Auckland Live NZ Music Month Events - Live At Lunch, Digital Stage, Tiny Rave + More

Celebrating NZ Music Month / Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa in the central city, the Auckland Live team have put together a free and accessible programme of performances and exhibitions / screenings happening all throughout the month of May. An official UNESCO City of Music, Tāmaki Makaurau's The Civic Foyer is hosting Auckland Live at Lunch! every Friday from 12.15pm, elevating your lunchtime with funk-fuelled delicacies from an array of local luminaries. The all-star initiative starts today with multi-instrumentalist / producer maestro Julien Dyne (Avantdale Bowling Club, Half Hexagon), continuing on 17th May with mega-talents The Leonard Charles Group, and wrapping up in style with Tāmaki-based Tokelauan soul / jazz artist Romi Wrights & The Commotions on 24th May. Each event will also feature DJ Hudge, spinning locally sourced selections 30 minutes before and after the performances.

A special event for the wee ones bringing the boogie to Auckland Town Hall's Concert Chamber on Saturday 11th May from 10am onwards, Tiny Rave "is a space for our littlest music fans to party with their whānau and let loose on the dance floor". DJ Grantis will serve up kiwi dancefloor bangers in a setting "complete with neon face painting, glow sticks, exceptional lighting, and a cup of coffee for those of us who need a caffeine hit". Recommended for ravers aged 8 and under (and their parents / caregivers) — attendees are advised free advance tickets are now exhausted (maximum allocation reached), limited walk-up tickets will be available on the day.

Spotlighting not only Aotearoa's vital gig culture but also those individuals putting in the tremendous mahi documenting it for the ages, FromThePit features wok by sixty-six photographers — a large-scale screen exhibition on the Auckland Live Digital Stage at selected times for free on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays throughout May. Screening time Information for each day is available HERE.

Also screening on the Auckland Live Digital Stage in Aotea Square throughout NZ Music Month is Ka Mua Ka Muri — "a web series of music performances and interviews with Auckland musicians and songwriters working mostly in the underground/ fringes of the Tāmaki Makaurau music community". Named after "a whakataukī / Māori proverb that loosely means to walk backwards into the future," the series showcases music and conversation from a genre-spanning local stars "from folk to RnB, hip hop to jazz". Screening at 10.15am every Thursday, Friday and Saturday in May.

Auckland Live's NZ Music Month celebrations don't end there, head along HERE for info on more related events happening in May — including multi award-winner Troy Kingi at Auckland Writers Festival, NZTrio presents Triptych 1 - Unquiet Dream, Auckland Philharmonia performing at The New Zealand Herald Premier Series: Totally Trumpet, Free Organ Concert Series: Choir and Organ plus even more.

Auckland Live at Lunch - The Civic Foyer (free)
Julien Dyne (Live) - Friday 10th May, 12.15pm to 1pm
The Leonard Charles Group - Friday 17th May, 12.15pm to 1pm
Romi Wrights & The Commotions - Friday 24th May, 12.15pm to 1pm

Tiny Rave with DJ Grantis
Concert Chamber, Auckland Town Hall - Saturday 11th May, 10am to noon
Recommended for ravers 8 and under & their adults, free ticket presales sold out — limited walk-up tickets available on the day

FromThePit - Music Photography Exhibition (free)
Auckland Live Digital Stage, Aotea Square - 2nd May to 31st May
10 minutes playing from 10am and 1.30pm on select days during the month - for more information see HERE

Ka Mua Ka Muri (free)
A web series of music performances and interviews with Auckland musicians and songwriters working mostly in the underground/ fringes of the Tāmaki Makaurau music community
Auckland Live Digital Stage, Aotea Square - 2nd May to 31st May
10 minutes, 10.15am to 1.30pm on select days - for more information see HERE

Experience Frances Haszard's animated video for Julien Dyne's 'HOURS' featuring LADI6...

Listen to Leonard Charles' 2023 single 'Heaven' featuring Guilty Simpson and Zyah Belle...

Hit play on Romi Wrights' 2023 single 'Bring It Back' via Mānuka Recordings...