Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 1st February

Friday 1st February, 2019 5:01PM

The beginning of this week was all about the return of St. Jeromes Laneway Festival to Auckland's Albert Park – you can read our team's carefully considered hot takes on every single dang act that performed at Monday's sun-drenched event here (not everyone survived), plus a gorgeous gallery of images by photographer Ngamihi Pawa (with selected snaps by official Laneway photographer David Watson) over here. To sum it all up, Laneway was a scorcher!

Announcement highlights of the short week included Switzerland folk-metal crew Eluveitie are bringing their Celtic-tinged tunes to Aotearoa in May, Auckland's semi-regular celebration of our snotty punk heritage Punk It Up is returning with an ass-kicking lineup of local legends in May, members of 80s Flying Nun post-punk groups This Sporting Life and Alms For Children are touring NZ as This Life in March, hard rocking Auckland duo Skinny Hobos are gearing up for an extensive national tour this autumn, and the timetable for New Plymouth's three-day WOMAD New Zealand 2019 festival was revealed for avid attendees to comb through. Also in very welcome news, a festival showcasing Auckland’s experimental and underground LGBTQIA musicians has been announced titled LOUD and PROUD, happening at the Audio Foundation in mid-February.

We somehow managed to squeeze out a trio of interviews in the middle of the summer heatwave - David Green spoke with Laneway 2019 headliner UK electronic figurehead Jon Hopkins about his long-awaited and much celebrated new album Singularity ahead of his hugely enjoyable Auckland performance on Monday, Democratic Republic of Congo-born, Belgium-raised rapper Baloji had an insightful chat with Gareth Shute in advance of his NZ visit this March for WOMAD New Zealand 2019, and Lyttelton guitar mavericks Delaney Davidson and Bruce Russell (The Dead C) shared their thoughts on their brand new collaborative album One Hand Loose, which is a winner of a record.

Our Caught Live video for the week features Welsh psych-folk songwriter Cate Le Bon, visiting Aotearoa this month for a can't miss five date national tour. Watch footage of Le Bon and band performing a superb version of her angular tune 'We Might Revolve' from 2016's Crab Day for Melbourne station 3RRRFM... hey wait, is that Daniel Ward of Auckland's Droor and The Sneaks playing drums? [Update: Ward confirmed yes it is him]