NZ Music Month 2021 Kicks Off!
Written by Admin on May 4, 2021
The best time in New Zealand Music has rolled around, this May we celebrate 21 years of Aotearoa’s iconic NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa. 31 days dedicated to honouring great local music for all New Zealanders – in every place, for every age, and in every genre. Throughout the whole month, their are a host of celebrations, new releases, artist tours and special events happening across Aotearoa.
The NZ Music Commission are proud to present Art of the Record, a travelling exhibition to showcase 21 iconic album covers. The exhibition will open in Auckland on May 1st, before travelling to Wellington on May 10th, followed by Christchurch on May 17th and Dunedin on May 24th. To get a taster of the ‘Art of the Record’ exhibition, check out Base FM’s Cover Story 2 Exhibition which brings together some of the most influential NZ records as played by NZ’s top DJs on NZ dance floors.
NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa will see a stellar line-up of local acts performing right across Aotearoa, with shows happening in a vast range of venues and regions. Confirmed tours include The Chills, The Veils, Nadia Reid and her band, Miles Calder, and Harper Finn & LA WOMEN. Keep your eyes peeled on NZ Music Months website for the full calendar of gigs across the whole month!
New Zealand artists and their connections to Te Ao Māori and Aotearoa are showcased over NZ music month with the release of Waiata / Anthems a follow up to the original album released in 2019. The Waiata Anthems series will celebrate some of our most loved Kiwi artists, highlighting personal stories from, Che-Fu, Bic Runga, Katchafire, HOLLIE SMITH & Don McGlashan and more. Produced by Hinewehi Mohi and directed by Julia Parnell, Waiata Anthems will air exclusively on TVNZ OnDemand.
For those keen to enjoy NZ Music Month | Te Marama Puoro o Aotearoa from the comfort of home, NZ Film On Demand will be streaming a collection of Kiwi music films, from Herbs: Songs of Freedom and Daffodils, to POI E: The Story of Our Song and Shihad: Beautiful Machine. NZ Music T-Shirt Day returns on Friday, May 28th, with Kiwis encouraged to wear their favourite NZ music t-shirt and donate to the MusicHelps Live appeal, where the charity is providing vital support to Kiwi musicians affected by COVID-19.
NZ Music Month is run by the NZ Music Commission, with support from APRA AMCOS NZ, Independent Music New Zealand (IMNZ), the Music Managers Forum Aotearoa, NZ On Air Music, Recorded Music NZ, SOUNZ and Te Māngai Pāho. The purpose of NZ Music Month to celebrate music from New Zealand, and the people who make it.