Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 31st May

Photo credit: Kerry Lorde / Friday 31st May, 2019 5:50PM

Today we collectively wave goodbye to NZ Music Month 2019, take stock of what went down, and put on our thinking caps for how to best tackle next year's annual celebration of sounds emanating from throughout Aotearoa. Announcement highlights for the week included Tāmaki Makaurau’s multi-venue extravaganza The Others Way festival is returning to Karangahape Road this August (snap up your early bird tickets here while you can), Auckland punx Miss June are following up their overseas tour with a triumphant pair of homecoming events, Pōneke's Michael James Keane (of So Laid Back Country China) is playing a rare run of North Island shows in June, Tāmaki Makaurau's Him is playing around the country this June with band in celebration of her debut LP Snakes At Night, and Brooklyn's Sharon Van Etten revealed the jaw-dropping local support for her sold out New Zealand event in June – Michael Morley (aka Gate) of Dunedin noise titans The Dead C!

Tāmaki Makaurau musical fantasists Carnivorous Plant Society announced a huge run of shows happening across the nation in July and August, including shows in Auckland and Wellington celebrating the twin-pronged release of a new album The People Below, plus an accompanying graphic novel of the same name. Genre-smashing Auckland heroes Hallelujah Picassos also have a new record out, they're throwing a release party for Voices of Exuberant Hellhounds this June at Whammy Bar. Visiting overseas artists to look forward to include John Davis of Folk Implosion is kicking it in Aotearoa this June for a ten-stop tour with his group The Cicadas, UK new wave trailblazers Squeeze (think 'Cool For Cats') are hitting our shores in early 2020 for a three date tour, and Nashville's Justin Townes Earle is heading our way for a three-stop, main centre tour this August. Before we bounce from the office for the long weekend, let's raise a glass in celebration of this week's wildest lineup announcement – the timeline-destroying, multigenerational combo of Billy Idol, George Thorogood & The Destroyers, Anastacia, Smash Mouth and Creedence Clearwater Revisited, all playing together for three New Zealand events in January 2020!

Just one feature for this week, as we were all in a rush covering the late month onslaught of local releases, and putting the wheels in motion for some very exciting but unfortunately top secret (for now) future projects. UTR editor Chris Cudby caught up with Charlotte Forrester of Pōneke sibling psychedelic trio Womb for a long-overdue chat following last year's release of their superb debut album Like Splitting The Head From The Body. Head over here to read what she has to say, in anticipation of Womb's forthcoming ten date tour of China with "Bogan Madonna of New Zealand" Strange Stains.

Today is Love Your Local Venue Day, so why not give a little love to long-running Auckland underground music hub The Wine Cellar, who are celebrating their 15th Anniversary this Saturday? This weekend's birthday bash features a must-see lineup including Tiny Ruins, Delaney Davidson, Queen Neptune, A.C. Freazy, i.e. crazy, DJ Peach Milk and more. Prep your ears for Saturday's event with this week's Caught Live video, featuring i.e. crazy's Maggie Magee performing her chilling and intense song 'A Child's Blood' from her 2017 debut album Non Compos Mentis, for 95bFM's Freak The Sheep show...