With a catchy name and even catchier music to boot, Josh Pow and Cicada Circus is a band leading by example to develop the music community at Bay of
Plenty Polytechnic.
Cicada Circus met at Polytechnic, describing themselves jokingly as 'the rejects”.

Cicada Circus: Andrew Upton, Brendon Monk, Phillip Upton and Josh Pow. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

'Quite a few of the class already had bands and we all had similar interests, similar genre interests, so decided to make a band,” says Josh.
The name originated when Brendon was ‘attacked' by a swam of cicadas. As a bass player who wants to style himself after Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the boys thought this was funny and the name just stuck.
Describing their music as 'indie pop rock funk, with Red Hot Chilli Peppers as our main influence”, Cicada Circus is a band all about fun, which reflects in their joking around.
Students study Performance as part of their course and Cicada Circus is already adding a few live gigs to their belt, including being special guests at this year's Battle of the Bands.
Josh is already making a name for himself about town. The 17-year-old frequently busks around Tauranga and the Mount. He also recently put together a CD with the help of graduate Polytechnic music student Patrick Ryan. Josh says working with Patrick brought experience to making his CD and 'the ability to record on site” at the Polytechnic has been something Josh is looking forward to in his course.
As for the other members, Andrew and Phillip both pass on their music knowledge onto primary and intermediate students, teaching their instruments to future musicians.
Music tutor Lynda Wing says Cicada Circus is a fun blend of great musicianship, energetic, upbeat originals and well-known covers in their repertoire.
She says with current students working with graduates and current students teaching future musicians, the music department is fostering a wider community of music within Tauranga.