Weekly Roundup: Friday 21st August

2020 continues to be a wild one, that's for sure. While Aucklanders are sequestered at home / going for endless jogs around the block during Alert Level 3, the rest of Aotearoa's live music community thankfully continues to deliver the goods under somewhat restricted Alert Level 2 conditions. We encourage punters to keep supporting live venues by securing your spot at a seated show – scope out our shorter than usual gig picks below for a snapshot of what's happening in NZ outside of the super city this weekend.

Looking forward to brighter times ahead – announcement highlights for the weekend included Don McGlashan revealed a five date tour of Aotearoa this spring backed by The Others, an all-star trio featuring Shayne P. Carter, Chris O'Connor and James Duncan, NZ music icon Bic Runga announced a very special run of North Island shows this October and November with her own mega-group feat. Kody Nielson, Michael Logie and Cass Mitchell, and Flying Nun legends The Subliminals will be playing a mid-September headline event at Auckland's The Wine Cellar following their appearance at The Others Way 2020. Soaked Oats announced their chonkin' Say Hey And Play Some New Ones nationwide spring tour, Lyttelton dream-pop songwriter Kate Owen revealed fresh dates for her Not A Proper Girl album launch tour, Ōtepoti's Jack Berry has two stacked North Island shows lined up for September, and veteran indie groovers Cut Off Your Hands are playing a triumphant final pair of headline events this October, celebrating the long-awaited release of their third studio album HLLH (Higher Lows and Lower Highs) in Auckland and Wellington.

One of the weird unforeseen side-effects of Covid-19 has been bots descending upon NZ-based Facebook event listings, offering to sell fake tickets to unsuspecting punters (due to the downturn in live events in other parts of the globe). UTR assistant editor Annabel Kean surveyed the scene and put together a handy guide helping you navigate safely through cyberspace – read our UTR Guide To Avoiding Ticket Scammers right here. This week we also presented a spotlight feature on the fab new album from Pōneke MIDI pop magnate (and Toyota Prius lover) Eyeliner aka Luke Rowell (Disasteradio), who selected and spoke about six images from his virtual 'mood board' for Drop Shadow – check out Eyeliner's Mood Board along with inarguably the world's greatest promo photo over here.

WEEKEND GIG PICKS:

Friday 21st August

Wellington: Kokoa Nashi - Valhalla
Wellington: King Oyster - Hashigo Zake
Dunedin: FriYAY w/ Joshua Saint Clair, Lara Rose, Kansas & The Rye - Dog With Two Tails

Saturday 22nd August

Hawkes Bay: The Drams w/ Special Guests - Paisley Stage
Hawkes Bay: Alternative Indie Folk Fest - The Urban Winery
Palmerston North: Sports Dreams, Persimmon, Nic Mason, Focus - The Stomach
Wellington: Rumballs Guilliane Barre Support Group Fundraiser - Valhalla
Wellington: Ingrid And The Ministers Album Release - Meow
Wellington: Little Symphony Sax Trio - The Third Eye
Oamaru: Julia Deans - Grainstore Gallery
Dunedin: Kāhu Rōpū, Human Susan, The Fabulists - Dive
Dunedin: Bill Martin Trio - Dog With Two Tails

Head over to our Gig Guide for more listings!!

NEW TRACKS: