Last week Grant Haua launched Awa Blues, already probably the most significant Tauranga release of the year. It was sent out into the world via a small... Read More

Writing about promotional (ad)ventures from Your Enabler Presents makes me think of a David Lynch movie. Blue Velvet, to be exact. He was once called... Read More

There are all sorts of musical stories in Tauranga; Shirley Ryder's must be amongst the more unusual. Not long ago Shirley, a singer/songwriter... Read More

Who's the most popular band in the Bay this summer? It's a close run thing. What with Tauranga now being celebrated as Festival Central for... Read More

There seems to be an increase of dissatisfaction in Tauranga these days; people are cross and getting crosser. Perhaps it's because this is an ever-expanding... Read More

Fifty years is a long time to do anything – if you want to spend that length of time on something you need to start young. Luckily, Shona Laing... Read More

Many people I know switch off a bit at this time of year. While a lot of folk are now back at work and the beaches are becoming quieter, there are a... Read More

So we're now over a week into 2021. Hmmm... There was a vague sense that once we farewelled that savage Year Of Our Lord 2020 things would change.... Read More

This is the last column of the year and it comes with traditions. There's a cocktail recipe coming up, and I'd like to offer a big swoop of... Read More

We're taking next week off, so this'll be the last column before Christmas. Traditionally for this one I try to include a bunch of recommendations... Read More

OK. Nearly Christmas. Footloose and Covid-free. This week I have three shows for you. First up a concert by the most excellent Grant Haua, who has spent... Read More

I have always thought of the Tauranga music scene as pretty middle-of-the-road. But perhaps I've been wrong. That struck me the other day as I prepared... Read More

Is it wrong to keep patting ourselves on the back for being so lucky? After a while does it come across as hubris? I don't know. But I do know that... Read More

The Tauranga launch for Janne Izett's debut album is next weekend. It's been a long journey... You might have come across Janne in this paper.... Read More

Let's start this week's column in a humble manner: with an apology. Actually, a few apologies, though I do try to get things as accurate as... Read More