NZ Music Month / Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa - Week 4 Highlights

Wow there's so much happening in our local sonic sphere this week, May has truly come through with the NZ Music Month / Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa goods in 2024. The theme for week four is Amplifying Innovation, celebrating "the Kiwis experimenting with new ways of doing things". Great to see SRN stations 95bFM and Radio Control are putting in the mahi, broadcasting 100% NZ Music all week long — noteworthy happenings this week include this Saturday's info-packed NZ Music Month Summit (the full programme is HERE) and tonight's free Karangahape Road Block Party.

Happening this week in New Zealand Music Month, check out the UTR gig guide HERE and the NZMM gig guide HERE for live shows and more events nationwide.

Karangahape Road Block Party at Crushes, Flying Nun, Flying Out, Neck of the Woods, Verona, Vixen, the Rainbow Crossing, plus free afterparty at Whammy Bar - Thursday 23rd May, 5pm to 9pm (free)
A free, all-ages festival activating Tāmaki Makaurau's iconic central city strip, starring Codes, Motte, Power Nap, Créme Jéan, Babe Martin, Hasji, Michael Logie, Love Square, حلالاماما (Hafleh Collective), beth torrance, Lilly Carron, Heidi Simpson, Kendall Elise, Will Saunders, George Henderson's The New Existentialists and the SMALL RAVE crew. The afterparty lineup at Whammy Bar includes Samara Alofa with band, Elliot and Vincent and Vincent H.L — check out the official K Rd Block Party timetable HERE.

Anna van Riel (Nook Road Productions) Vocal Mechanics Workshop at at Wānaka Library - Thursday 23rd May, 5.30pm to 7.30pm (free, bookings essential)
A fun and interactive 2hr workshop on posture, vocal health, breath-work and getting the best out of your vocal instrument. Ideal for ages 14 and up. This workshop is free to attend but bookings are essential as spaces are limited.

Country Music Honours 2024 (formerly the NZ Country Music Awards) as as part of the Tussock Country Music Festival, happening at SBS St James Theatre, Gore - Friday 24th May, 7pm start
Check out the finalists for the 2024 APRA Best Country Music Song Award and MLT Songwriting Award HERE.

The Official NZ Music Month Summit at Auckland's The Tuning Fork - Saturday 25th May, 10.45am to 4.30pm (free, lunch provided, to secure a ticket register HERE)
Panel discussions, presentations and more — an invaluable and accessible resource for artists, industry workers and all those keen to level up / get amongst. Topics range from how to make your release stand out and creating award-winning visuals, to prioritising your wellbeing throughout your artistic journey. Check out the full programme and timetable HERE.

Take It To The Streets ft. Hollie Smith, Mols, Juga, Sola Rosa (DJ Set) at Kingsland's Royal Plaza Train Station - Saturday 25th May, noon to 3pm (free)

Deluge: Dialogue and Demo at Wellington Museum - Saturday 25th May, 2pm to 3.30pm (free)
Synthesizer maker Rohan Hill shares his garage start up-to-global success story of the Deluge, an innovative synthesizer produced right here in Te Whanganui-a-Tara. After the kōrero, artist Thomas Arbor weaves his musical magic in an interactive performance with the Deluge.

NZ Music Month Closer Party at The Charlotte Museum Te Whare Takatātpui-Wāhine o Aotearoa in Auckland - Saturday 25th May
A fun celebratory night of music for lesbian sapphic women, our takatātpui, rainbow-queer whanau and friends and allies. Featuring Eden Iris, DJ Evelyn Fletcher-Jenkins and Lesbian Death Sluts From Hell.

NZ Music Month talk about music and recordings in Aotearoa, presented by Jacob Brookie (MAVtech) at Palmerston North Central Library - Tuesday 28th May, 12.30pm start (free)
Hear about the quirkiest choir in history, the stories behind the early radio stations that brought New Zealand music to air, and just how difficult being a star singer was in the 1890s.

Ongoing:

FromThePit 2024 New Zealand Music Photography Exhibition online HERE plus venues nationwide (free, for venue information head along to fromthepit.co.nz/venues) 
FromThePit serves as a curated collection of live music photography, focusing exclusively on New Zealand musicians performing in local venues. This year, 66 photographers will contribute their recent work to the exhibition, providing a comprehensive view of the country’s diverse musical landscape.

An interactive installation of musical wonder has been installed on the ground floor of the National Library in Wellington to celebrate NZ Music Month. The ‘music machine’ was created to promote recordings and music held within the Archive of New Zealand Music at the National Library. It encourages users to discover local music in a non-biased way – the only interface being a ‘skip track’ button which pulls a randomised new track from the playlist.

He Autaia, He Ātahu - Strangeness and Charm: Album Cover Art in Aotearoa Hocken Collections' NZMM foyer display at University of Otago - runs to 31st May (free)
Looking at some of the extraordinary images that adorn recordings in the Hocken’s music collections.

May Music Month 2024, Palmerston North City Centre 
Celebrating and profiling our local musical talent through a series of events & performances throughout the City Centre in May, providing a variety of genres so there is something for everyone’s ears.

Art On Record - Kumeu Arts Members for NZ Music Month at Kumeu Arts Centre - up to Saturday 25th May
Member artists have been asked to create LP, album covers for real or imagined bands or musicians. 

Troy Kingi's Desert Hikoi is available to stream on TVNZ+ in celebration of New Zealand Music Month. Follow Troy as he takes a spiritual journey to California's iconic Joshua Tree National Park, in search of creative inspiration from this epic desert environment and its local people. Made with the support of NZ On Air, stream the series HERE.

DEPOT Sound North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition - if you are a current North Shore Intermediate or Secondary School student, you can submit your original song by Friday 31st May HERE.

Plus there's lots happening in our local libraries:

There are dozens of events for Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa coming up across the country including Rangiora Library hosting kiwi themed songs and stories for preschoolers during NZ Music Month Storytimes at 10:00am on Tuesdays and Thursdays the rest of the May. Waipā District Libraries have been running a programme across both their Te Awamutu and Cambridge branches – this Saturday morning you can catch bluegrass music by local musicians in Cambridge and next weekend a huge Ukulele Jam is planned out front of the Te Awamutu Library.