Music News

Weekly Roundup: Friday 7th June

Friday 7th June, 2019 2:27PM

It's been a short and snappy week, as old man winter swooped into town and gave us an icy and unwelcome hug with his freezing cold damp mitts. Announcement highlights for the week included Taite Music Prize-nominated Dunedin songwriter Kane Strang has reemerged to play a solo nationwide tour in June and July, Brazilian hip hop and reggae fusion superstar Rael is hitting our shores for the first time ever this August, Pōneke sonic adventurers Glass Vaults will be playing a three date North Island tour joined by Auckland groovemeister A.C. Freazy for selected dates in July, Aotearoa's foremost The Clash tribute band Wazzo Clash have a riotous run of shows lined up across the nation this autumn, US indie tunesmiths Local Natives are bringing songs from their brand new album Violet Street to Auckland's Tuning Fork in July, and a staggering lineup of noiseniks from throughout the nation will be descending upon Tauranga for Loserpalooza 2019. If that's not enough to get hyped about, you can always start planning your outfit for US rap collective Brockhampton's imminent return to New Zealand in January 2020.

The live highlight of the week was undoubtedly Brooklyn songwriter Sharon van Etten's unforgettable headline performance at Auckland's Powerstation on Wednesday, supported by Dunedin noise pioneer Michael Morley. You can read Dad Jokes singer / guitarist Ian Craig Brown's firsthand take on the momentous occasion and gaze with heartbreaking FOMO at Ngnami Pawa's snaps of the show over HERE. We were psyched to get back in the saddle with our monthly playlists after May's special expansive NZ Music Month edition (archived here for posterity), you can listen to UTR editor Chris Cudby's obsessively fussed over selection of fresh cuts from throughout Aotearoa and beyond for June right HERE.

This week's Caught Live video showcases the cranking riffage of Texas swampadelic trio Wo Fat, who'll be tearing punters a new one at Auckland's Whammy Bar and Wellington's Valhalla next week. Get a taste for the blazed mayhem to come with superb footage of the trio in action, bringing their thundering grooves to Germany's Freak Valley Festival...