflect on the fact that I never had a lot to do with him. My dad and his dad didn’t get along that well and never really spoke. I started to think about how grateful I am to have the relationship I do with my dad. That’s what sparked the idea.”

‘Don’t Speak’ arrives at a crossroads for Sam, as his dreams of playing professional rugby come to an end. He dropped the release just before heading in for a life-changing surgery. After suffering a debilitating neck injury, the rugby player-turned-singer will never be able to play the sport he loves again. He’s on the mend now, but before the surgery, he had a chance to reflect on his musical journey so far, saying if he didn't have the music, he wouldn't know what he would do. The definition of a humble Kiwi lad, Sam is trying to break down boundaries through his music, fighting the stigma that men don’t cry.

Influenced by the likes of Ed Sheeran and Lewis Capaldi, Sam’s single is breathtaking. He isn’t afraid to expose his inner feelings, and it comes through clearly.

The 24-year-old is a student at SOLE Music Academy in Christchurch. He recorded ‘Don’t Speak’ with producers Will McGillivray and Josh Logan at LOHO Studios. “It was pretty eye-opening. Being in a room with such talented people collaborating and watching them work.”

SOLE is supporting Sam in the lead-up to his forthcoming EP Bloodline, set to drop this August. The EP explores themes around family and the often-complicated relationships that emerge.

FB/samheselwoodmusic